Demogaphic changes and migration in LAU 2 regions of Lithuania in 2001-2018

Abstract

Depopulation processes started to intensify in Lithuanian peripheral areas in 2004, when Lithuania joined the EU, and increasing emigration was the main factor behind these processes. This paper analyses the main differences between migration processes at LAU 2 level in 2001 and 2018 in relation to the changing demographic structure of the population inside the country. Analysis of data revealed that migration processes played little role in the redistribution of the population at the beginning of the century; however, the intensification of migration at the end of the 2010s resulted in redistribution of Lithuanian residents towards major metropolitan regions. A rapid increase in the share of residents in three metropolitan regions was followed by a decrease in the population in distant peripheries. A decrease in the size of the population was also followed by ageing processes in those areas.