List of cities in Lithuania

Vilnius is the largest city of Lithuania with urban population over 700,000 inhabitants Detailed map of cultural regions of Lithuania including all of its cities and towns

In Lithuania, there are 103 cities (miestai). The term city is defined by the Parliament of Lithuania as a compact urban area with more than 3,000 people, of whom at least two-thirds work in the industry or service sector. Settlements with a population of less than 3,000 but with historical city status are still considered to be cities. Smaller settlements are known as towns (miesteliai), and even smaller settlements are known as villages (kaimai). Often the official status of these smaller settlements are unclear, and people simply refer to both towns and villages as settlements (gyvenvietės).

The cities started to form between the 13th and 14th centuries together with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The first to receive city rights was Klaipėda. According to medieval law, a city could have its own fairs, taverns, guilds, courts, etc. Some former cities lost their status and are now just towns or villages, for example Kernavė and Merkinė. Most of the cities in Lithuania were established before the 18th century. Their location is mostly determined by trade and transportation routes. Some of the newer cities grew because of railroad construction, for example Kaišiadorys, Vievis, Radviliškis, Ignalina and Mažeikiai. In the 20th century, new cities grew primarily to service state developed industrial complexes, for example Visaginas, Elektrėnai and Naujoji Akmenė.

Of over 100 cities, only 14 have populations of over 20,000. Five cities (Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and Anykščiai) have a special resort status. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census, 66.7% of the population lived in cities. At the 2021 census the proportion had increased slightly to 68.2% of the population.

## Cities with over 50,000 inhabitants

[edit]

#  | CoA | City  | Pronunciation  | Population  | Change  | Granted
city rights  | County  | Municipalities in urban area  | Urban area
population (2024)

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2024  | 2021 | 2001
1 |  | Vilnius | Listen • Info |  602,430 | 546,155  | 554,281  | −1.47% | 1387 | Vilnius County | See Vilnius urban area | 708,627
2 |  | Kaunas | Listen • Info |  304,210 | 298,753  | 378,943  | −21.16% | 1408 | Kaunas County | See Kaunas urban area | 410,475
3 |  | Klaipėda | Listen • Info |  159,403 | 152,008  | 192,954  | −21.22% | 1257 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda City Municipality, Klaipėda District Municipality | 226,676
4 |  | Šiauliai | Listen • Info |  110,463 | 100,653  | 133,883  | −24.82% | 1589 | Šiauliai County | Šiauliai City Municipality, Šiauliai District Municipality | 151,026
5 |  | Panevėžys | Listen • Info |  86,606 | 89,100  | 119,749  | −25.59% | 1837 | Panevėžys County | See Panevėžys urban area | 121,977
6 |  | Alytus | Listen • Info |  51,353 | 52,727  | 71,491  | −26.25% | 1581 | Alytus County | Alytus City Municipality, Alytus District Municipality | 76,815

## Cities between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants

[edit]

#  | CoA | City  | Pronunciation  | Population  | Change  | Granted
city rights  | County  | Municipality

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2024  | 2021 | 2001
1 |  | Marijampolė | Listen • Info |  36,704 | 36,727  | 48,675  | −24.55% | 1792 | Marijampolė County | Marijampolė Municipality
2 |  | Mažeikiai | Listen • Info |  33,377 | 33,101  | 42,675  | −22.43% | 1924 | Telšiai County | Mažeikiai District Municipality
3 |  | Utena | Listen • Info |  27,763 | 25,343  | 33,860  | −25.15% | 1599 | Utena County | Utena District Municipality
4 |  | Jonava | Listen • Info |  26,838 | 27,381  | 34,954  | −21.67% | 1864 | Kaunas County | Jonava District Municipality
5 |  | Kėdainiai | Listen • Info |  23,362 | 23,461  | 32,048  | −26.79% | 1590 | Kaunas County | Kėdainiai District Municipality
6 |  | Telšiai | Listen • Info |  22,024 | 22,642  | 31,460  | −28.03% | 1791 | Telšiai County | Telšiai District Municipality
7 |  | Tauragė | Listen • Info |  21,216 | 21,203  | 29,124  | −27.20% | 1924 | Tauragė County | Tauragė District Municipality
8 |  | Ukmergė | Listen • Info |  20,928 | 21,258  | 28,759  | −26.08% | 1486 | Vilnius County | Ukmergė District Municipality

## Cities between 5,000 and 20,000 inhabitants

[edit]

# | CoA | City | Pronunciation
(audio help) | Population  | Granted
city
rights | County | Municipality

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2024  | 2021  | 2001
1 |  | Visaginas | Listen • Info | 19,330  | 19,446  | 29,554  | 1995 | Utena County | Visaginas Municipality
2 |  | Palanga | Listen • Info | 18,066  | 16,746  | 17,623  | 1791 | Klaipėda County | Palanga City Municipality
3 |  | Plungė | Listen • Info | 17,259  | 17,543  | 23,436  | 1792 | Telšiai County | Plungė District Municipality
4 |  | Kretinga | Listen • Info | 16,927  | 17,249  | 21,423  | 1609 | Klaipėda County | Kretinga District Municipality
5 |  | Šilutė | Listen • Info | 16,002  | 15,952  | 21,476  | 1941 | Klaipėda County | Šilutė District Municipality
6 |  | Radviliškis | Listen • Info | 15,518  | 15,103  | 20,339  | 1923 | Šiauliai County | Radviliškis District Municipality
7 |  | Gargždai | Listen • Info | 15,510  | 15,065  | 15,212  | 1792 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda District Municipality
8 |  | Druskininkai | Listen • Info | 12,978  | 12,908  | 18,233  | 1893 | Alytus County | Druskininkai Municipality
9 |  | Elektrėnai | Listen • Info | 12,536  | 11,255  | 14,050  | 1962 | Vilnius County | Elektrėnai Municipality
10 |  | Jurbarkas | Listen • Info | 11,455  | 10,186  | 13,797  | 1611 | Tauragė County | Jurbarkas District Municipality
11 |  | Rokiškis | Listen • Info | 11,388  | 11,770  | 16,746  | 1920 | Panevėžys County | Rokiškis District Municipality
12 |  | Kuršėnai | Listen • Info | 10,570  | 10,916  | 14,197  | 1946 | Šiauliai County | Šiauliai District Municipality
13 |  | Biržai | Listen • Info | 10,238  | 10,734  | 15,262  | 1589 | Panevėžys County | Biržai District Municipality
14 |  | Vilkaviškis | Listen • Info | 10,182  | 10,286  | 13,283  | 1660 | Marijampolė County | Vilkaviškis District Municipality
15 |  | Garliava | Listen • Info | 10,035  | 10,366  | 13,322  | 1958 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality
16 |  | Grigiškės | Listen • Info | 9,829  | 9,950  | 11,448  | 1958 | Vilnius County | Vilnius City Municipality
17 |  | Lentvaris | Listen • Info | 9,589  | 9,713  | 11,773  | 1946 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality
18 |  | Raseiniai | Listen • Info | 9,553  | 9,865  | 12,541  | 1492–1506 | Kaunas County | Raseiniai District Municipality
19 |  | Prienai | Listen • Info | 8,773  | 8,796  | 11,353  | 1609 | Kaunas County | Prienai District Municipality
20 |  | Anykščiai | Listen • Info | 8,534  | 8,697  | 11,958  | 1516 | Utena County | Anykščiai District Municipality
21 |  | Kaišiadorys | Listen • Info | 8,480  | 8,380  | 10,002  | 1946 | Kaunas County | Kaišiadorys District Municipality
22 |  | Joniškis | Listen • Info | 8,437  | 8,612  | 11,329  | 1616 | Šiauliai County | Joniškis District Municipality
23 |  | Naujoji Akmenė | Listen • Info | 8,044  | 7,985  | 12,345  | 1792 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality
24 |  | Varėna | Listen • Info | 7,866  | 8,202  | 10,845  | 1946 | Alytus County | Varėna District Municipality
25 |  | Kelmė | Listen • Info | 7,344  | 7,688  | 10,900  | 1947 | Šiauliai County | Kelmė District Municipality
26 |  | Šalčininkai | Listen • Info | 6,825  | 6,857  | 6,722  | 1956 | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality
27 |  | Pasvalys | Listen • Info | 6,288  | 6,451  | 8,709  | 1946 | Panevėžys County | Pasvalys District Municipality
28 |  | Kupiškis | Listen • Info | 6,107  | 6,218  | 8,451  | 1791 | Panevėžys County | Kupiškis District Municipality
29 |  | Zarasai | Listen • Info | 5,851  | 6,077  | 8,365  | 1843 | Utena County | Zarasai District Municipality
30 |  | Trakai | Listen • Info | 5,720  | 5,426  | 5,725  | 1409 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality
31 |  | Širvintos | Listen • Info | 5,650  | 5,827  | 7,273  | 1950 | Vilnius County | Širvintos District Municipality
32 |  | Molėtai | Listen • Info | 5,611  | 5,782  | 7,221  | 1956 | Utena County | Molėtai District Municipality
33 |  | Kazlų Rūda | Listen • Info | 5,457  | 5,590  | 7,401  | 1950 | Marijampolė County | Kazlų Rūda Municipality
34 |  | Šakiai | Listen • Info | 5,348  | 5,462  | 6,795  | 1776 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality
35 |  | Skuodas | Listen • Info | 5,231  | 5,508  | 7,896  | 1572 | Klaipėda County | Skuodas District Municipality

## Cities between 1,000 and 5,000 inhabitants

[edit]

# | CoA | City | Pronunciation
(audio help) | Population  | Granted
city
rights | County | Municipality

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2024  | 2021  | 2001
1 |  | Ignalina | Listen • Info | 4,843  | 5,106  | 6,591  | 1950 | Utena County | Ignalina District Municipality
2 |  | Pabradė | Listen • Info | 4,636  | 4,918  | 6,525  | 1946 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality
3 |  | Šilalė | Listen • Info | 4,605  | 4,729  | 6,281  | 1950 | Tauragė County | Šilalė District Municipality
4 |  | Švenčionėliai | Listen • Info | 4,536  | 4,748  | 6,923  | 1920 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality
5 |  | Nemenčinė | Listen • Info | 4,495  | 4,831  | 5,892  | 1955 | Vilnius County | Vilnius District Municipality
6 |  | Pakruojis | Listen • Info | 4,487  | 4,594  | 6,057  | 1950 | Šiauliai County | Pakruojis District Municipality
7 |  | Švenčionys | Listen • Info | 4,292  | 4,448  | 5,684  | 1800 | Vilnius County | Švenčionys District Municipality
8 |  | Neringa | Listen • Info | 4,265  | 3,609  | 2,386  | 1961 | Klaipėda County | Neringa Municipality
9 |  | Vievis | Listen • Info | 4,135  | 4,311  | 5,303  | 1950 | Vilnius County | Elektrėnai Municipality
10 |  | Kalvarija | Listen • Info | 3,939  | 3,982  | 5,090  | 1791 | Marijampolė County | Kalvarija Municipality
11 |  | Kybartai | Listen • Info | 3,871  | 4,126  | 6,556  | 1947 | Marijampolė County | Vilkaviškis District Municipality
12 |  | Lazdijai | Listen • Info | 3,817  | 4,016  | 5,140  | 1957 | Alytus County | Lazdijai District Municipality
13 |  | Rietavas | Listen • Info | 3,144  | 3,234  | 3,979  | 1792 | Telšiai County | Rietavas Municipality
14 |  | Birštonas | Listen • Info | 3,011  | 3,072  | 3,225  | 1518? | Kaunas County | Birštonas Municipality
15 |  | Žiežmariai | Listen • Info | 2,989  | 3,158  | 3,884  | 1792 | Kaunas County | Kaišiadorys District Municipality
16 |  | Eišiškės | Listen • Info | 2,734  | 2,908  | 3,765  | 1950 | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality
17 |  | Ariogala | Listen • Info | 2,591  | 2,743  | 3,697  | 1792 | Kaunas County | Raseiniai District Municipality
18 |  | Šeduva | Listen • Info | 2,367  | 2,421  | 3,400  | 1654 | Šiauliai County | Radviliškis District Municipality
19 |  | Akmenė | Listen • Info | 2,294  | 2,355  | 3,140  | 1792 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality
20 |  | Venta | Listen • Info | 2,150  | 2,250  | 3,412  | 1995 | Šiauliai County | Akmenė District Municipality
21 |  | Viekšniai | Listen • Info | 2,133  | 2,249  | 2,270  | 1791 | Telšiai County | Mažeikiai District Municipality
22 |  | Rūdiškės | Listen • Info | 1,889  | 1,985  | 2,559  | 1958 | Vilnius County | Trakai District Municipality
23 |  | Tytuvėnai | Listen • Info | 1,759  | 1,850  | 2,851  | 1956 | Šiauliai County | Kelmė District Municipality
24 |  | Vilkija | Listen • Info | 1,694  | 1,762  | 2,338  | 1792 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality
25 |  | Ežerėlis | Listen • Info | 1,580  | 1,640  | 2,051  | 1956 | Kaunas County | Kaunas District Municipality
26 |  | Pagėgiai | Listen • Info | 1,540  | 1,576  | 2,393  | 1923 | Tauragė County | Pagėgiai Municipality
27 |  | Gelgaudiškis | Listen • Info | 1,497  | 1,572  | 2,029  | 1958 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality
28 |  | Skaudvilė | Listen • Info | 1,331  | 1,427  | 2,140  | 1950 | Tauragė County | Tauragė District Municipality
29 |  | Kudirkos Naumiestis | Listen • Info | 1,305  | 1,381  | 1,997  | 1643 | Marijampolė County | Šakiai District Municipality
30 |  | Žagarė | Listen • Info | 1,226  | 1,326  | 2,312  | 1924 | Šiauliai County | Joniškis District Municipality
31 |  | Priekulė | Listen • Info | 1,223  | 1,245  | 1,725  | 1948 | Klaipėda County | Klaipėda District Municipality
32= |  | Linkuva | Listen • Info | 1,218  | 1,283  | 1,797  | 1950 | Šiauliai County | Pakruojis District Municipality
32= |  | Salantai | Listen • Info | 1,218  | 1,272  | 1,942  | 1746 | Klaipėda County | Kretinga District Municipality
34 |  | Ramygala | Listen • Info | 1,183  | 1,241  | 1,733  | 1957 | Panevėžys County | Panevėžys District Municipality
35 |  | Simnas | Listen • Info | 1,176  | 1,247  | 1,980  | 1626 | Alytus County | Alytus District Municipality
36 |  | Veisiejai | Listen • Info | 1,022  | 1,141  | 1,762  | 1956 | Alytus County | Lazdijai District Municipality
37 |  | Jieznas | Listen • Info | 1,004  | 1,047  | 1,476  | 1956 | Kaunas County | Prienai District Municipality

## Remaining cities in Lithuania

[edit]

The smallest cities in Lithuania that have below 1,000 inhabitants. The counties are ranked by number of cities and further ranked by the population of the largest one. Cities are ranked by the size of the population.

Panevėžys County (5)
Subačius, Obeliai, Vabalninkas, Pandėlys, Joniškėlis.
Utena County (4)
Dūkštas, Kavarskas, Dusetos, Troškūnai.
Telšiai County (2)
Varniai, Seda.
Tauragė County (2)
Smalininkai, Panemunė.
Marijampolė County (1)
Virbalis.
Šiauliai County (1)
Užventis.
Vilnius County (1)
Baltoji Vokė.
Alytus County (1)
Daugai.

## Map of Lithuanian cities by population

[edit]

Vilnius

Kaunas

Klaipėda

Šiauliai

Panevėžys

Alytus

Marijampolė

Mažeikiai

Jonava

Utena

Kėdainiai

Telšiai

Tauragė

Ukmergė

Visaginas

Palanga

Plungė

Kretinga

Šilutė

Radviliškis

Gargždai

Druskininkai

Elektrėnai

Rokiškis

Jurbarkas

Kuršėnai

Biržai

Vilkaviškis

Garliava

Grigiškės

Raseiniai

Lent–
varis

Prienai

Anykščiai

Joniškis

Kaišiadorys

Naujoji Akmenė

Varėna

Kelmė

Šalčininkai

Pasvalys

Kupiškis

Zarasai

Trakai

Molėtai

Širvintos

Kazlų
Rūda

Šakiai

Skuodas

Ignalina

Šilalė

Pakruojis

Švenčionys

Lazdijai

Kalvarija

Neringa

Rietavas

Birštonas

Pagėgiai

Baltic Sea

Curonian Lagoon

Curonian Spit

Port of Klaipėda

Vilnius Airport

Kaunas Airport

Šiauliai Airport

Palanga Airport

Latvia

Belarus

Poland

Kaliningrad, Russia

Population

> 300 000

100 000 – 300 000

30 000 – 100 000

10 000 – 30 000

< 10 000

class=notpageimage|

The largest cities in Lithuania

## Gallery

[edit]

* Kaunas

* Klaipėda

* Šiauliai

* Panevėžys

* Alytus

* Marijampolė

* Mažeikiai

* Jonava

* Utena

* Kėdainiai

* Telšiai

* Ukmergė

* Tauragė

* Visaginas

* Plungė

* Kretinga

* Palanga

* Šilutė

* Radviliškis

* Gargždai

* Druskininkai

* Elektrėnai

## Cities by compass direction reference

[edit]

[further explanation needed]

South-North reference:  (Vilnius), E272 (Panevėžys), E67 (Bauska, Latvia)[clarification needed] CoA | City | Pronunciation
(audio help) | Number by
size
[clarification needed]
(2024)  | County | Municipalities

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| Šalčininkai | Listen • Info | 40  | Vilnius County | Šalčininkai District Municipality
| Vilnius | Listen • Info | 1  | Vilnius County | Vilnius City Municipality, Vilnius District Municipality
| Širvintos | Listen • Info | 45  | Vilnius County | Širvintos District Municipality
| Ukmergė | Listen • Info | 14  | Vilnius County | Ukmergė District Municipality
| Panevėžys | Listen • Info | 5  | Panevėžys County | Panevėžys City Municipality, Panevėžys District Municipality
| Pasvalys | Listen • Info | 41  | Panevėžys County | Pasvalys District Municipality

## See also

[edit]

* List of towns in Lithuania
* List of Lithuanian cities in other languages
* Administrative divisions of Lithuania
* Counties of Lithuania
* Municipalities of Lithuania
* Elderships of Lithuania
* Seniūnaitija
* Lithuania portal

## Notes and sources

[edit]

* Population sizes are given according to Department of Statistics to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania (Statistics Lithuania) data for the census of 2001.
* "City rights" means rights to self-government. For older cities this is usually the date when Magdeburg rights were granted. Most dates are obtained from Lithuanian Wikipedia which assembled the information from several different sources. One of the main sources was Population Statistics. This information cannot be completely trusted.
* Counties, municipalities and elderships are given according to Lithuanian Central Internet Gates data.
* Stasys Vaitiekūnas, Elena Valančienė, Lietuvos geografija (Geography of Lithuania), Alma littera, 2004, pages 160-162. ISBN 9955-08-534-7
* Lietuvos Respublikos teritorijos administracinių vienetų ir jų ribų įstatymas (Republic of Lithuania Law on Administrative Units and Their Borders), Seimas law database, June 19, 1994, law no. I-558.
* At the time of the 2001 census, there were 106 cities in Lithuania. the Government of the Republic of Lithuania made these changes:

* On December 16, 2002 Juodupė lost city status and became a town[1]
* On February 25, 2003 Kulautuva lost city status and became a town[citation needed]
* On April 8, 2003 Tyruliai lost city status and became a town[citation needed]

* Cities with no image of a coat of arms shown do not have one confirmed by the President of Lithuania. Municipalities share coats of arms with their capitals, with the exception of cities which are capitals of more than one municipality (i.e. a city municipality and a district municipality), in which case the city municipality shares the coat of arms with the city, while the district municipality has its own distinct coat of arms. Another notable exception is Trakai town, which has different coat of arms from its municipality (Trakai District Municipality).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Nutarimas Dėl gyvenamosios vietovės pavadinimo pakeitimo

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