Lithuania sees 22.6% of adults regularly caring for children under 15

Just over one-fifth of Lithuania’s working-age population regularly cared for children under 15 last year, according to new data from the country’s State Data Agency.

The agency’s Work and Family Life Balance survey found that 22.6% of residents aged 18–74—20.9% of men and 24.3% of women—provided unpaid care for their own or their partner’s children living in the same household for at least several hours per week over the past 1–3 months. An additional 1% cared for children under 15 who lived separately.

Meanwhile, 1.3% of respondents reported regularly looking after grandchildren, regardless of where they lived, while 75.1% said they had no regular childcare responsibilities for children under 15.

Nearly half of parents forgo professional childcare

Among parents of children under 15, 54.7% used professional childcare services such as nurseries, kindergartens, or paid babysitters for all their children. However, 45.3% did not use these services at all or only for some children.

The most common reason (46.1%) was that parents or their partners handled childcare themselves. Other reasons included children being old enough to care for themselves (25.8%), assistance from grandparents or others (7.7%), and cost concerns (4%). A small share (1.5%) cited lack of availability, while 1.1% were dissatisfied with service quality.

Elderly and dependent care

The survey also found that 4.1% of adults provided regular unpaid care for relatives aged 15 or older, including sick, elderly, or disabled family members, at least twice a month for several hours each time. Of these caregivers, 27.8% spent 5–10 hours per week on these duties, while 19% dedicated 40 or more hours weekly.

Work-life balance largely unaffected

Most respondents (84.8%) reported no difficulty balancing work with caregiving responsibilities. Only 14.8% made work adjustments—such as reducing hours, switching jobs, or working remotely—to accommodate care duties.