Specific weight of Lithuanians made up 83.5%; Roman Catholics accounted for 79% of Lithuania’s population

 The number of population between the Population census conducted in 1989 and that in 2001 contracted by 190.8 thous.: the natural increase from 1989 till 6 April 2001 totalled 33.7 thous. (births accounted for 546.1 thous., deaths made up 512.4 thous.), negative net migration equalled 224.5 thous.
 The number of Lithuania’s population in 1966 exceeded three millions and continued to grow till 1992. Later, due to migration and natural decrease, the number of population started contracting. The number of population as compared with 1989 declined by 5%.
 The specific weight of Lithuania’s urban and rural population equalled the level of 1970. The bulk of urban population (68.5 %) was observed in 1991. Urban population has displayed a down-warding trend since 1992; while the number rural population has been rising. Comparing the data of the latest Population census with those of 1989 one can see the number of the population falling by 155 thous. and the number of rural population declining by 36 thous. The changes were influenced by the shifted migration directions. The main migration direction “from country to town” showed the different trend: the level of urban population emigrating to foreign countries augmented, while certain share of population moved for living to rural areas. However, the specific weight of urban and rural population remained stable.
Over the twelve years the number of population in all biggest cities decreased: the most notable fall was observed in the Kaunas town, the opposite situation was in the Panevezys town. However, concentration of urban population in the biggest cities has not shown significant changes: according to the results of the latest censuses, 59% of urban population fell per five biggest cities.

 The appropriate trend of the population number decreasing was also observed in the capitals of neighbouring countries; however, there the number of population diminished at a more rapid pace. The number of Riga’s population in 2000 amounted to 764.3 thous. and that in Tallinn was 400.4 thous. The number of population in both cities was by 16% less than in 1989; meanwhile, the number of Vilnius population contracted by 6%.
 Population density displayed moderate changes, i.e. reached 53.4 population per sq. km (in 1989 it was 56.6 sq. km). However, considerable variations in population density can be observed: from 87.1 inhabitants per sq. km in the Vilnius county to 25.8 in the Utena county.

 Population structure by sex showed the most distinct disbalance after the Second World War. Later women’s ratio against men slightly improved, while since 1993 it started worsening again. In 1989 the number of females per 1000 males equalled 1113, whereas that in 2001 totalled 1139.
 Near one quarter of Lithuanian population lived in the Vilnius county (the importance of the Vilnius city should be noted), one fifth of the population is concentrated in the Kaunas city (the influence on the number of population was exerted by the Kaunas city). The lowest number of population was indicated in Taurage, Telsiai, Utena, Alytus and Marijampole counties. The share of the population in the mentioned counties totalled from 3.9 to 5.4% of the total number of population. The biggest share of population fell per Vilnius district municipality (88 586 inhabitants), whereas population of Lazdijai, Skuodas, Kupiskis, Pakruojis, Ignalina, Moletai, Zarasai and Sirvintos districts was even less than 30 thous.
 The males to females ratio by county displayed uneven character. The largest females’ ratio per 1000 males was in Vilnius, Kaunas and Panevezys counties (particularly in Kaunas, Vilnius and Panevezys cities females substantially outnumbered males); the lowest ratio was observed in Alytus, Marijampole, Telsiai and Utena counties.
 Average age of Lithuanian population reached 37.0, of which males made up 34.6 years and females totalled 39.2 years (in 1989 it was 34.9, 32.7 and 37.0 years, respectively).
 Distribution of the population by sex and age groups (every 5 years) is presented in annexes. An obvious decrease in the number of children under 10 years from 15.5% in 1989 to 11.6% in 2001 was observed. The share of teenagers and youth (10-29 years) also declined from 30.9 to 29.0%, respectively. Another significant change was conveyed by the growth in the number of population over working-age from 18.9% to 20.2%. The share of working-age population showed slight growth due to changes the working-age boundaries. The population ageing process was emphasised by the increase in the number of population over 60 years from 15.7% to 19.3%. The share of the population within these three age groups demonstrated obvious variations by cities and districts.
 Differences are obvious between urban and rural population by age. According to the current Census data, the share of children under 10 is almost equal whereas the share of teenagers and young persons aged 10-29 amounts to 30.0% in urban areas and 27.2% in rural areas. Even more visible changes were manifested for elderly population, i.e. 60 years and over persons in urban areas made up 17.2%, while in rural areas 23.5%.
 Composition of the population by sex and age and its changes after the 1989 census is picturesquely illustrated by the age pyramid. Its peak reflects different mortality result of males and females: the number of females significantly exceeds the number of males. The indent at the bottom has formed due to the lower number of population aged 76–80 as a consequence of war and post-war period. The number of males is also lower in younger age groups. The influence of the post-war period is reflected by the cavity in the 48–52 age-group. These are children born during the exile period, when the first years of exile resulted in particularly high children mortality. Protuberances of the pyramid illustrate high fertility periods observed in 1958–1962 and 1985–1987. The last rise in fertility (1985–1987 m.) is reflected by the protuberance at the bottom of the pyramid. The bottom part of the pyramid picturesquely demonstrates the abrupt fall in fertility.
 The Census recorded the nationality (ethnic origin) as indicated by the respondent. Parents indicated the nationality of their children. According to provisional data Lithuanians accounted for 83.5% of the population, Poles made up 6.7%, Russians 6.3%, Byelorussians 1.2% and the Ukrainians 0.7%. Jews, Germans, Tatars, Latvians and Gipsies made up almost 0.1% of the population each. Other nationalities made up 0.2%, while 0.9% of the population did not indicate their nationality. It should be noted that the 2001 census recorded the highest specific weight of Lithuanians throughout the history of Lithuania.
 Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania make up 99% of the population, citizens of the Russian Federation account for 0.4%, citizens of other countries make up 0.2% and those without citizenship 0.3%, whereas 0.1% of the population did not indicate their citizenship.
 Following the 1923 Census no data on distribution of the population by religious confession were collected. Thus, the 2001 Census questionnaire contained the question about religious confessions in Lithuania.