Lithuania registers 4,300 fewer births in first half of 2026

Lithuania registered 8,292 births in the first half of 2026, 4,311 fewer than during the same period last year, the Justice Ministry said on Friday, according to LRT.

In the first half of 2025, civil registry offices registered 12,603 children born in Lithuania.

Boys outnumbered girls among this year’s registered births, with 4,241 boys and 4,051 girls. During the first half of last year, 6,240 boys and 6,363 girls were registered.

The largest number of births was registered by the Civil Registry Office of Vilnius City Municipality, with 2,208, compared with 3,866 during the same period last year. Kaunas City Municipality registered 896 births, compared with 1,084 last year, while Klaipėda City Municipality registered 487, compared with 675.

A child’s birth is registered based on an application from both parents or one of them. If the parents cannot submit the application, relatives may also report the birth. The birth must be reported within three months of the child’s birth.

State Data Agency figures show that Lithuania’s resident population fell by 0.1 percent over the year. In 2025, a record-low 17,500 babies were born, 1,600, or 8.4 percent, fewer than in 2024.

The agency has also forecast that slightly more than 2 million people will live in Lithuania in 2100. President Gitanas Nausėda has previously compared the country’s demographic problems to a ticking time bomb.