KLAIPEDA COUNTY - Population
One of Lithuania?s most densely populated counties
Klaipeda is one of the largest counties in the country, its population numbering 383 945 or 11 % of the total population in Lithuania at the beginning of 2003. 281 177 (73 % of the population) live in urban areas, with two thirds living in Klaipeda city itself. The resort towns of Palanga and Neringa have populations of 17 610 and 2 408 respectively. At the beginning of 2003, the population density at 74 people per km2 is higher than the national average (53 people per km2). This indicator is higher in Vilnius and Kaunas (87 and 86 people per km2 respectively) counties only. Women account for 53% of the population, with 1126 women per 1000 men.
Klaipeda county is rather specific according to the nationality of population. According to the data of Population Census of 2001, the Lithuanians made up 71 % in the centre of the county Klaipeda as against 83 % in the country as a whole. The next largest group was Russians (11 %). Ukrainians made up 1.3 % and the Belorussians 1.0 %. In other towns and regions of the county share of the Lithuanians was far above the national average.
The age structure of the population here is one of the youngest in the country. With only 13.7% of the population at the beginning of 2003 falling into the over 65-age group, this is one of the lowest figure in Lithuania. However, the county is experiencing a rapid increase in the age of its population. At the beginning of 2000, 12.5% of the population was over 65 years old.
At the beginning of 2003 60.7% of the population were of working age, while 19 % were of non-working age. The number of dependants per 1000 of working age was 646, half of who were pensioners.
The birth rate is slightly higher than the Lithuanian average. After a considerable decrease in 1993, the birth rate has remained unchanged in the last two years. There is a birth rate of 33 births per 1000 women aged between 15 and 49. Children born out of marriage make up one third of the children born, partly due to the decline in marriages, which have decreased by 55 % since 1990. The divorce rate has now stabilised at 3.3 divorces per 1000 population.
At 10.7 deaths per 1000 population in 2002 the mortality rate of the population is the lowest in the country. Female mortality from diseases of the circulatory system is the lowest among the counties. The infant mortality rate is quite high, with 9.3 deaths per 1000 births.
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