List of cities in Lithuania explained

In Lithuania, there are 103 cities (in Lithuanian: singular – Lithuanian: miestas, plural – Lithuanian: 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 called Lithuanian: miestelis (plural Lithuanian: miesteliai) which is translated as "towns". Even smaller settlements (villages) are called Lithuanian: kaimas (plural Lithuanian: kaimai). Often the official status is unclear and people refer to both towns and villages as Lithuanian: gyvenvietė (plural Lithuanian: gyvenvietės) which in essence means settlement.

The cities started to form in the 13th–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, cities grew next to big industrial centers, for example Visaginas, Elektrėnai and Naujoji Akmenė. Five cities (Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa, Palanga and Anykščiai) have a special resort status.

Of over 100 cities only 14 have populations of over 20,000. Cities are quite evenly spread out through the territory of Lithuania. At the 2001 census 66.7% of the population lived in cities. During the 2021 census it increased to 68.2% of population.

Cities with over 50,000 inhabitants

	CoA	City	Pronunciation	Population			Change	Granted city rights	County	Municipalities in urban area	Urban area (2024)
				2024	2021	2001
1				602,430		1387			708,627
2		Kaunas	Listen • Info	304,210		1408			410,475
3			Listen • Info	159,403		1257		Klaipėda City Municipality Klaipėda District Municipality	226,676
4			Listen • Info	110,463		1589		Šiauliai City Municipality Šiauliai District Municipality	151,026
5			Listen • Info	86,606		1837		Panevėžys City Municipality Panevėžys District Municipality	121,977
6			Listen • Info	51,353		1581			76,815

Cities between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants

	CoA	City	Pronunciation	Population			Change)	Granted city rights	County	Municipality
				2024	2021	2001
1			Listen • Info	36,704		1792		Marijampolė Municipality
2		Mažeikiai	Listen • Info	33,377		1924		Mažeikiai District Municipality
3		Utena	Listen • Info	27,763		1599		Utena District Municipality
4			Listen • Info	26,838		1864		Jonava District Municipality
5			Listen • Info	23,362		1590		Kėdainiai District Municipality
6		Telšiai	Listen • Info	22,024		1791		Telšiai District Municipality
7		Tauragė	Listen • Info	21,216		1924		Tauragė District Municipality
8		Ukmergė	Listen • Info	20,928		1486		Ukmergė District Municipality

Cities between 5,000 and 20,000 inhabitants

		City !	Pronunciation (audio help)	Population (2024)	Population (2021)	Population (2001)	width=70px	Granted city rights !	County	Municipality
1		Visaginas	Listen • Info	19,330	19,446	29,554	1977		Visaginas Municipality
2		Palanga	Listen • Info	18,066	16,746	17,623	1791		Palanga City Municipality
3		Plungė	Listen • Info	17,259	17,543	23,436	1792		Plungė District Municipality
4		Kretinga	Listen • Info	16,927	17,249	21,423	1609		Kretinga District Municipality
5		Šilutė	Listen • Info	16,002	15,952	21,476	1941		Šilutė District Municipality
6		Radviliškis	Listen • Info	15,518	15,103	20,339	1923		Radviliškis District Municipality
7		Gargždai	Listen • Info	15,510	15,065	15,212	1792		Klaipėda District Municipality
8		Druskininkai	Listen • Info	12,978	12,908	18,233	1893		Druskininkai Municipality
9		Elektrėnai	Listen • Info	12,536	11,255	14,050	1962		Elektrėnai Municipality
10		Jurbarkas	Listen • Info	11,455	10,186	13,797	1611		Jurbarkas District Municipality
11		Rokiškis	Listen • Info	11,388	11,770	16,746	1920		Rokiškis District Municipality
12		Kuršėnai	Listen • Info	10,570	10,916	14,197	1946		Šiauliai District Municipality
13		Biržai	Listen • Info	10,238	10,734	15,262	1589		Biržai District Municipality
14		Vilkaviškis	Listen • Info	10,182	10,286	13,283	1660		Vilkaviškis District Municipality
15		Garliava	Listen • Info	10,035	10,366	13,322	1958		Kaunas District Municipality
16		Grigiškės	Listen • Info	9,829	9,950	11,448	1958		Vilnius City Municipality
17		Lentvaris	Listen • Info	9,589	9,713	11,773	1946		Trakai District Municipality
18		Raseiniai	Listen • Info	9,553	9,865	12,541	1492–1506		Raseiniai District Municipality
19		Prienai	Listen • Info	8,773	8,796	11,353	1609		Prienai District Municipality
20		Anykščiai	Listen • Info	8,534	8,697	11,958	1516		Anykščiai District Municipality
21		Kaišiadorys	Listen • Info	8,480	8,380	10,002	1946		Kaišiadorys District Municipality
22		Joniškis	Listen • Info	8,437	8,612	11,329	1616		Joniškis District Municipality
23		Naujoji Akmenė	Listen • Info	8,044	7,985	12,345	1792		Akmenė District Municipality
24		Varėna	Listen • Info	7,866	8,202	10,845	1946		Varėna District Municipality
25		Kelmė	Listen • Info	7,344	7,688	10,900	1947		Kelmė District Municipality
26		Šalčininkai	Listen • Info	6,825	6,857	6,722	1956		Šalčininkai District Municipality
27		Pasvalys	Listen • Info	6,288	6,451	8,709	1946		Pasvalys District Municipality
28		Kupiškis	Listen • Info	6,107	6,218	8,451	1791		Kupiškis District Municipality
29		Zarasai	Listen • Info	5,851	6,077	8,365	1843		Zarasai District Municipality
30		Trakai	Listen • Info	5,720	5,426	5,725	1409		Trakai District Municipality
31		Širvintos	Listen • Info	5,650	5,827	7,273	1950		Širvintos District Municipality
32		Molėtai	Listen • Info	5,611	5,782	7,221	1956		Molėtai District Municipality
33		Kazlų Rūda	Listen • Info	5,457	5,590	7,401	1950		Kazlų Rūda Municipality
34		Šakiai	Listen • Info	5,348	5,462	6,795	1776		Šakiai District Municipality
35		Skuodas	Listen • Info	5,231	5,508	7,896	1572		Skuodas District Municipality

Cities between 1,000 and 5,000 inhabitants

		City !	Pronunciation (audio help)	Population (2024)	Population (2021)	Population (2001)	width=70px	Granted city rights !	County	Municipality
1		Ignalina	Listen • Info	4,843	5,106	6,591	1950		Ignalina District Municipality
2		Pabradė	Listen • Info	4,636	4,918	6,525	1946		Švenčionys District Municipality
3		Šilalė	Listen • Info	4,605	4,729	6,281	1950		Šilalė District Municipality
4		Švenčionėliai	Listen • Info	4,536	4,748	6,923	1920		Švenčionys District Municipality
5		Nemenčinė	Listen • Info	4,495	4,831	5,892	1955		Vilnius District Municipality
6		Pakruojis	Listen • Info	4,487	4,594	6,057	1950		Pakruojis District Municipality
7		Švenčionys	Listen • Info	4,292	4,448	5,684	1800		Švenčionys District Municipality
8		Neringa	Listen • Info	4,265	3,609	2,386	1961		Neringa Municipality
9		Vievis	Listen • Info	4,135	4,311	5,303	1950		Elektrėnai Municipality
10		Kalvarija	Listen • Info	3,939	3,982	5,090	1791		Kalvarija Municipality
11		Kybartai	Listen • Info	3,871	4,126	6,556	1947		Vilkaviškis District Municipality
12		Lazdijai	Listen • Info	3,817	4,016	5,140	1957		Lazdijai District Municipality
13		Rietavas	Listen • Info	3,144	3,234	3,979	1792		Rietavas Municipality
14		Birštonas	Listen • Info	3,011	3,072	3,225	1518?		Birštonas Municipality
15		Žiežmariai	Listen • Info	2,989	3,158	3,884	1792		Kaišiadorys District Municipality
16		Eišiškės	Listen • Info	2,734	2,908	3,765	1950		Šalčininkai District Municipality
17		Ariogala	Listen • Info	2,591	2,743	3,697	1792		Raseiniai District Municipality
18		Šeduva	Listen • Info	2,367	2,421	3,400	1654		Radviliškis District Municipality
19		Akmenė	Listen • Info	2,294	2,355	3,140	1792		Akmenė District Municipality
20		Venta	Listen • Info	2,150	2,250	3,412	1978		Akmenė District Municipality
21		Viekšniai	Listen • Info	2,133	2,249	2,270	1791		Mažeikiai District Municipality
22		Rūdiškės	Listen • Info	1,889	1,985	2,559	1958		Trakai District Municipality
23		Tytuvėnai	Listen • Info	1,759	1,850	2,851	1956		Kelmė District Municipality
24		Vilkija	Listen • Info	1,694	1,762	2,338	1792		Kaunas District Municipality
25		Ežerėlis	Listen • Info	1,580	1,640	2,051	1956		Kaunas District Municipality
26		Pagėgiai	Listen • Info	1,540	1,576	2,393	1923		Pagėgiai Municipality
27		Gelgaudiškis	Listen • Info	1,497	1,572	2,029	1958		Šakiai District Municipality
28		Skaudvilė	Listen • Info	1,331	1,427	2,140	1950		Tauragė District Municipality
29		Kudirkos Naumiestis	Listen • Info	1,305	1,381	1,997	1643		Šakiai District Municipality
30		Žagarė	Listen • Info	1,226	1,326	2,312	1924		Joniškis District Municipality
31		Priekulė	Listen • Info	1,223	1,245	1,725	1948		Klaipėda District Municipality
32=		Linkuva	Listen • Info	1,218	1,283	1,797	1950		Pakruojis District Municipality
32=		Salantai	Listen • Info	1,218	1,272	1,942	1746		Kretinga District Municipality
34		Ramygala	Listen • Info	1,183	1,241	1,733	1957
35		Simnas	Listen • Info	1,176	1,247	1,980	1626		Alytus District Municipality
36		Veisiejai	Listen • Info	1,022	1,141	1,762	1956		Lazdijai District Municipality
37		Jieznas	Listen • Info	1,004	1,047	1,476	1956		Prienai District Municipality

Remaining cities in Lithuania

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.

Cities by compass direction reference

City !	Pronunciation (audio help)	Number by the size (2024)	width=70px	County !	Municipality
	Šalčininkai	Listen • Info	40		Šalčininkai District Municipality
			1		Vilnius City Municipality Vilnius District Municipality
	Širvintos	Listen • Info	45		Širvintos District Municipality
	Ukmergė	Listen • Info	14		Ukmergė District Municipality
		Listen • Info	5		Panevėžys City Municipality Panevėžys District Municipality
	Pasvalys	Listen • Info	41		Pasvalys District Municipality

See also

• List of towns in Lithuania (Lithuanian: plural – miesteliai, singular – miestelis)
• List of Lithuanian cities in other languages
• Administrative divisions of Lithuania
• Counties (Lithuanian: singular – apskritis, plural – apskritys)
• Municipalities (Lithuanian: plural – savivaldybės, singular – savivaldybė)
• Elderships (or wards) (eldership, ward) (Lithuanian: plural – seniūnijos, singular – seniūnija).
• Seniūnaitija (sub-eldership)

Notes and sources

• 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.
• 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

• On April 8, 2003 Tyruliai lost city status and became a town
• 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).

Notes and References

1. https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/TAIS.197361 Nutarimas Dėl gyvenamosios vietovės pavadinimo pakeitimo