“Human Development Report Lithuania: Opportunities for Youth and Human Development” (UNDP) 2001

Opportunities
for Youth and Human
Development

December 2001, Vilnius

United Nations Development Programme Social Policy Unit

The popularity of the concept of human development is growing with every
year. It is now well known to scholars and politicians, and also to society at
large. The growing interest in human development in society proves that the
ultimate goal of Lithuania’s policy of development should be to improve the
quality of people’s lives.
The Lithuanian Human Development Report 2001 is the seventh publica-
tion financially and conceptually supported by the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme in Lithuania. This year, it focuses on prospects and opportu-
nities in life for young people. The younger years are a complex period in life,
young people’s personalities are being formed, and they are beginning to have
an impact on society. During this period a young person encounters a lot of
problems that cannot always be dealt with individually. Do favourable pre-
conditions exist in Lithuania that encourage young people to form socially
active, moral personalities? Do they enjoy enough opportunities to feel fully
integrated into society? Do they feel secure? All these problems are our concern.
The participation of the younger generation in society is particularly impor-
tant in a period of transition in which societal values, norms of behaviour and
lifestyles are changing rapidly.
I believe that this publication will attract the attention of scholars, politicians
and society in general to the complex problems that are facing young people,
and will help to find ways of dealing with them as well as encourage further
discussion on sustainable human development.
As in the past, this year’s report offers views of independent experts that do not
necessarily coincide with the official position of the government.

Vilija Blinkeviciute
Minister of Social Security and Labour

Production team

Editors
Dr. Jolanta Rimkutë, Dr. Irina Voloðèiuk

Researchers and experts
Dr. Rasa Aliðauskienë, Jonas Kairys, Dr. Romas Lazutka, Dr. Arûnas Liubðys,
Dr. Gediminas Navaitis, Audra Mikalauskaitë, Dr. Violeta Rimkevièienë, Gintautas
Sakalauskas, Dr. Margarita Starkevièiûtë, Dr. Nijolë Veèkienë, Dr. Laimutë Þilinskienë

Department of Statistics
Aldona Ablingienë, Regina Deveikytë, Virginija Eidukienë, Vitalija Motiekaitienë

UNDP Lithuania
Cihan Sultanoglu, Aase Fosshaug Palme, Mathieu Ryckewaert

Social Policy Unit
Jurgita Baltramiejûnienë

Supplementary materials
Þivilë Janukonienë, Þydra Burokaitë, Dr. Vida Kanopienë, Albertas Ðlekys

Editors of English text
Howard Jarvis

Translators
Kristina Kaèkuvienë, Gaila Mucenekas, Rasa Sakalaitë

Lay-out, cover page design
Arnoldas Puikis

The cover page design shows a reproduction of the painting “Niekada nesutiktø draugø
veidai” by Vilmantas Marcinkevièius

The report is an independent publication. The analysis and recommendations pre-
sented in the report do not necessarily coincide with the views of the UNDP or the
government of Lithuania.

All data in this report are provided by the Department of Statistics, unless otherwise stated in the text.

Contents

Executive summary 7

From the editors 15
Jolanta Rimkutë, Irina Voloðèiuk

I Youth and society 19
Rasa Aliðauskienë, Laima Þilinskienë

II Economy 27
Margarita Starkevièiûtë

III Education 33
Violeta Rimkevièienë

IV Youth and the labour market 39
Nijolë Veèkienë

V Standard of living: children, youth and poverty 47
Romas Lazutka

VI Family 57
Gediminas Navaitis

VII Social assistance to families 65
Audra Mikalauskaitë

VIII Health 71
Arûnas Liubðys, Jonas Kairys

IX Juvenile crime 81
Gintautas Sakalauskas

X Rights of children and youth 91

Conclusions 99

The principal human development indicators 103

6
Lithuanian Human Development Report 2001

Executive summary

From the Editors the development of society. Young people differ as a social
This is the seventh national annual report financially sup- group from other age groups, however. The differences be-
ported by the United Nations Development Programme come evident when comparing social and political behaviour,
(UNDP) in Lithuania since 1995. As in previous years, the attitudes and employment opportunities between age groups.
report robustly adheres to the sustainable human develop- Young people are more liberal, socially mobile and receptive to
ment concept formulated by the UNDP in 1990 and is pre- change. Among people under 30, 60% support the market
pared by a team of independent, locally based scholars. economy. However, the economic and social polarisation of
This year's report is devoted to young people, to the prob- society determines the increasing differentiation in young
lems they face and to their opportunities, and to their position people and conflict between the generations. In 1999, the
in society as a social group. Both problems and opportunities most important spheres of life for young people were family,
are understood from a human development standpoint, be- employment and education. The importance of education is
yond tangible material opportunities or opportunities related increasing among young people.
to livelihood. Apart from education, employment and secu- The most important issues for Lithuanian society, accord-
rity, these include societal and spiritual issues for young people ing to young people, are related to economic, physical and
and opportunities to share important societal values with other psychological security. Young Lithuanians feel poorly inte-
generations, to feel themselves a part of society so that they can grated into society. They often feel ignored or unprepared to
govern principles of solidarity and respect not only the mate- compete on the labour market. However, they do not show a
rial but also the spiritual needs of all generations. great deal of interest in overcoming this social alienation. In
The message of the report conveys the idea that opportu- 2000, more than half of young people said that they did not
nities for young people today are opportunities for all mem- know about any organisations established specifically for them.
bers of society tomorrow. All around the world young people Participation in NGOs, meanwhile, is on the wane.
face enormous challenges regardless of their age and status in The main concern for young people is unemployment
society. The chances young people as social group have for and job security. Among the main obstacles to starting a
success depend both on the attitudes of society and on youth- private business, young people cited a lack of money (65%)
orientated state policy in education, employment and human and an insufficient legal basis (31%). Young people are ex-
rights. In Lithuania, young people have so far not been enjoy- pressing an intense and increasing desire to work or study in
ing the same opportunities as their contemporaries in devel- foreign countries.
oped countries. Young people do not feel themselves a re- In seeking to better integrate young people into society,
spected and cared-for social group. If an integrated and tar- political and economic measures are necessary, targeted towards
geted effort by the whole of society is not made to improve the different groups of young people. More attention should be
situation, Lithuania will continue to let its young people slip paid to young people who neither study nor work. They are the
away through emigration, crime and drug addiction. group most vulnerable to social exclusion and so are the most
difficult to reach. Young people who study are the most active,
I both from a political point of view and as a part of the labour
Youth and society market. They should therefore be encouraged to take part in
To socially define the concept of ‘young people’ is compli- decision-making processes involving issues related to themselves,
cated. It depends on many factors, which include the level of and even more so in addressing global social problems.

7
Executive summary

Young Lithuanians do not differ greatly from their con- come of the small- and medium-sized enterprises that pre-
temporaries in Latvia and Estonia in terms of social charac- vail on the domestic market. The number of registered small-
teristics and orientation. They associate Europe with the and medium-sized enterprises that are not operating grew
future and with cultural development. by 14% in 2000 compared to 1999.
The negative impact of socio-economic reforms on dif-
II ferent population groups, including young people, could
Economy have been mitigated by state investment in the social sector.
In 2000, having laid the foundation for a market economy, Instead the government halved public investment. State in-
Lithuania started a new stage in its development – integration vestment was therefore smaller in Lithuania, at 1.5% of GDP,
into the European Union (EU). GDP grew by 3.9%. The than in Latvia and Estonia, at 3.5% and 3.8% of GDP,
major driving force behind the economic growth was a 20.5% respectively. In 2000, funds allocated for health care stood
increase in the export of goods and services. Exports to the EU at 4.4% of GDP, which is half the EU average. Expenditure
in 2000 grew by 21.2%, making up 47.9% of the total ex- for education was 6.64% of GDP, lagging behind Poland
ports. and Latvia (above 7% of GDP). Human capital is being
However, a relatively low standard of living (GDP per driven out of Lithuania. Young people were the most sig-
capita barely reached 35% of the EU average), increasing nificant of those population groups who went abroad to
structural unemployment and high unemployment among seek employment in 2000.
the young remain acute problems. Generally speaking, youth The fundamental problems detrimental to the appro-
problems are determined by such factors as the macroeco- priate financing of social programmes were related to an
nomic environment, the structure of the economy, state in- unfavourable pattern of taxation, and the rapid ageing of
vestment in social capital and agreement between the inter- the population. The number of people aged 60 and over per
ests of different generations and population groups within 100 children under the age of 15 reached 92 by the end of
state policy. 2000, growing by 1.6 times over the previous 10 years. The
One of the barriers that prevented young people from State Social Insurance Fund’s (SODRA’s) difficult financial
making use of their abilities was the fact that the majority of situation negatively influenced social welfare opportunities
newly created jobs was in the services sector, which is rela- for young people. Its revenue constraints resulted in a short-
tively badly paid (surveys show that 52.2% of young people age of funds that had to be remitted to the state’s health and
are employed in services), or in traditional branches of in- employment funds, which hampered the implementation
dustry (22.6%), where highly skilled labour is not in de- of employment programmes. The supply of jobs to young
mand. Skill-intensive industry produces only 3.5% of total people has fallen also because the pension age was increased.
value added, while the same indicator in the EU member As macroeconomic stability was achieved at the expense
states was 15-18%. The demand for highly skilled labour is of economic growth, it was not capable of ensuring an in-
restricted by a very small number of high-tech industries in crease in the income of the population and the reduction of
the total industrial output, at only 4.4%, and the large share structural unemployment. In this rapidly changing world, a
of low-technology industries, at 73%. Bearing in mind that country’s or an individual’s success depends on how quickly
the numbers of scientists, R&D personnel and students in innovations are introduced, how well young people are edu-
Lithuania are similar to EU and candidate countries, the cated, how many skills they have and how much knowledge
conclusion may be made that labour skills, particularly the is gained.
skills of young people who have acquired an education dur-
ing the years of independence, were not being used to the III
full. Education
A large number of jobs was created in small enterprises. Reforms in education between 1999 and 2001 have been
Young people could have created jobs for themselves by marked by activities and achievements focused on the fol-
setting up, for example, small new technology-based enter- lowing priorities: the modernisation of learning; raising the
prises. Such efforts, however, were hindered by an inad- quality of education; the improvement of conditions in the
equately small supply of venture capital on the market. An education and learning of social pedagogues; and the
analysis of start-up capital showed that in 89% of cases the harmonisation of the general education system. An impor-
personal savings of owners were used for starting a personal tant step in laying the foundations for sustainable improve-
enterprise. Seeking fiscal balance by cutting state expendi- ment in the quality of education has been setting up a frame-
ture reduced domestic demand and, consequently, the in- work for early and pre-school education. The number of

8

children attending pre-school institutions fell by nearly three Pupils should have access to quality basic education and
times between 1991 and 2000. In 2000, 41.1% of chil- have equal ‘starting’ opportunities, accessibility to secondary
dren of pre-school age attended kindergarten, of whom education and vocational training, and the chance to return
11.8% were in rural areas and 58.0% were in urban areas. to education at any time in their lives.
Children from rural and urban areas have unequal opportu-
nities to prepare for primary school. IV
Between 1999 and 2000, basic education was prolonged Youth and the labour market
from nine to ten years. The specialisation of basic education On the one hand young people determine the prospects for
was finalised between 2000 and 2001. In the academic year the labour market. Yet on the other they are the most vulner-
2000/2001, in the final grades of secondary school, pupils able social group to labour market fluctuations. Generally
could choose between an exact, humanitarian or technical speaking, the greatest chance of employment for young
education. Legislation on higher education was adopted that people comes from services and industry. However, 17.3%
legitimised colleges as non-university tertiary schools. of young people are employed in agriculture. The reduction
The state monopoly in education continues to further of employment in agriculture is an important prerequisite
diminish under the pressure of the increasing number of for EU membership and special programmes aimed at labour
private educational institutions that are emerging. Since 1999, mobility should be implemented. A relatively high propor-
the range of private educational institutions has changed tion (11%) of young people aged 20-29 years belongs to the
qualitatively. category of specialists (engineers, teachers and doctors, for
Accessibility to education remains an acute problem for example) compared to those who are older than 30, of whom
all educational levels. The disproportion in primary, basic 15% are specialists. Qualifications among young people liv-
and secondary schools between rural and urban areas along ing in Lithuania’s cities are significantly higher than those of
with a lack of mobility deprive pupils from rural areas of the young people in rural areas, and their work is better paid.
opportunity to enrol in different types of education past The work young people do is paid nearly 40% less than the
basic school. For students of specialised secondary and higher national average.
education who move to study from rural areas or small towns, According to the labour exchange, the number of un-
settlement grants and targeted loans and stipends should be employed young people increases every year. On 1 Novem-
provided on a means-tested basis. ber 2001, the level of unemployment among young people
Remaining in the same grade for the second or third time was 18.9% (total 12.0%). On average, every fourth person
is a prerequisite to dropping out of school. The total number registered with the labour exchange is under 29. According
of pupils who repeated courses between 1995/1996 and to the labour force survey, however, the actual unemploy-
2000/2001 was approximately 34,800. This demanded ap- ment level among young people is twice as high as the regis-
proximately 10 million LTL in additional funding annu- tered one.
ally. ‘Repeat’ pupils from the sixth and ninth grades usually The level of unemployment is increasing among young
drop out of basic school altogether. A record of drop-outs is men. The insufficient level of education and vocational train-
kept by the Ministry of Education and Science and the De- ing or their disparity with labour market demand often be-
partment of Statistics. However, the different methodology comes the reason for unemployment among young people.
used for these calculations does not allow for accurate assess- Lithuanian Labour Exchange statistics indicate that at the
ments of the situation and targeted policy measures. Accord- beginning of 2001 the proportion of unemployed young
ing to the Department of Statistics, approximately 4-5% of people with a higher education was only 2.8% and with
children aged 7-15 drop out of school annually. The Minis- specialised secondary 8.3%. The proportion of young un-
try of Education and Science has indicated that in 2000, employed people without vocational training was 41.7%.
689 children dropped out of basic school (of whom 255 Young people with a low level of education are exposed to a
were disabled). The problem of dropping out should be high risk of long-term unemployment. According to the
related not only to compulsory education, but also to the labour force survey, the long-term unemployed in the sec-
necessity to provide opportunities to re-enter the education ond quarter of 2001 accounted for 58% of the total number
system and be involved in life-long education. of unemployed. Young people account for approximately a
According to the Ministry of Education and Science, third of all the long-term unemployed. There are twice as
9% of the total number of pupils in 2000/2001 had special many men as there are women among the young long-term
needs. Only 1.1% of all these pupils were enrolled in special unemployed.
educational institutions.

9
Executive summary

The problem of youth employment is much wider than and stipends (41%); have three or more children (37.6%);
any labour market policy or approaches to the allocation of and where the breadwinner is a farmer (35%). In 2000,
the Employment Fund. A system of measures aimed at im- 31% of children under 18 were below the poverty line.
proving employment opportunities among young people More than 20% of children of pre-school age are living in
should include the advancement of basic education poverty. Young people and children (particularly of a pre-
emphasising the importance of knowledge about labour school age) are more vulnerable to poverty than other age
market development, and strengthening the motivation to groups.
acquire competitive qualifications. In 2000, 64% of respondents of the household budget
survey attributed themselves to the middle-class and slightly
V more than one-third to the poor.
Standard of living: children, youth and poverty
Economic growth had no noticeable positive effect on the VI
average standard of living of the population in 2000. Family
Monthly disposable income per household member fell be- Under the influence of the continuing rapid transformation
low the level of 1998 and reached 415 LTL. The real wage of society significant changes are occurring in family rela-
fell by 1.9%. The decrease in income led to a worsening of tionships and family models. During the last decade many
the consumption pattern. The proportion of the total con- stereotypes of contemporary family models were developed.
sumer expenditure on food in 2000 was 44.4%. The poor- Changes in family behaviour and family attitudes were par-
est households allocated 64% of their total expenditure on ticularly evident among young families (couples younger
food, and the wealthiest 31%. In 2000, consumer expendi- than 30).
ture per capita of the wealthiest docile was 7.9 times higher The traditional family model recognises only marriages
than that of the poorest. (8.1 in 1999). that have been officially confirmed in one way or another.
The standard of living in households with children is on At the present time the incidence of unregistered cohabita-
average lower than that of households without children. In tion is increasing, which indirectly gives evidence of the grow-
2000 disposable income per capita in households with one ing number of extra-marital children registered by both par-
child was slightly higher than the national average, and in ents. The registration of cohabiting couples came into effect
households with three or more children it was 60% lower. in July 2001.
Among the factors determining the standard of living of The roles of men and women as fully worthy members
young people are the demographic composition of a house- of society used to be inseparable from living in a family as a
hold, the source of income, the occupation of household married couple. Today approximately 40% of women aged
members and place of residence. 30 and older do not have a husband and are single, wid-
The proportion of young people’s income from business owed or divorced. In the traditional family model marriages
and freelance activities in 2000 almost halved. The propor- cannot be dissolved or broken off. The divorce level in
tion of social benefits, on the contrary, grew significantly. Lithuania is relatively high and exceeds the highest divorce
Young people are becoming more and more dependent on levels of countries in the European Union. Young families,
social and private support. as in the families of other age groups, are divorcing more
The average income of the 18-24 age bracket exceeds often (65-70%) on the initiative of the woman. Nearly one-
500 LTL per household member per month and is higher fifth of young couples that divorce do not have children,
than the national average. If per capita income in the 18-19 60% of couples are raising one child, and the remaining
age group is 561 LTL, it falls to 425 LTL in the 25-29 age couples have two or more children. Overall, every eighth
group. It further decreases to 368 LTL in the 30-34 age family in Lithuania consists of only one parent, usually the
bracket. The main reason for such a change in income is the mother.
number of dependants. The traditional family model recognises sexual relations
According to the relative poverty line, the poverty level only within marriage. If in 1990, 7% of all children were
in Lithuania in 2000 was 16%. The highest poverty level born out of wedlock, in 2000 the proportion increased to
was in rural areas (27.6%) and lowest in the cities (12%). 22.6%. In rural areas, mothers aged up to 30 give birth to
Approximately 560,000 people lived below the poverty line. 23.8% of children out of wedlock, and in urban areas 19.5%.
While the poverty line in 2000 was 260 LTL, the poor In a traditional family model, children are perceived as
spent on average 201 LTL. Poverty was much higher than an essential part of the family. Between 1990 and 2000, the
the national average among households that live on benefits birth rate decreased markedly from 2.02 to 1.35.

10

The traditional family identifies the role of the man as tion of activities between the different types of care institu-
heading the family and as having more responsibility for its tions. The establishment of alternative care within families
well-being. Today the absolute majority of families are ‘two- was objectively slowed down by the municipalities, which,
career’ families, where both husband and wife are profes- in attempting to provide assistance to children growing in
sionally active. The role of the husband as head of the family problematic families, preferred an expansion of services of-
is confirmed by approximately 6-8% of families. fered in institutions instead of developing outside services
Obviously, during such abrupt and deep societal trans- for families.
formation families lack an active and supportive state policy. At the start of 2001 there were approximately 20,000
Today the preparation for family life from an educational children with disabilities, 44% of them receiving social ben-
perspective is contradictory. A teaching programme called efits. However, services provided for children with disabili-
Family Ethics and Psychology, which encompassed a sys- ties are not only organised through social assistance and so-
tematic way of teaching important general information and cial services, but also through the education and training
skills about family life, was abolished. Psychologists provided system. Care services provided at institutions dominated the
consultations for separating couples in all civil metrication social services pattern for children with disabilities. They
departments for free. The services were dissembled when constituted 65%, and out-of-institution services accounted
Vilnius municipality stopped financing the last psychologist for 35%. Out of every 100 children, approximately 15 chil-
at the Civic Metrication Department in 2001. dren receive the latter services. However, this proportion dif-
fers for each municipality.
VII The narrow view of family assistance from the state as
Social assistance to families being the provision of monetary benefits should be changed,
The family is the main ‘cell’ of society, on which the future because this approach is not conducive to family
of a nation relies. State social assistance to families should be sustainability. Family policy should be inseparable from
targeted at strengthening family stability and sustainability. employment policy and housing. Young people value em-
So far the theoretical foundation for policy making in the ployment and the family most. This attitude should be sup-
field of social assistance to families as a societal activity has ported by a long-term strategy on family development as
not been formulated. Social assistance for families raising well as by family policies backed up by funding and invest-
children continues to be oriented mostly toward the payment.
ment of cash benefits, rather than to the provision of social
services or addressing employment and housing needs. So- VIII
cial assistance benefits have a very significant impact on the Health
standard of living of families receiving them; 56% of their From 1990 to 2000, the annual number of births decreased
income comes from social assistance benefits provided in from 56,900 to 34,100. The mortality rate continued its
various forms. However, in narrowing family assistance to downward slide to 10.5 per 1,000 people. The positive
cash benefits, it becomes more and more concentrated on changes in mortality conditioned an increase in average life
the most socially disadvantaged families and does not con- expectancy at birth to 72.87 years of age (67.62 for men
tribute to the sustainability of a family. and 77.93 for women). Diseases of the cardiovascular sys-
Since 1995 the number of socially disadvantaged fami- tem caused 53.8% of the overall number of deaths, onco-
lies has increased by 1.9 times and the number of children logical diseases were responsible for 19.8% and non-medical
being raised in these families grew by 57%. Indirectly this causes for 13% of the total deaths. Non-medical causes are
provides evidence that state family assistance policy insuffi- the most common cause of death among children and young
ciently contributes to the preconditions for family people. Deaths by non-medical causes were higher among
sustainability. There is a high risk that the children from boys than girls (165.8 and 29.0, respectively, per 100,000
these families will be neglected and not properly cared for population), suicide among boys was 55.2, and among girls
during their developmental period crucial for socialisation 9.8, per 100,000 population. Infant mortality continued to
and the formation of personality. fall, reaching 8.5 per 1,000 live births in 2000. Although
Approximately 70% of children in foster care are being Lithuania has the lowest infant mortality of all the countries
cared for by close family relatives. Research shows that in of the former Soviet Union, it lags behind developed coun-
implementing local government reform the decentralisation tries where infant mortality rarely exceeds 5 per 1,000 live
of children’s homes and special educational institutions was births. In some regions and towns (Radviliðkis, Këdainiai,
carried out without setting a mechanism for the co-ordina- Alytus, Ðvenèioniai, Molëtai, Zarasai districts and the towns

11
Executive summary

of Palanga and Visaginas) infant mortality has considerably this group made up only 17% of the population. If crimes
exceeded the national average for several years (over 18 per committed by people who do not work or attend school
1,000 live births). No targeted research has been made in continue to grow, crimes committed by those who do fell
this area. Women’s mortality during childbirth was 11.8 per dramatically from 6,964 (56% of total crime) to 1,304 (5%)
100,000 live births. The number of birth pathologies con- in 1990 and 2000. Children and young people constituted
stitutes 70.6% of all births. Every fourth woman who gave the biggest proportion not only of the perpetrators of crime
birth was diagnosed as being anaemic. The number of abor- but also its victims.
tions was 69.6 per 100 births in 2000. In 2000, 47% of all convicted people were imprisoned.
There is still no unified database allowing for a thorough A large proportion of the convicts were young people, mainly
and qualitative assessment of morbidity. Compared with young men who on average spend four or five years in con-
1999, there were 20.1% less infectious diseases, 14.3% less finement. In 2000, almost 1,000 juveniles (35%) received
respiratory tract diseases and 4.5% less digestive tract dis- prison sentences in Lithuania. The excessive application of
eases among children. The number of adults and children imprisonment violates the provisions of the United Nations
suffering from tuberculosis is falling. In 2000, the number Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the prin-
of children suffering from active tuberculosis was 16.8 per ciples of criminal policy for children and young people in
100,000 children aged 0-14 (21.9 in 1999). European Union member states. In Lithuania the excessive
Since 1997 the budget has no longer financed medical application of prison sentences to juveniles is mostly precon-
units at school and children go to polyclinics for prophylac- ditioned by legal and administrative factors rather than by
tic examinations and vaccinations. Schoolchildren will be any increase in juvenile crime or its patterns. There is no
less likely to receive regular medical examinations as well as system of effective correctional measures alternative to im-
receive emergency medical assistance at school. prisonment.
In every district there should be guaranteed quality and Moreover, a minor who has committed an offence can
an essential minimum of services. For the majority of health be sent to a special correctional or care establishment on the
care facilities, funding is not assigned for the procurement of grounds of an executive authority decision but not the court’s.
new technology and the repair and maintenance of old equip- This clearly violates the rights of the child declared in the
ment. Health care reforms do not encourage hospitals to Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the Euro-
accept more patients and earn more money. The balancing pean Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Free-
of the health insurance budget should be a top priority for doms. The new Criminal Code opens up greater possibilities
the government. for the administration of alternative correctional measures.
However, organisational decisions and means are insufficient
IX to apply them in practice.
Juvenile crime Lithuania has been in the process of implementing re-
In 2000, compared to 1999, total registered crime grew by form in the juvenile criminal justice system since 1998. The
6.8%, drug-related crimes increased by 33%, and registered common goal of juvenile criminal justice reform was to cut
serious crime decreased by 12.9%. Property-related crime back on repeat crime among juveniles by setting up a hu-
accounts for 80% of the total number of crimes. The num- mane and efficient juvenile criminal justice system. The
ber of solved crimes committed by repeat offenders grew by programme also aimed at improving the legal framework for
27% and made up 46% of the total number of solved crimes. regulating juvenile justice. According to the programme,
One of the key factors behind the growth in crime is an juvenile (family) courts and a network of special depart-
increase in juvenile crime. ments within the criminal police and the Prosecutor’s Office
Every year juveniles commit 14-16% of the total num- will be established.
ber of crimes. Among juvenile criminal offenders, 5% were
female and 95% male. Schoolchildren made up 60% of ju- X
venile offences and those who were neither studying nor Rights of children and youth
working made up 38.1%. Almost two-thirds of juvenile of- The rights of the child are an indispensable part of the over-
fenders acted in groups. However, violent crime, which causes all system of human rights. Children and young people are
a particularly negative reaction in society, accounted for 1.2% one of the most vulnerable groups in society. They are the
of total juvenile crime. only age group in society whose rights, in their content and
In 2000, people aged 18-29 constituted 47% of all actual implementation, completely depend on another so-
people accused of crimes committed in Lithuania, although cial group - adults.

12

Lithuania acceded to the 1989 United Nations Con- integration. According to the Lithuanian Constitution, edu-
vention on the Rights of the Child on 5 January 1992. The cation is compulsory for people up to the age of 16. Often
principles of the Convention stipulate that the government children who drop out of school before the age of 16 are no
should be the central institution responsible for the imple- more subject to compulsory education when they become
mentation of the rights of the child. However, in Lithuania older than 16 despite the fact that they have no education.
the responsibility for the implementation of the rights of This duty should rather be linked to the actual acquisition of
children is distributed among various institutions. At the some level of education (for example, basic education) rather
governmental level there are no institutions left that are di- than to a certain age. The education system should bring up
rectly responsible for the formation of children’s rights policy. not only educated, but also free and democratic individuals.
The newly established institution of the Controller for Pro-
tection of the Rights of the Child plays a very important role Conclusions
in the field of the protection of children’s rights, but it does “Young people are the future of society and the state.” A
not formulate state policy in this field. A Council for state that does not provide young people with essential hu-
Children’s Affairs at the President’s Office was established, man development choices or support them on their way to
whose job it is to inform and advise the president about adulthood will inevitably face socio-economic problems in
various institutions concerned with the rights of children the future. Most youth-related problems are deeply rooted
and their activities. Both at the national and local levels there in intergenerational relations and in the transition between
is a lack of comprehensive statistical data on children that education, training and the labour market.
could allow for the evaluation and monitoring of the imple- If Lithuania has succeeded in building a market economy,
mentation of children’s rights and mechanisms that can co- it still lags behind EU countries in the transition to a ‘knowl-
ordinate policy. State budget funds allocated to policy in the edge economy’ and investment in social capital. So the de-
field of children’s rights are not based on clear principles or mand for highly skilled labour, which is extremely valuable
procedures. The adoption of new legislation that is more for young people - and consequently the demand for quality
focused on the problems that face children and young people education - is insufficient. Numerous sociological surveys
is an important achievement in the field of ensuring their have revealed that more than half of young respondents
rights. In July 2000, the Civil Code was adapted with a have the intention to emigrate or seek employment abroad.
separate book on families and children. However, there is a Young Lithuanians rank job security highly and they
lack of legislation that clearly defines the specific tools, mea- particularly lack labour competitiveness and stability. Ac-
sures and forms of support from the state in implementing cording to the labour exchange, the number of unemployed
policy on young people. young people is increasing every year. The level of unem-
The transition to a market economy is negatively affect- ployment among young people reached 18.9% (total 12.0%)
ing families raising children. This was one of the main rea- on 1 November 2001. Young people account for approxi-
sons hampering the implementation of the principles of the mately a third of all the long-term unemployed. One cannot
Convention, in the opinion of the UN Committee on the predict exactly which qualifications people will need several
Rights of the Child. The physical punishment of children decades hence, but what is known for sure is that the capac-
in both families and institutions is widespread and society ity and the motivation to learn on a continuous basis will
tolerates this. Large numbers of foster children live in become something like a basic skill for everybody.
children’s homes and institutions, and relatively few of them Young people are increasingly trying to combine differ-
are cared for in families. Morbidity among children is high, ent areas of life. But family and work are difficult to combine
and the incidence of tuberculosis is causing particular con- in Lithuania. This is one of the reasons why women who on
cern. A large number of children die as a result of traumas or average are better educated than men dominate in lower-
accidents, in particular road accidents. The large number of paid activities and among those that demand precarious forms
suicides among children and young people in Lithuania is of employment (part-time, a shortened day). In the end the
also reason for concern. Children, particularly those with response of young women is clear - to postpone having chil-
disabilities living in rural areas, do not have access to the dren or reject the idea of children altogether.
same level of health care services and medication as children The future pattern of intergenerational relations has been
living in other locations do. In the past few years the number influenced by income and social disparities. Under these
of children and young people using drugs has increased. circumstances society can hardly expect young people to
The right to education is an important factor that impacts develop a sense of intergenerational solidarity. In seeking to
the human development of young people and their social better integrate them into society, political and economic

13
Executive summary

measures are necessary, targeted towards different groups of tackling youth problems has gained significance and a con-
young people. structive response from society. On 21 November 2001, for
The formulation and approval of a concept on state policy example, the European Commission adopted its White Pa-
for young people was the first step in addressing young per ‘A New Impetus for European Youth’.
people’s problems. It could be stated, however, that a com- From the sustainable human development standpoint,
prehensive and coherent approach to youth problems has however, the personal qualities and knowledge that today’s
not yet been developed, and there is a lack of legislation that young people are developing are not only the most impor-
clearly defines the specific tools, measures and forms of sup- tant ‘resource’ on which Lithuania will rely in the coming
port from the state in implementing youth policy. In this decades. They are a chance for people to lead meaningful
respect Lithuania is far behind the countries of the EU, where lives within the larger European family.

14

From the Editors

The Lithuanian Human Development Report 2001, ested in the problems of society and human development.
subtitled ‘Opportunities for Youth and Human Develop- To meet the requirements of such a wide audience, the edi-
ment’, is the seventh national annual report to be finan- tors decided that the report should provide a thorough un-
cially supported by the United Nations Development derstanding of the situation and give analytical assessments
Programme (UNDP) in Lithuania since 1995. and recommendations where possible. The main argument
As in previous years, the report has been prepared by a in favour of this decision is that recommendations are the
team of independent scholars from Lithuania. The analysis result of an individual opinion that might not necessarily be
of human development topics covered is based on official valuable, while a lack of facts will not allow the reader to
statistics. Its preparation, therefore, would not have been judge it. Many human development issues are complex
possible without the support and contribution of profes- enough to be supplemented by recommendations without
sionals from the Department of Statistics. Colleagues from serious research to back them up. In our opinion, the most
UNDP Lithuania provided useful comments during the draft- compelling advantage of the report is the ease with which
ing of the Report. This year’s report is more focused on readers may develop their own opinions and recommenda-
societal relations and perceptions, and its preparation ben- tions on the basis of contextualised data and analysis.
efited particularly from data obtained from sociological The report is a continuous publication that robustly
surveys and background studies. adheres to the sustainable human development concept
The aim of the report is to empower the reader, which formulated by the UNDP in 1990.
means both to inform and to motivate in the wide sense (to This year's report is devoted to young people, to the prob-
make decisions, change attitudes or alter opinions). One lems and opportunities they face, and to their position in
can conclude with satisfaction that the report has from year society as a social group. Moreover, both problems and oppor-
to year been gradually achieving this multi-dimensional tunities are understood from a human development point,
objective. The report was conducive to the introduction beyond tangible material opportunities, or opportunities re-
into university curricula a discipline called Sustainable lated to livelihood. Apart from education, employment and
Human Development, which has been taught at the security, these include social and spiritual opportunities for
country’s largest universities since 1999. In 2000, lectures children and young people to share important values with
on human development were included in upgrading other generations, to feel that they are a valued part of society.
programmes for the employees of the social departments of The restoration of statehood and democracy and the open-
municipalities and district administrations. ness of the country to the world created many new experi-
Another example of the success of the report is that it has ences for young people unseen during the totalitarian Soviet
broken the ‘ice of silence’ and stirred up public debate on period. At the same time painful structural reforms, increased
the issue of suicide, one of Lithuania’s most pressing social competition on the labour market, growing individualism and
problems. This debate resulted in a programme Lithuania changes in social values sharpened youth-related problems.
adopted on suicide prevention. Moreover, by concisely de- The authors of the report reveal the following alarming facts:
scribing the situation and focusing attention on acute hu- that young people are vulnerable to unemployment; that fami-
man development problems, the report has inspired research lies with young children are exposed to the risk of poverty
on poverty, social exclusion, improving social statistics. more than other groups; that a large number of children drop
Instead of targeting a special group, the report’s reader- out from basic school; and that the driving force behind the
ship is wide and can be identified as educated readers inter- growth in general crime in the country is juvenile delinquency.

15
From the Editors

Brief overview of theoretical basics cars, newspapers or houses, but as choice that is created by
The sustainable human development concept. For many cen- expanding human abilities (to be knowledgeable, to be
turies people have viewed development as a means of im- healthy, to use the Internet and many other more-or-less
proving the quality of life in a broad sense. The idea that essential abilities). Development enables people to build on
development must be judged by the extent it promotes their abilities in order to have more choice, but the choices
‘human good’ goes back to Aristotle: “Wealth is evidently people make are their own concern.
not the good we are seeking, for it is merely useful and for The following principles have been laid at the core of
the sake of something else.” Yet in the 17th century Sir the concept of sustainable human development:
William Petty, one of the first development economists (and productivity - human development has two important as-
the 'grandfather' of national income), distinguished such pects, the formation and the use of capabilities. The prin-
development factors as “common safety” and “every man’s ciple of productivity in this respect means enabling the en-
particular happiness”. vironment (the environment in a broad sense - economic,
The modern concept of human development is there- political, social, natural) to allow people to achieve their
fore not a new invention. It re-establishes a well-known, maximum potential and use their acquired capabilities for
but for some time obscured, approach that embraces every productive purposes. This principle is obviously wider than
aspect of society, not just the economy, putting people at simply investing in people (education, health, housing).
the centre of development. Contrary to the human development approach, growth
models regard productivity in terms of human capital as the
The original definition of human development means of development.
Human development is a process for enlarging people’s equality - in opportunities (not in results that depend on
choices. In principle these choices can be infinite and individual abilities), which implies that all people irrespec-
can change over time. But at all levels of development, tive of gender, nationality, place of residence or age have
the three most essential are for people to lead a long and equal opportunities to lead a productive and freely chosen
life. This postulate is based on the universality of a claim to
healthy life, to acquire knowledge and to have access to
life for everyone.
those resources needed for a decent standard of living. If
empowerment - giving people greater opportunities (through
these essential choices are not available, many other op-
education, employment, democracy) to participate in eco-
portunities remain inaccessible.
nomic, social, cultural and political processes and to take part
But human development does not end there. Addi-
in decision making. Unlike welfare or basic needs approaches,
tional choices, highly valued by many people, range which make people the passive recipients of benefits and
from political, economic and social freedoms to oppor- basic social services, ‘development by the people’ in the hu-
tunities for being creative and productive, and enjoying man development paradigm envisages an active position.
personal self-respect and guaranteed human rights. sustainability - which in a broad sense refers to human op-
portunities (not just the renewal of natural resources and
From the UNDP’s 1990 Human Development Report environmental protection). This principle implies that soci-
ety should preserve its capacity to ensure well-being not
Human development values human life itself, but not only for the current generation but for the generation to
because people can produce material goods. People are re- come. For example, the neglect of people’s health and edu-
garded as the end of the process of development and its cation, or the violation of their basic rights and freedoms
means of existence. In actual fact, people-centered develop- may have no less a devastating effect on the lives of current
ment means the development of the people, for the people, and future generations than mining out natural resources or
by the people. Enlarging people’s choices (‘choices’ in pref- a mounting external debt.
erence to ‘capabilities’) conveys the idea of individuals tak-
From Human Development: Concept and Trends, SPU / UNDP,
ing charge of their own lives. Choice is wider than capabil-
Vilnius, 1999
ity. It is understood not as choice among different models of

In times of deep social change young people experience con- social problems and feel responsible for the rest of society.
tradictory and conflicting moods. On the one hand, they sup- Indeed, they show indifference to other members of society
port market reforms more than older people do, but on the and defend their own interests. In this respect, it is worth
other the majority are convinced that the state should provide mentioning the opinion expressed by young respondents to a
employment for them. Young people feel neglected by soci- sociological survey that they should be provided with em-
ety, yet they acknowledge that they are not ready to consider ployment opportunities first in times of growing unemploy-

16

Students as a mirror for the level of development in society. to the capacities of the available staff of lecturers and profes-
In the modern world education is becoming an impor- sors. As a result, students receive a lot of superficial tutorials
tant precondition for the success of every individual and and seminars based on outdated sources.
the quality of life in society. There are about 100,000 stu- The right to social security. The right to social security
dents in Lithuania, i.e., more than 13% of the total number should be granted to students and be protected by the state
of young people. Therefore, it is very important to draw together with their institution of higher education.
attention to the problems of students and undertake mea- Credits and loans are an important and widespread form
sures to resolve them. of student support in the countries of the European Union,
The Lithuanian Students’ Union defined its aims in as they enable students to receive financial assistance to cover
1997 in the Declaration of Students’ Rights issued by the the costs of living during the years of study. Regretfully, the
representatives of all the establishments of higher education only fund of this kind in Lithuania is financed from stu-
in the country. Among the most important are the follow- dent money; cash is simply transferred from one social assis-
ing two chapters: tance fund (the Stipend Fund) to another (the Credit Fund).
1. The right to higher education; The shortage of money predetermines an early influx of
2. The right to social security. students onto the labour market. Education suffers as a re-
The right to higher education. Every citizen of Lithuania sult. Students who get engaged in hired labour lose the moti-
should have the right to choose an institution of higher vation to start up their own businesses and create new jobs
education according to his or her capabilities. In this con- after finishing higher education. National and local authori-
text student mobility should be ensured. Today students ties are taking no measures to deal with this problem. Passive
still face problems if they wish to follow a programme of regional policy in the field of the mobility of specialists has
continuous education. The most suitable conditions must already had an impact. A number of regions are complaining
be established for choosing a subject or an institution. of a ‘brain drain’ of young people to the cities without doing
Moreover, students must be provided with efficient tu- anything more than register complaints. The insufficient at-
torials. At the moment, efficiency is often sacrificed in order tention being paid by the national authorities to the prob-
to resolve financial problems. A student must be provided lems facing students is undoubtedly making the brain drain
with sufficient teaching materials for his studies and should issue even more critical. An increasing number of educated
be given information about curricula, tutorials and library and gifted young people are choosing countries other than
services. Unfortunately, the curricula currently offered fail Lithuania for their business or employment.
to comply with market demand and meet modern interna-
tional quality requirements, since they are drafted according Arûnas Malinovskis, Vice President, Lithuanian Students’ Union

ment, while people who are close to a pensionable age should feel they are a respected and cared-for social group. If an inte-
be forced out of work. grated and targeted effort by the whole of society is not made
The message of the report conveys the idea that opportu- to improve the situation, Lithuania will continue to lose its
nities for young people today are opportunities for all mem- youth through emigration, crime and drug addiction.
bers of society tomorrow. Everywhere in the world young The views presented in this report are expressed by
people face challenges related to their age and status in society. independent professionals. They do not, therefore, neces-
The chances they have for success as a social group depend on sarily coincide with the views of the Lithuanian govern-
both the attitudes of society and a youth-friendly state policy ment or the UNDP.
on education, employment and human rights. Young people We hope that this report will widen awareness in soci-
in Lithuania have not so far enjoyed the same opportunities as ety about youth problems and encourage targeted deci-
their contemporaries in developed countries and they do not sions and action from policy makers.

Jolanta Rimkutë Irina Voloðèiuk

17
From the Editors

18

I

Youth and society
Rasa Aliðauskienë, Laima Þilinskienë

Young people as a social group. Young people are a vital ployment. But on the other, from a societal point of view, it
social group that allows for the sustainable continuation and mitigates the problem of unemployment for a certain pe-
development of society. However, young people are gener- riod, and empowers young people as future employees by
ally not inclined to identify themselves with older genera- giving them the qualifications and knowledge necessary for
tions, as they are not only the object and product of social productive employment and an active social position. Where
influence in society, but also particularly active themselves youth ends is commonly linked with the end of the period
in social change. Every successive generation has characteris- of vocational preparation, when young people can start to
tic features that make it different from previous generations. earn money and live independently. In this sense young
It develops under the influence of the economic, social, ideo- people can be divided into having ‘short’, ‘average’ and ‘long’
logical and political situation and events of the day. periods of youth. ‘Short’ refers to those young people who
Disagreements often arise when defining the age when have completed vocational training before the age of 18.
people are considered to be ‘young’. The important issue re- ‘Average’ refers to those who began employment at 19. And
mains the criteria according to which the difference between ‘long’ refers to those who engage in education or vocational
one generation of young people from the other is defined. training until the age of 21 or older.
Until 1980, ‘youth’ were uniformly defined simply as the age To socially define the concept of ‘young people’ is com-
group that did not participate in professional activities. From plicated. There are ‘diffuse’ biological, social, psychological
the economic point of view, people who are independent and and cultural factors that must be taken into account. For this
2
able to dispose of an income did not belong to the youth reason it is difficult to define uniformly a concept for youth .
category. Moreover, the age for young people was defined as Even more so, this concept depends on the level of the devel-
the period of time when they were in a ‘state of transition’ in opment of society, which is influenced by political, economic,
3
society and had not yet taken over the position of being ‘inde- cultural and educational needs.
pendent’. The uniqueness of young people as a social group lies in
According to research made by Shell-Studie, the age un- the fact that it is difficult to define a specific age limit for the
der which young people are classified is changing, and be- social maturity of an entire generation. Social maturity de-
coming longer. This prolonged period of youth can be di- pends on many factors, so that stepping into the world of
vided into two stages. The first stage consists of ‘adoles- adulthood takes place at different times. In youth, employ-
1
cence’ , during which young people occupy a neutral posi- ment opportunities tend not to correspond to opportunities
tion in employment. They participate only in family and that exist in other spheres of life:
educational institutions, where they mature morally, socially • in the economic sense, there is an inadequacy between grow-
and sexually. Between youth and adulthood a new ‘post- ing consumption needs and income-earning opportunities for
youth’ period has appeared, which encompasses study after young people;
school. In the socio-cultural sense young people continuing • in the legal sense, there is a discrepancy between young
their studies are independent. However, they are not inde- 1
Jugend ’92. Hrsg. Von Jugendwerk der Deutschen Shell. Leske - Budrich,
pendent in the economic sense. The post-youth period is Opladen, 1992.
2
considered to be the third decade of life. In America it is Zinnecker’86: Zinnecker, Jurgen: Jugend im Raum gesellschaftlichen
Klassen. Neue Uberlegungen zu einem alten Thema. In Heitmeyer’86
called ‘post-adolescence’. On the one hand, this prolonging 3
Deutsche Gesellschaft im Wandel. Band 2. C.W. Leske Verlag Opladen,
of the period of youth may alienate young people from em- 1970

19
Youth and society

Youth: the demographic aspect. The main objectives of state policy on young people
Young people (aged 16-29) constitute 22% of the popu- include:
lation. Over the last two years this percentage has not • the formation of an intellectual, civil, democratic indi-
changed. According to a population survey conducted in vidual;
2001, a third of young people live in towns or villages of • the integration of young people into political, civil, eco-
less than 2,000 inhabitants. A quarter live in towns of up nomic, social and cultural life;
to 100,000 inhabitants and 45% live in Lithuania’s five • the formation of spiritual values, and responsibility for
largest cities. society and family;
Half of the young people in Lithuania are currently study- • the formation of conditions to become acquainted with
ing in various educational institutions, 17% are blue- the constitutional duties and rights of citizens.
collar workers, 14% are working as specialists and white-
From the concept for the state policy on youth, 1996
collar workers, 1% are managers, 13% are housewives
and 7% are unemployed. Among young people 64% are
not married, 34% have already established families and In this time of deep and rapid social change in Lithuania,
2% are divorced. the differences in the values between the generations have be-
come more noticeable. Generally, young people are more lib-
Population by age and gender, January 2001* eral, more supportive of economic reforms and a multi-party
Total Men Women political system, more open to cultural change and more toler-
Total 3,692.645 1,740.754 1,951.891 ant of new ways of thinking than middle-aged or older genera-
15-19 275.737 140.332 135.405 tions. The conflict between the generations is founded more on
20-24 258.835 130.562 128.273 social and income differentiation in Lithuanian society. Middle-
25-29 277.016 140.188 136.828 aged and older generations have more trouble adapting to the
new economic realities and requirements of the labour market
*According to the population census of 2001, the total population
is 3.491 million people. than young people. However, the young feel insecure in the
labour market because of the increasing level of unemployment
and limited opportunities to enter the
people as citizens of society who have the labour market.
right to vote and the opportunity to par- Generally, young people are State policy on youth. The fact that there
ticipate in political life; more liberal, more support- is no concise conceptual definition of
• in the psychological sense, there is a gap ive of economic reforms and young people as a social group, and con-
between what has been achieved at school a multi-party political sys- sequently no systemic approach to tackle
and the promise of future rewards in soci- tem, more open to cultural the problems they face, influences the es-
ety. change and more tolerant. sence of any politics related to them. Ac-
The impact young people have on cording to state policy, young people are
changes in society is immense. Every new a group of individuals aged between 16
generation has to resolve the problems being dictated by con- and 29 who, during a period of transition to an independent
temporary social realities. Resolving these problems can cause life in society, form their own personalities.
conflict between generations, particularly when older genera- The state policy on young people seeks to create favourable
tions lack a more immediate experience of the situation and conditions for the formation of the personalities of young
assist the young based on their own previous experience. On people and for their integration into political, civil, economic,
the other hand, in times of social change social and cultural life.
young people can become ‘victims’ who The main principles of the state policy
require assistance. The implementation of The state policy on youth are:
the principles of a market economy, the seeks to create favourable • to encourage initiatives by young people
opening up of opportunities for interna- conditions for the formation to participate in community life. Further-
tional mobility, and the pace of educa- of the personalities of young more, to help them participate in deci-
tional reform depend on the ‘behaviour’ people and for their integra- sion-making processes on issues concern-
of different interest groups, as well as the tion into political, civil, eco- ing them, while at the same time develop-
varying lifestyles of different generations, nomic, social and cultural ing a sense of responsibility for their ac-
and within the younger generation itself. life. tions and decisions;

20

Political preference, %, November 2000
The Council of Lithuanian Youth Organisations unites
15-19 years 20-29 years Total population
41 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of which
Left 16 17 21
only 20, according to their titles, are focused on youth
Centrist 24 36 27
issues. However, the numbers of members of these
Right 10 17 18
organisations are not large. The majority of young people,
Don’t know 50 30 33
in particular those who live in rural areas or who are not
enrolled in educational institutions, do not participate in
Young people’s political interests and their political ac-
these NGOs.
tivity. In 1999, 12% of young people in Lithuania said that
politics was a very important part of their lives, whereas 62%
• to promote and support non-governmental organisations claimed that they were not concerned about politics. Mean-
(NGOs) that contribute to addressing youth problems; while, 10% of young Latvians stated that politics was very
• to encourage and support the active participation of NGOs important in their lives, and 64% said they were not inter-
in the implementation of the state policy on young people. ested. Only 7% of young Estonians said that politics was very
The support of the government and municipalities for important, while 70% were not interested. Twelve per cent of
youth-orientated NGOs is focused mostly on educational Lithuanian, 10% of Latvian and 15% of Estonian young
and social issues. It is acknowledged that the chance to ac- people said they often discussed politics with their friends.
quire education and skills for every young person is an im- It is more difficult for young people than older people to
portant precondition for a meaningful life and sustainable define their political preferences. Of people aged 15-19, 50%
human development. Access to education and training that could not identify a political preference based on some ideo-
meets labour demand cannot, therefore, be considered a sec- logical direction, whereas among older persons 30% did not
ond-rate issue by state policy. It is essential to help young have an opinion regarding this question.
job-seekers to find employment or encourage them to en- During the last parliamentary elections, more young vot-
gage in private business. Assistance is essential in solving the ers than older ones voted for the centre-right Liberal Union
problem of housing for young people and the problems (29% of young people), and the New Union (Social Liberals)
facing young families. (16%). However, they voted less often than older people for
International communication be- Algirdas Brazauskas’ left-wing Social
tween young people should be pro- Democratic Coalition (13%). But perhaps
moted. Opportunities should be pro- Democratic orientation is most significantly, 34% of young people
vided for students to attain an education much stronger among young did not vote at all.
and skills in a foreign country, and inter- people in Lithuania than However, democratic orientation is
national exchange programmes for young among older generations. much stronger among young people in
people should be encouraged. This will Lithuania than among older generations.
be conducive not only to the acquisition
of new knowledge and skills, but encour- Democratic orientation, %, December 1999
age tolerance and confidence between Strong Democrats Democrats Autocrats Undecided
nations. Total population 7 57 24 13
The formulation and approval of a Men 6 63 21 15
concept on state policy for young people Women 8 51 26 10
was the first step in addressing their prob- Youth 7 61 20 12
lems. The success of this decision and its People aged 30-50 7 57 23 14
effectiveness depends on the specific mea- People aged over 50 7 55 26 12
sures and methods taken. It must be Education:
noted that up to now politicians have Incomplete secondary 6 49 31 14
usually limited their actions to declara- Secondary 6 58 22 15
tions and the establishment of new struc- Special secondary 10 66 17 7
tures. However, the level of activity and Place of residence:
participation of young people themselves Rural areas 8 50 29 13
in addressing their problems is insuffi- Towns 6 53 27 11
cient. Cities 7 65 17 11

21
Youth and society

A person’s democratic orientation is “In recent times, the situation in Lithuania has been changing…*, %
mostly conditional upon level of edu- 15-19 years 20-29 years Total population
cation and age. The higher the level of 1997 2001 1997 2001 1997 2001
education the stronger the democratic …for the better” 29 52 29 31 25 28
orientation, and young people living in …for the worse” 60 46 64 68 69 71
the cities particularly have stronger demo- No opinion 11 2 7 1 6 2
cratic instincts. *August 1997 and September 2001
Lithuanian youths are less active po-
litically and less interested in politics than older generations the middle-aged generation are optimists and 41% of the
are. On the other hand, according to surveys, young older generation are optimists. More than 30% of young
Lithuanians are more interested in politics than young Latvians people in Lithuania regard themselves to be very happy, while
and Estonians. In the other Baltic countries the same confor- in both Latvia and Estonia 19% of young people feel the
mity is evident where young people are less politically active same way.
than older people. These responses show that the established opinion about
Changes in life: the opinions and attitudes of young the pessimism of Lithuanians is more true for the middle-aged
people. The general mood of the Lithuanian population is and older generations. Young Lithuanians cannot be said to
reflected in answers that have been given to the question of be pessimistic compared with Latvians and Estonians.
how people evaluate the direction of the country’s develop- Attitudes to the market economy and the economic situa-
ment. These evaluations depend on the age of respondents. tion. After 10 years of economic reform, the continuation of a
Young people evaluate the current situation more optimisti- market economy is supported by 56% of the adult popula-
cally than older people do. Among the under-30s, six out of tion and opposed by 38%. Support for a market economy
10 people evaluate the situation pessimistically, whereas for depends largely on a person’s age. The younger a person is,
people older than 30 the number is eight out of 10. the more likely he or she will be a supporter of the market
The general psychological climate determines not only economy. Among people who are under 30, 60% support
one’s self-confidence but also the confidence in the effective- the market economy, among the 40-50 age group the figure is
ness of state institutions and society as whole. Given that the 50%, and among those older than 60, it is 40%.
majority of people are pessimistically in- Approximately 25% of the popula-
clined, an individual will rarely believe that tion are pleased with the pace of economic
his or her life will become better. And a Among people who are under reform, 27% think the pace is too quick,
person who is convinced that the major- 30, 60% support the market and 38% think it is too slow. Young
ity of his or her fellow citizens are looking economy. people generally want quicker reforms,
towards the future with confidence will with 40% of this group of people believ-
tend to believe in a better life. In 2000, ing that the pace is too slow. People aged
71% of Lithuanian inhabitants thought that the majority of 50 and above, particularly those of a pensionable age, feel
people were disillusioned, apathetic and did not believe in a more often that economic reform is going too fast (every third
better future, while 28% thought that people still believed in person of this age group).
a better future. In evaluating the changes in the economic situation, young
The mood of young people was somewhat more optimistic: people are far more optimistic compared with the old and
55% of youth aged 15-19 were pessimists and 43% optimists. middle-aged. In September 2001, 10% of people under 30
Among the 20-29 age group, 61% were pessimists and 39% thought the economic situation in the country was improv-
optimists. A total of 53% of young people in Lithuania thought ing, 53% thought it had not changed and 35% said it had
that the future would be better than today, whereas 47% did worsened. Among the over 30s, an improvement in the situ-
not. Furthermore, among the 30-50 age group 50% were op-
timists, and among people older than 65, 45% were optimists. Opinion on the pace of economic reform, %,
The biggest optimists in the Baltic states are young people February 2000
in Latvia, 60% of whom are optimistic about the future and 18-19 years 20-29 years Total
34% pessimistic. Of the middle-aged generation of Latvians, Too quick 7.2 24 27

58% are optimists, and among the older generation 44% are Too slow 47 41 38

optimists. The biggest pessimists are the Estonians, since 32% About right 34 28 27

of young Estonians are optimists and 68% pessimists, 33% of Don’t know 11 6.6 8

22

ation was only mentioned by 2%, a wors- More drug addicts and alcoholics 25%
ening by 45% and stability by 42%. More criminals 24%
How young people evaluate themselves. More aggressive, insolent, cruel, uncontrollable young people 18%
In 1999, once discussions on a concept Too many things to do, too much is allowed 8%
and state programme for young people Dissolute, amoral 7%
were underway, sociological research into Difficult to find employment 6%
the situation of young people was carried Not interested in anything, have nothing to do 6%
4
out. The results of the research indicated Do not want to work 5%
that young people are relatively self-criti- Care little for spiritual values, more concerned with material well-being 4%
cal. The opinion that young people today Lack of responsibility and very egoistic 4%
are worse off than they were 10 years ago Too much freedom 3%
prevails. Respondents from the younger Large number of young people not studying 3%
generation valued positively young people More passive 2%
who are employed and have greater eco-
nomic opportunities. Young people living Young people today compared to those 10 years ago, %, 1999
in Lithuania’s cities are of a better opinion “Young people today are… Total Gender Age
about people of the same age group than Male Female 16-18 19-23 24+
inhabitants from rural areas. …better 9 9 9 10 9 8
Young people who are working or …the same 36 37 34 31 38 39
who have a higher income, as well as those …worse 43 39 47 41 43 45
who live in the cities, tend to be more
positive about their contemporaries. A negative evaluation of one’s generation depends on the
Young people who thought that their contemporaries were growing wealth and social differentiation between young
better than young people 10 years ago cited the following people, a weakening of the social identity of one’s generation,
reasons: and better and more accessible information about social prob-
lems in the mass-media.
They had more opportunities 27% Evaluation of the situation for young people. In 2000, the
They were more democratic and progressive 21% opinion among young people was that the first years of inde-
They were more educated 19% pendence were very favourable for the younger generation.
They were more energetic 9% Later the state lost its monopoly on employment and labour
They sought education more diligently 7% relations become more deregulated. At the same time the link
They held a more serious view of life 4% between a predominantly state education and labour demand
They had better living conditions 3% driven by the private sector weakened. Young people become
They were more independent 3% more exposed to the risk of unemployment, since a lack of
work experience weakened their competitiveness on the labour
Young people who thought the youth of today are the market.
same as young people of earlier generations named the follow- Young people who thought in 2000 that the past five
ing reasons: common to every generation is youthful enthusi- years had been less favourable for them cited the following
asm (19%); the same problems arise for young people all the reasons: difficulties in finding a job; the unemployment prob-
time (32%); parents are never pleased with their children (2%). lem; a poor level of attention shown by the state to the prob-
The negative characteristics and circumstances listed by lems facing young people; the lack of social guarantees; the
young people can be divided into two groups. The first consists unfavourable economic situation; poverty. Youth with a
of evaluation, which is directly related to the behaviour of young higher education and bigger income living in the cities evalu-
people. The second is ‘external’ factors, that have an undesir- ate today’s situation more favourably. In their opinion, there
able effect on the behaviour of young people, for example a low are currently more opportunities for self-expression, more
standard of living, too much freedom and so on. The undesir- democracy and freedom, and more opportunities to see the
able behaviour young people have that was most often stressed world, and study and gain experience in foreign countries.
was drug addiction, alcoholism and criminal offences. The main concern young people have that causes a sense of
The negative characteristics of contemporary youth were 4
Portrait of Young People in Lithuania. 1997. Vilnius University,
named as: Sociological Laboratory

23
Youth and society

insecurity is how to find a job. The feeling of insecurity is Furthermore, young people from the Baltic countries are
very common to people aged 24 years and older who have more open to the world than older people are. Young people are
low incomes, live in rural areas and do not possess a higher more inclined to draw upon the experiences of other countries.
education. In identifying themselves with Lithuania young people
Young people have not yet reached the level of maturity would in favourable circumstances:
to be able to take responsibility for society. They are more
inclined to be interested in those problems that are directly Leave to work or study abroad for several years 55%
related to them. More than two-thirds of young people are Remain in Lithuania 32%
concerned only by events that are directly associated with Live abroad 13%
them; 20% are concerned about every-
thing that is taking place in Lithuania, Young people are expressing the de-
and 11% are indifferent to such events. Youth with a higher education sire to work or study in foreign countries
Civil initiative. Young people rather of- and bigger income living in more and more often. More school pu-
ten identify themselves with Lithuania the cities evaluate today’s situ- pils are planning to study or live abroad.
and its citizens. Those from rural areas are ation more favourably. In These plans are largely the result of the
more inclined to associate themselves with their opinion, there are cur- drop in the standard of living in
a specific region. Those from the cities with rently more opportunities for Lithuania, the feeling of insecurity and
a higher education think of themselves as self-expression, more democ- unemployment. The most important is-
Europeans more often than others. And racy and freedom. sues for Lithuanian society, according to
10% of young people describe themselves young people, are related to economic,
as citizens of the world. Young people as- physical and psychological security.
sociate Europe with the future and cultural development. What young people value most. Research carried out in 1994
and again in 1999 shows that young people value family the
Young Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians on most. In 1994, they listed values in order of priority in the
self-identification, %, 1999 following way: family, employment, friends, acquaintances
What do you most feel? Young Young Young and leisure time. In 1999, the most important spheres of life
Lithuanians Latvians Estonians
were family, employment and education. The importance of
A resident of your village, town, city 41 32 53
education is increasing among young people.
A resident of your region 17 14 18
The number of young people who are studying and work-
An inhabitant of your country 29 38 16
ing simultaneously is increasing. This happens because op-
An inhabitant of Europe 4 3 3
portunities for parents to financially support their children
An inhabitant of the world 10 13 10
and pay for their studies have decreased. Moreover, young
people who study think this will help en-
More than two-thirds of young sure a job exists for them in the future. In
people are proud to be Lithuanian citi- Young people are expressing their opinion, it is more difficult for them
zens (86%). For Latvia and Estonia, the the desire to work or study to find employment than it is for older
figures are 83% and 85%, respectively. A in foreign countries more people due to their lack of work experi-
feeling of patriotism is common among and more often. ence, employers do not trust young people
young people in the Baltic states. Young or have confidence in them, and there is a
Lithuanians are mostly proud of their Research carried out in 1994 shortage of jobs anyway.
sportsmen, national independence and and again in 1999 shows More than two-thirds of young
the diligence of Lithuanian people. In that young people value fam- people in Lithuania want the state to guar-
young people’s opinion, diligence, indif- ily the most. antee them employment. This opinion is
ference and orderliness are the most com- most common among those aged 16-18
mon features of Lithuanians. Young who have basic and secondary education.
people most often associate Lithuania with independence and The majority of young people are in favour of special
unemployment. support in times of widespread unemployment; 74% think
In the event of the outbreak of war, 74% of young people that with the increase in unemployment young people should
in Lithuania, 84% in Latvia and 60% in Estonia would fight be provided with employment and that this should be done
for their country. at the expense of other social groups, while 59% think that

24

Opinion of young people on employment, %, 1999 Most important qualities of employment, %
The state should guarantee employment for us 67 Good salary 90
It is the duty of a young person to find Interesting job 55
employment for himself/herself 30 Pleasant work colleagues 39
Our parents should help us find employment 3 Social guarantees 33
Convenient work time 32
with the increase in unemployment people should retire at Possibility for a career 29
an earlier age, and 44% think it is not right to provide work The work matches one’s abilities 26
for people with disabilities when there are insufficient posi- Chance to see the results of one’s work 25
tions available for able-bodied people. These opinions can Chance to interact with people 21
be explained not only by the ‘maximalistic’ attitude young Chance to show oneself, to show initiative 17
people have to life, but also by the real situation in the labour Long holidays 16
market. With the increase in unemployment and the uncer- Not too stressful a job 15
tainty of employment in the future, young people think Chance to work creatively 14
that as a result of their lack of real professional experience, Chance to be of benefit to society 8
regardless of acquired education, it is difficult for them to Responsibility 7
compete for better jobs. Recognition by society 6
Employment for young people is more a mean (necessity),
whereas the result of work is associated with remuneration. Young people’s preferred types of activity, %
Twenty per cent of young people perceive work as an objective, Most likely yes
a value in itself, while remuneration is a ‘secondary’ result. To work in a private company on a contract basis 59
Remuneration is the most important feature of employ- To work abroad 58
ment for young Lithuanians. It is also important that the work To engage in private business 56
should be interesting and provide them with social comfort. To find additional employment 56
Private business is the most attractive prospect for young To establish a company with others 46
people. They are more inclined to be ‘entrepreneurial’ types. To work in a state company or organisation 45
Less entrepreneurial young people are more oriented towards To emigrate 26
employment in the state sector. Among the main obstacles to To engage in ‘free trade’ 20
starting a private business young people cited: a lack of money Not to work at all 11
(65%), an insufficient legal basis (31%); and a lack of knowl- To buy or reclaim land and farm 8
edge, bureaucratic hindrances, and a lack of confidence in
their abilities. Participation in NGOs is on the decline. This passivity
Participation in NGOs. In 2000, more than half of young could be explained the overall low interest in politics, disbelief
people said that they did not know about any organisations that community activities can have an impact on solving social
for young people. They did not know which organisations problems, and a lack of confidence in the leaders of NGOs
could represent their interests or help to tackle their problems. and political organisations. Moreover, young people’s com-
Meanwhile, 25% of young people knew of at least one youth munity activities are based more often on professional and
organisation. The most commonly known ones were Youth political interests.
Line, the Scouts, the Student’s Union, Young Lithuania, and Leisure-time. Forty-eight per cent of young Lithuanians stated
the Youth Psychological Support Centre. Among the main that communication with friends is a very important part of
faults of youth NGOs were: a lack of initiatives, insufficient their lives. Another 40% said that their leisure time is very
communication, and not enough information about the important to them. Among young people from Latvia, 42%
organisation. considered friends and 32% free leisure time as important
values. These things are more important
What employment means to young people, %
to young people in Estonia, where 51%
Work is a business deal - the more they pay me, the more I’ll work. 30
of young people considered friends and
I work with pleasure, but this should not interfere with my personal life. 25
39% free leisure time important.
I work so I can survive. I would never work if I didn’t have to. 22
Between 1998 and 2000 the most
I always try to work well, regardless of the level of payment. 17
popular forms of leisure did not change.
I work with pleasure. It’s the most important thing in my life. 4
Young people continue to like commu-

25
Youth and society

Preferred leisure activities, % the appearance of new interest groups
Often Sometimes Rarely Never and the orientation of community ac-
Cafes, parties 17 38 35 9.8 tivities toward vocational, political, cul-
Theatre 2.3 18 41 38 tural and other interests.
Exhibitions 2.3 13 40 44 Young people today are not very in-
Classical music concerts 3.0 8.8 25 63 terested in politics and are not politically
Rock, pop concerts 9.8 36 36 18 active. There is a low level of interest in
Cinema 3.3 18 35 44 non-governmental organisations for the
Watching sport 11 24 34 30 young. Educational and other individual
Playing sport 23 29 26 21 opportunities are more important for
Dancing, discos 27 29 21 22 young people than resolving problems
Watching TV 69 24 5.6 0.6 common to their generation or society.
Spending time with friends at home or elsewhere 72 24 3.3 0.6 Young Lithuanians do not differ
Associations, clubs, religious or other community groups 6.0 9.9 17 67 greatly from their contemporaries in Latvia
Reading 30 33 25 11 and Estonia in terms of social characteris-
Listening to music 65 29 5.1 0.6 tics and orientation.
Special hobby 24 9.6 4.7 50 Young Lithuanians feel themselves
poorly integrated into society. They of-
nication with friends, watching television and listening to ten feel ignored or unprepared to compete in the labour
music. market. However, they do not show a great deal of interest in
Communication as one of the most important forms of overcoming this social alienation.
leisure is mostly identified by unmarried people under 24 In seeking to better integrate young people into soci-
living in the cities. Young people spend their leisure time mostly ety, political and economic measures are necessary, targeted
with friends. Passive forms of leisure (watching TV, going to towards different groups of young people. Taking into
the cinema, listening to music) are more popular than active account their passivity it would be more effective to em-
community activities. ploy non-traditional (beyond the media) ways of dissemi-
*** nating legal, social and other information to help them
To sum up, it could be said that young people differ as find their place in an ever-changing society. More atten-
a social group from other age groups. The differences be- tion should be paid to young people who neither study
come evident when comparing social and political behaviour nor work. They are the group most vulnerable to social
and attitudes, and employment opportunities between age exclusion and so are the most difficult to reach. Young
groups. Young people have a more liberal attitude. They people who study are the most active, both from a political
are socially and geographically more mobile and more re- point of view and in the labour market. They should there-
ceptive to change than older people. The rapid economic fore be encouraged to take part in decision-making pro-
and social polarisation of society determines the increasing cesses involving issues relating to themselves, and even more
differentiation within young people as a social group and so in addressing global social problems.

26

II

Economy
Margarita Starkevièiûtë

In 2000, Lithuania drew to a close its transition reforms from The major driving force behind the economic growth was a
a centralised to a market economy, and having laid the foun- 20.5% increase in the export of goods and services. Traditional
dation for a market economy started a new Lithuanian industries – textiles and cloth-
stage in its development – integration into ing, electrical machinery and appliances,
the European Union (EU). Youth problems are deter- and chemicals – occupied an important
The stable political and economic situ- mined by such factors as the place in the export market. Nevertheless,
ation and the accession negotiations to the macroeconomic environment, oil refining represented the largest contri-
EU that officially commenced in February the structure of the economy, bution to exports. Oil products accounted
2000, which have determined economic state investment in social capi- for 44.2% of the total export growth for
policy priorities and accelerated the tal and agreement between the 2000, and brought about a 28.7% increase
country’s convergence with the interests of different genera- in merchandise exports during the year.
macroeconomically balanced EU market, tions and population groups Lithuanian goods are competitive on
predetermined optimistic assessments of within state policy. both eastern and western markets. Exports
Lithuania’s long-term future. However, a to the EU in 2000 grew by 21.2%, mak-
relatively low standard of living (GDP per ing up 47.9% of total exports. The larg-
capita barely reaching 35% of the EU average) and increasing est increases were characteristic of export flows to the Nether-
structural unemployment caused concern among the popula- lands and the United Kingdom, by 95% and 72.6%, respec-
tion. State economic policy was directed more to foreign policy tively.
objectives like EU and NATO integration. Solving the prob- Favourable conditions for the growth of Lithuanian ex-
lems of young people was not among its priorities. Unemploy- ports to the east were determined by the recovery of the econo-
ment among young people was the high- mies of the CIS after the crisis. In 2000,
est, because they commonly experience dif- The major driving force be- Lithuanian exports to the CIS rose by
ficulties in acquiring the skills necessary to hind the economic growth was 13.3% (including 28.6% growth in ex-
meet the country’s rapidly changing eco- a 20.5% increase in the export ports to Russia), even though their pro-
nomic requirements and embark on a suc- of goods and services. portion in the total export figure fell, reach-
cessful career. Youth problems are deter- ing 16.3%.
mined by such factors as the macroeco- The export of services followed a dif-
nomic environment, the structure of the economy, state invest- ferent pattern, shrinking by 3% in 2000 in comparison to
ment in social capital and agreement between the interests of 1999. This decline was caused by a reduction in the export of
different generations and population groups within state policy. travel services. Travel revenues fell by 28.9%, due to a lower
Macroeconomic environment. Economic development in- number of incoming foreigners. The successful operation of
fluences opportunities and choices for young people since shipping and haulage companies holding a leading position in
macroeconomic conditions determine individual income and the transportation of flows of goods from east to west resulted in
employment. In 2000, when Lithuania experienced 3.9% a 23.1% increase in the export of transport services.
GDP growth, the economy finally overcame the negative con- Growing income from exports had a positive impact on
sequences of the Russian crisis, which had resulted in an eco- the domestic market. The volume of retail trade increased by
nomic recession in 1999. 14.8%. However, a decline in real wages by 1.9% and growing

27
Economy

Main economic indicators Monetary policy is based on a currency
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 board arrangement and the pegging of
GDP in current prices (mln. LTL) 31,569 38,340 42,990 42,655 45,254 the litas (LTL) to the US dollar. This at a
Real GDP (change, %) 4.7 7.3 5.1 -3.9 3.9 time when the US dollar is getting stron-
Annual average inflation (%) 13.1 8.4 2.4 0.3 1.4 ger relative to other currencies was the
Unemployment level (%) 7.1 5.9 6.4 8.4 11.5 main reason for a low (1.4%) average an-
Private consumption (change, %) 10.5 9.2 4 2.1 4.6 nual inflation in Lithuania, the lowest
General government consumption (change, %) 0.1 1.5 22.9 -17.5 -0.7 among the EU candidate countries.
Gross domestic investment (change, %) 9.8 31.7 11.8 -9.6 -9.4 In order to ensure macroeconomic sta-
Exports of goods and services (fob, change, %) 31.9 24.1 -2.9 -16.4 20.5 bility, the decision was taken not to alter
Imports of goods and services (fob, change, %) 27.8 25.1 1.8 -15.9 9.3 monetary policy or the current anchor cur-
Current account balance (% of GDP) -9.2 -10.2 -12.1 11.2 -6.0 rency, the US dollar, in 2000. Despite
Overall budget balance (% of GDP) -4.6 -1.6 -4.6 -7.8 -2.8 strengthening trade relations between
Foreign direct investment (total, LTL) 2,801.2 4,162.5 6,501.2 8,252.1 9,337.3 Lithuania and the euro-zone economies, it
Foreign debt (% of GDP) 15.3 14.6 15.8 22.8 22 was decided to postpone the pegging of
Average monthly wage (gross, LTL) 618.2 778.1 929.8 987.4 1,007.9 the litas to the euro until February 2002.
So with the formation of an EU-oriented
unemployment, which reached a level of 11.5%, dampened export pattern, the fluctuations of the real exchange rate of the
private consumption. A strict fiscal policy, thanks to which litas with respect to the currencies of the major trading partners
the overall budget deficit went down from 7.8% of GDP in increased. The litas became almost 8% more expensive than the
1999 to 2.8% in 2000, reduced government consumption, euro during the year. Exchange rate changes had a negative
so general consumption expenditure grew by only 3.6%. impact on the competitiveness of Lithuanian industry, because
The rapid expansion of exports and strict fiscal policy of higher labour costs per unit. The unfavourable trend in the
predetermined positive changes in the balance of payments. A exchange rate of the litas to the euro adversely affected incomes
current account deficit from a proportion of 11.2% of GDP, of companies in Lithuania that export to the EU. This conse-
which was threatening the country’s financial stability in 1999, quently resulted in lower budget revenues.
almost halved, to 6.0% of GDP in 2000. More than half Monetary policy was also unfavourable for the export of
(56.2%) of the current account deficit was financed by for- services, particularly tourist services, which are closely related
eign direct investment that totalled 632 USD per capita by to the domestic market as tours to Lithuania were relatively
the end of 2000. more expensive than trips to other countries. Budget revenues
Financial intermediation (54.3%), food processing, and from tourist services fell by almost 29% in 2000. Moreover, a
beverage and tobacco production (8.8%), and wholesale trade stronger currency had an adverse impact on investment flows,
(7.5%) enjoyed the largest share of foreign direct investment since entry into the Lithuanian market was more expensive
(FDI). Investment from the EU amounted to 64.3% of total compared to the neighbouring Latvian and Estonian markets
FDI. Investors from Denmark and Sweden took the lead, con- both for ‘greenfield’ investors and those acquiring property
tributing 18.3% and 17.3%, respectively. (real estate) from private owners or the state.
Since the current account deficit was falling and FDI con- As macroeconomic stability was achieved at the expense of
tinued to grow, the state was able to borrow less. Therefore economic growth, it was not capable of ensuring an increase in
foreign debt remained relatively small, at 22% of GDP, and the income of the population and the reduction of structural
made up 77.8% of the total state debt, which amounted to unemployment.
12.7 billion LTL or 28.0% of GDP at the end of the year. One of the most complicated problems encountered by
Debt service expenditure was not problematic for the economy. countries in transition is getting their financial flows balanced.
In 1999, the average interest rate on government securities On the one hand, considerable financial resources are needed
issued on the domestic market dropped from 11.4% in 1999 for the implementation of economic reforms, and on the other,
to 9.4% in 2000. Moreover, the pattern of state debt was very an initial stage of economic reforms national income signifi-
favourable, with long-term liabilities accounting for almost cantly drops. This problem remains acute during the acces-
90% of the total debt, about 51% of which were eurobonds sion period to the EU as candidate countries must enhance
and 37% were loans. Ten per cent of state debt was short- structural reforms in order to align their institutional systems
term liabilities, comprised of treasury bills issued on the do- with EU requirements. This in turn calls for considerable fi-
mestic market. nancial resources that are not sufficient despite a high pace of

28

economic growth and assistance from the EU, since structural The state of Lithuanian industry.
reforms predetermine a high rate of unemployment and big Assessments reveal that advertisement-oriented (such as
income differentiation – and a resulting increase in state social food, tobacco, leather, footwear, publishing) and capi-
expenditure. For Lithuania, the solution to this problem was tal intensive (oil refining, chemicals) branches dominate
even more complicated after starting negotiations with the Lithuanian industry. According to assessments made by
EU, since in addition to the above factors the increase in social European Commission experts, labour productivity in
expenditure is being determined by the ageing of the popula- the above sectors was relatively high. Such a structure of
tion. An indicator of ageing that shows the number of people Lithuanian industry, however, demands that attention
aged 60 and over per 100 children under the age of 15 reached be paid to two important factors. First, promotion and
92 by the end of 2000. This had increased by 1.6 times over other marketing tools greatly influence the competitive-
the previous 10 years. For that reason the country’s economic ness of advertisement-oriented goods on foreign as well
situation and long-term development prospects depended on as domestic markets. For economically relatively weak
how efficiently the potential of young people was being used. Lithuanian enterprises it is hard to compete with large,
Appropriate macroeconomic and structural reforms could have stable foreign companies. So multi-sided state support
offered favourable conditions to reach this goal. and the steps the state has taken in introducing
Economic structure and opportunities for young people. Lithuanian goods to the international market and dis-
Monetary policy, which suppressed economic activity and seminating information abroad may be important in-
the creation of new jobs, was not the only factor that pre- struments for solving this problem. However, the enter-
vented the full utilisation of the potential of the young people prise survey has proven that enterprises (the respon-
that were entering the labour market. One of the barriers that dents) that produce advertisement-oriented goods as-
prevented young people from making use of their abilities was sign a particularly insignificant role to marketing com-
the fact that the majority of newly created jobs was in the pared to other factors determining the competitiveness
service sector, which is relatively badly paid (surveys show of their goods. Abroad these goods are often not linked
that 52.2% of young people were employed in services), or in to the state of origin or the name of the producer. Rather,
traditional branches of industry (22.6%), where highly skilled they are exported using the name of a famous foreign
labour was not in demand. partner.
PHARE experts and the staff of the Lithuanian Institute A second aspect is the global trend in the develop-
of Economics concluded that skill-intensive industry produced ment of capital intensive industries that call for large in-
only 3.5% of total value added, while the same indicator in vestment. This suggests that Lithuania should incorpo-
the EU member states, the US and Japan was 15-18%. Bear- rate particularly favourable conditions for investment, in-
ing in mind that the number of scientists, R&D personnel cluding FDI, into these industries.
and students in Lithuania is similar to the EU and canditate
countries, the conclusion may be made that labour skills, par- Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Institute
of Economics “The Competitiveness of Lithuanian Industry”, 2000
ticularly the skills of young people who have acquired an edu-
cation during the years of independence,
were not being used to the full. try, while in the EU, the US and Japan it
The demand for highly skilled labour is In Lithuania research and exceeds 20%.
restricted by a very small number of high- technology-intensive indus- Research data show that the largest
tech industries in the total industrial out- try is responsible for 5.9% of number of jobs was created in small en-
put, at only 4.4%, and the large share of the total value added pro- terprises that employ between five and
low-technology industries, at 73%. In duced in industry, while in 19 people, and the number of enterprises
Lithuania research and technology-inten- the EU it exceeds 20%. that did not hire employees during the
sive industry is responsible for 5.9% of year at all, or hired only one person, rose
the total value added produced in indus- in 2000. Young people could have cre-
ated jobs for themselves by setting up small new technology
enterprises. Such efforts, however, were hindered by an inad-
The household budget survey revealed that 5% of house-
equately small supply of venture capital on the market. Sur-
holds had personal computers in 2000 (3% in 1999).
veys show that 70.9% of young people intended to start their
Every tenth household had a PC in the cities, 3% in
own business, of which 48.7% indicated that they lacked
towns, and 1% in rural areas.
funds.

29
Economy

Bank lending to enterprises and businesses. Stability was a care, education, and infrastructure development. The state
characteristic feature of Lithuanian banks in 2000. Their capital therefore plays a significant role in economic policy in the
adequacy was better than the required indicator and stood at period of integration into the EU.
16.3% (required indicator 10%), according to audited state- In reforming the state budget system and setting the crite-
ments. Their liquidity level was 49.7%, which exceeded the ria for efficient use of governmental financial resources, a model
minimum of 30% set by the Bank of Lithuania. In six out of of strategic planning and budgeting on a programme basis
10 active commercial banks, foreign investors owned over 50% was introduced. The model facilitated a more targeted plan-
of the equity. During the year, bank assets grew by 16.5%, ning of activities and the co-ordination of funds allocation
alongside the growth of deposits by 23.9%. Due to the delay with government priorities.
in structural reforms and because of the conservative risk-lim- In the Lithuanian state financial system, beside the state
iting requirements established by the supervision authorities, and municipal budgets 24 extra-budgetary funds including
banks allocated insufficient funds for new enterprises. Two the largest one, the State Social Insurance Fund (SODRA),
state-controlled banks – the Lithuanian Savings Bank and the were drawn from. The funds were administered by different
Lithuanian Agricultural Bank – were preparing for authorities. The Ministry of Finance in many cases did not
privatisation, and the largest bank, Vilniaus Bankas, was en- know the amount of accumulated funds and how they were
gaged in a merger process, so the financing of higher risk projects being utilised. A law on the budget stipulating the incorpora-
was not on their priority agenda. tion of extra-budgetary funds into the
Moreover, the low liquidity of the state budget, with the exception of larger
Lithuanian capital market (the ratio of Young people prevailed funds such as SODRA and the Manda-
turnover of shares to capitalisation was among those who went tory Health Insurance Fund, had a posi-
only 12%) did not offer flexible possi- abroad to seek employment. tive effect on the efficiency and transpar-
bilities for banks to withdraw from com- ency of the management of state finances.
pany management. Foreign banks were In order to stabilise the balance of pay-
newcomers on the Lithuanian market, and they had not yet ments, a decision was made to reduce public spending in
developed their activities enough to provide the services that 2000. However, the size of state expenditure was determined
were needed. by structural factors such as the necessity to maintain a net-
An analysis of start-up capital showed that in 89% of cases work of institutions providing essential public services (schools,
the personal savings of owners were used for starting a per- hospitals, cultural institutions). The reduction in state expen-
sonal enterprise. Such a funding option is complicated for diture consequently led to a lower quality of public services
young people who have had no time to accumulate many and the growing debts of these institutions to enterprises pro-
savings and cannot count on the financial support of their viding public utilities. The burden of financing their services
parents or relatives. Income earned by the head of a household partly shifted to the population. This decision had a marked
who is under 30 years of age from a business or artwork was impact on young people since, as proven by the household
3.6% of the total disposable income in 2000, which is about budget survey, expenditure for education in young house-
half of what is typical for more senior age groups. holds with a breadwinner under 30 was three times higher
The government was keen on promoting the develop- than in other age groups.
ment of small- and medium-sized businesses and allocated 2 Seeking fiscal balance by cutting state expenditure reduced
million LTL for the purpose. However, the largest share of the domestic demand and, consequently, the income of the small-
funds was used in the form of different training programmes and medium-sized enterprises that prevail on the domestic
and the maintenance of an administrative system of ‘business market. The number of registered small- and medium-sized
incubators’. By the end of 2000, there were 15 enterprises per enterprises that are not operating grew by 14% in 2000 com-
1,000 inhabitants that employed up to 250 people, which is pared to 1999.
a very low indicator in comparison to the EU where the figure The strict government savings policy slowed down the
is 50 to 60 enterprises. growth of disposable income and was conducive to a worsen-
Interests of different generations and population groups ing in the quality of public services. This discouraged the
in state economic policy. The consequences of reforms for population, and emigration grew. Human capital was driven
individuals usually depend on their education, age and gen- out of Lithuania. The household survey revealed that in the
der. A negative impact of socio-economic reforms on different opinion of 69% of heads of households under the age of 30,
population groups, including young people, could have been the standard of living during the year decreased. Young people
mitigated by state investment into social services and health prevailed among those who went abroad to seek employment;

30

21.9% of young respondents said that they were ready to key task was to introduce mandatory pension schemes with-
leave for permanent residence abroad, and an additional 50.0% out raising the insurance contribution rate by relocating a part
said they would agree to a temporary stay abroad. of the contributions collected on the basis of the existing social
Social insurance, pension reform and jobs for young people. insurance system to mandatory pension funds. A long-term
The SODRA budget encountered significant financial diffi- goal pursued by pension reform was to change the whole
culties in 2000, and even though its deficit fell compared to system so that retired people could receive a higher income
1999, it still totalled to 151.6 million LTL. One of the rea- than they have now. In actual fact, pension reform was aimed
sons for the deficit was unfavourable demographic trends and more at offering young people new opportunities to accumu-
the ageing of the population. SODRA expenditure on pen- late funds for their old age rather than solve the problems of
sions amounted to 7.3% of GDP in 2000, while the rate of today’s pensioners.
pension insurance contributions was 25% of the wage of the The pension reform strategy and its economic feasibility
person insured. In order to pay pensions on time, SODRA was submitted to the public in a White Paper prepared by the
was obliged to resort to the short-term borrowing of about 70 government. The starting date of the reform was not set, how-
million LTL each month. An increased rate of state social in- ever, since sources of funding were not clear. The only real
surance contributions (from 31% to 34%) from the begin- resource for pension reform was the Privatisation Fund, but
ning of 2000 also had an adverse effect on SODRA’s budget it’s utilisation was determined by law, which read that two-
revenue, since such a decision prompted tax evasion and re- thirds of funds obtained from privatisation should be used to
sulted in a smaller number of insured people. The compensate for lost deposits, and one-third should be used
government’s fiscal policy also contributed to SODRA’s prob- for the implementation of the Public Investment Programme.
lems, because corporate tax exemptions reduced the wage base, The programme for deposit compensation was postponed for
and social insurance contributions made up 8.5% of GDP. two years. Politicians did not have the courage to cancel it for
For comparison, they were 2-3% of GDP higher in the sake of the progress of pension reform.
neighbouring countries. Financial problems forced the government to re-evaluate
its support programme to agriculture in 2000. A large part of
the Rural Support Fund was used to cover the debts of 1999.
Subsidies that were envisaged in 2000 for supporting the
purchase prices of agricultural commodities were not applied,
and attempts were made to gradually move from a price sub-
sidy to a direct payment system, depending on the size of the
livestock and arable land. To that end, a more modern system
of livestock registration and declaration of areas for crops was
introduced. Low purchase prices for agricultural produce and
reducing state support conditioned a lower standard of living
in rural areas than in the cities. Life in rural areas offered still
fewer opportunities for young people.
Investment in human development and opportunities for
SODRA’s difficult financial situation negatively influ- youth. Higher income, satisfaction with the quality of life,
enced social opportunities for young people. Its revenue con- and social harmony cannot be promoted without investment
straints resulted in a shortage of funds that had to be remit- in human capital and public goods and services.
ted to the state’s health and employment funds. Debts to Complicated structural problems did not allow in 2000
these two funds grew. The shortage of funds prevented the for a rapid reduction of the budget expenditure to the re-
Employment Fund from the implementation of employ- quired level. Instead the government simply halved public
ment programmes, and young people did not get a great investment. State investment was therefore smaller in Lithuania,
deal of support to enter the labour market. And the supply at 1.5% of GDP, than in Latvia and Estonia, at 3.5% and
of jobs to young people has fallen for one more reason. With 3.8% of GDP, respectively. Scarce public investment brought
a view to reducing SODRA’s deficit and the burden of pen- about a slower improvement in the economy and prevented
sion ‘obligations’, the pension age for men was increased to the modernisation of the country’s infrastructure. Moreover,
62.5 years of age and for women to 60. it hindered necessary preparation for the utilisation of EU
One of the aims of pension reform was to increase the accession funds. In its economic growth rate, Lithuania lagged
public’s motivation to pay social security contributions. Its behind the other two Baltic states by 2-3%.

31
Economy

The fundamental problems detrimental to the appropriate payment of wages and salaries to the staff of educational and
financing of social programmes were related to an unfavourable other budgetary institutions, and for the renovation and
taxation pattern, the ambiguous distribution of administrative computerisation of medical institutions and schools. Young fami-
responsibility between central government and municipalities, lies with children where social payments constituted a relatively
and the inefficient management of state expenditure. large part of household income were most severely hit.
In 2000, the government proceeded with budget reform
Structure of tax revenue, % of GDP, 2000 in line with EU requirements. The new version of the law on
Personal income tax 7.9 the budget stipulated that all amendments affecting budget
Corporate profit tax 0.7 revenues and expenditures, as well as the public debt, should
State social insurance contributions 7.0 be adopted prior to the approval of the financial indicators of
Domestic goods and services taxes (consumption related) 11.7 the state and municipal budgets. This legal step reduced the
Property taxes 0.6 possibility of taking decisions the financing of which would
Other 0.3 not be backed up by allocations from the state budget.
It was difficult to assess the efficiency
Even though the state budget of 2000 of allocations to social programmes, since
was drawn with reference to conservative In 2000, funds allocated for a system for the evaluation and monitor-
forecasts, its implementation turned out health care stood at 4.4% of ing of budget expenditure was not put in
to be a difficult task. A taxation structure GDP, which is half the EU place, and the distribution of financial
where taxes related to consumption and average. resources did not rest upon objective cri-
were sensitive to economic cycles played teria for their effective utilisation. Taxpay-
an important role (11.7% of GDP; of ers were insufficiently informed as to how
which excise taxes, 3.2%) made fiscal policy rigid and inca- budget revenues were used.
pable of rapid adaptation to the dynamically changing condi- There is no procedure or criteria according to which bud-
tions of the global economic environment. get expenditure should be reduced if revenue comes to less
The structure of the taxation system proved that the pur- than planned. Fund allocations were made on the basis of
chasing power of the population was relatively low, because monthly budgets. Allocations for the payment of wages and
the proportion of value added tax (VAT) in the total state utility services were made first, and only then did social ben-
budget revenue fell from 8.1% of GDP in 1999 to 7.6% of efits and investment projects follow. It has been revealed that
GDP in 2000, and revenues from personal income tax fell social programmes and investment projects received only 80-
from 8.5% of GDP to 7.9%. 90% of the envisaged funds in 2000.
A drop of the proportion of corporate income tax from In 2000, funds allocated for health care stood at 4.4% of
29% of GDP to 24% was also a blow to budget revenues. GDP, which is half the EU average. Expenditure for educa-
The share of this tax in the general income structure fell from tion was 6.64% of GDP, lagging behind Poland and Latvia
0.8% to 0.7% of GDP between 1999 and 2000. (above 7% of GDP). It has not been easy to evaluate all the
The effectiveness of fiscal policy depends on the distribu- consequences of the insufficient investment in human devel-
tion of functions between the central and local governments. opment in Lithuania. Insufficient access to and the falling
It was difficult for municipalities to plan their activities, since quality of education and health care continue to deprive young
the Seimas (Parliament) and the government set a taxation people of many essential choices and opportunities.
base and rates for them. So the municipalities did not know ***
what income they could count on to disperse in future. More- In the changing global world, a country’s or an individual’s
over, they were not allowed to collect taxes themselves. De- success depends on how quickly innovations are introduced,
spite the law on the indicators of local budget revenue adopted and how well young people are educated, how many skills they
back in 1997, transfers and subsidies to local governments have and much knowledge is gained. The economic develop-
were often distributed on an ad hoc basis. ment of Lithuania offers its young people prerequisites for the
The government and the Seimas delegated certain func- acquisition of necessary knowledge and skills. However, what
tions to municipalities, but no adequate financing followed. really matters in the process is the efforts of the young people
Consequently, the municipalities felt a shortage of funds for the themselves, since the economic policy of the country was not
payment of social benefits and compensations, for the timely quite favourable for the attainment of their aspirations in 2000.

32

III

Education
Violeta Rimkevièienë

The pace of reforms in education: a brief overview. The prolonged from nine to 10 years. The specialisation of basic
second stage of reforms in education for the period between education was finalised between 2000 and 2001. A com-
1999 and 2001 has been marked by activities and achieve- mon programme and educational standards (for grades 11
ments focused on the following priorities: the modernisation and 12) were introduced. The introduction of state exami-
of learning; raising the quality of education; the improve- nations after graduation from secondary school proved to be
ment of conditions in the education and learning of social efficient, and so while in 1999 there were two state exami-
pedagogues, and the harmonisation of nations, in 2000 there were five. Voca-
the general education system. tional qualification exams are gradually
An important step in laying the foun- An important step in laying being transferred to the Trade and Com-
dations for sustainable improvement in the foundations for sustain- merce Chamber, and internal and exter-
the quality of education has been setting able improvement in the nal audit methodology is being devel-
up a framework for pre-school education quality of education has been oped. Higher education legislation was
and the formulation of corresponding setting up a framework for adopted that legitimised colleges and
programmes and concepts. Between pre-school education. other non-university tertiary educational
1999 and 2000, basic education was schools.

Most important and ongoing tasks in educational re- 2. To improve conditions for education and studies of social
forms for the period between 1999 and 2001. pedagogy
The overall ‘umbrella’ task is to provide finance and other 2.1. Expand educational opportunities by developing in-
resources for the implementation of educational reform. formal adult training including the enforcement of the law
1. To modernise learning and raise the quality of education on informal adult education, develop a network of diverse
1.1. Renew and re-shape curricula in line with the national schools and curricula, implement extra-curricula studies and
education concept and the latest international trends in edu- integrate them into the education system;
cation and the information society; 2.2. Maintain positions of social pedagogy at educational
1.2. Apply national education standards for assessment and a institutions;
uniform monitoring of the learning process for grades 1-12, 2.3. Ensure state financial support to students.
and prepare standards for all education levels (vocational, 3. To harmonise the education system
specialised secondary and tertiary); 3.1. Strengthen general academic compatibility and suc-
1.3. Continue specialised and differentiated secondary edu- cession with focus on the continuity of basic and voca-
cation; tional education, enlarging opportunities to enter tertiary
1.4. Pay particular attention to the adjustment of voca- education and improving the compatibility of qualifica-
tional training to labour market needs; tions;
1.5. Modernise school libraries with focus on information 3.2. Encourage self-governance of schools;
and computer networks; 3.3. Support non-university higher education and imple-
1.6. Continue reform of the examination system and im- ment a concept of the regional development of the educa-
prove acceptance procedure into higher education institution system.
tions.

33
Education

In improving the social conditions for Non-state education institutions
education and harmonising the education Number of schools Enrolment
1995- 1999- 2000- 1995- 1999- 2000-
system, the following important achieve- 1996 2000 2001 1996 2000 2001
ments of 2000 should be mentioned: Basic/secondary schools 20 19 20 1,092 1,660 1,744
· research was carried out in the basic Pre-schools 1 2 2 13 50 35
education and vocational training of in- Primary 12 6 4 399 230 120
dividuals who had been sentenced to im- Basic 5 5 6 295 596 584
prisonment; Secondary 1 5 6 338 333 491
· one youth school was established and Gymnasium 0 1 1 0 451 481
two classes for young people in basic edu- Special 1 0 1 47 0 33
cation schools were set up; Vocational school 1 1 1 145 57 42
· basic education by correspondence, Specialised secondary 15 18 14 1,860 4,740 4,022
funded by municipalities, was provided Non-university higher (college-type) 0 0 3 0 0 575
for military servicemen at the Kaunas, Universities 0 1 4 0 63 630
Vilnius and Marijampolë adult educa-
tion centres; schools. In the academic year 2000/
· analysis was carried out into the needs In 2000, 6.64% of GDP was 2001, the dominant schools become ba-
of ethnic minority pupils in receiving allocated to education. sic, secondary and gymnasiums. Special
basic education, and recommendations education schools started to emerge. The
were prepared; number of private vocational schools is
· entry into five higher educational institutions was centralized, scarce and remains unchanged. Only one such school oper-
and the main principles were defined for entry conditions into ates at this time.
higher education schools for the years 2001 and 2002; Positive qualitative and quantitative changes have occurred
· a vocational educational institutions network optimisation in private tertiary schools, and in the past five years the num-
programme was confirmed and the process of optimisation ber of students enrolled there has grown by 2.3 times, from
commenced. 3,097 to 7,105. Three private college-type schools have re-
Challenging the state monopoly: private education. The ceived accreditation as non-university educational institutions.
state monopoly in education continues to further diminish The appearance of private tertiary schools in the last two aca-
under the pressure of an increasing number of various pri- demic years has had an impact on tertiary education. In 1999,
vate education institutions emerging. The development of the Vilnius St. Joseph priests seminary was established, and in
private education has created the conditions for a diversity 2000 the International Higher Management School, the
of choice in education. In the last five Lithuanian Christian Foundation Higher
years the number of private institutions School and the Telðiai Priests Seminary
has grown from 36 (for the period 1995 The state monopoly in edu- were established.
to 1996) to 42 (for the period 2000 to cation continues to further Accessibility to education. One of the
2001). Since 1999, the range of private diminish under the pressure most important indicators characterising the
education institutions has changed quali- of an increasing number of state of education is its accessibility - the
tatively. In the academic year 1995/ various private education coherence between the supply and demand
1996, the most dominant non-state ba- institutions emerging. of educational services and the structure of
sic education schools were primary the education system, which ensure the
sustainability of the education process.
Objectively, educational opportunities are unevenly dis-
In 2000, 6.64% of GDP was allocated to education. In
tributed territorially depending on the size of the population,
the national budget, expenditure for education accounted
the economic structure, the demand for labour and other re-
for approximately 2.7 billion LTL, of which 30.8% was
gional economic factors. However, the problem of an uneven
state budget funding and 69.2% municipality money. At
distribution of educational institutions is solvable when the
the end of 2000, according to the Ministry of Education
mobility of pupils and students is ensured. For example, if
and Science, expenditure per pupil studying in a basic school
small and inefficient primary and basic schools in rural areas
was 2,404 LTL, in a vocational school 4,094 LTL, and in
are closed, transportation should be introduced for pupils (yel-
a tertiary institution 3,787 LTL per year.
low buses). For students of specialised secondary and higher

34

education who move to study from rural areas or small towns, ber of special groups and classes at rural schools exceeds that of
settlement grants and stipends should be provided on a means- urban schools. During the last two academic years such classes
tested basis. In solving the problem of accessibility to educa- grew by 321 in rural areas and by 107 in urban areas. Such a
tion, access to targeted education-related loans is important. gap could be explained by a difference in the structure of
An important aspect of the accessibility of education is the educational institutions within the network. The number of
creation of conditions conducive to life- pre-school institutions in rural areas is 2.4
long education, which means the possi- times less than in urban areas. However,
bility to start and continue studies at dif- An important aspect of the ac- in the opinion of OECD experts, the
ferent stages in a person’s life. The devel- cessibility of education is the uniting of pre-school classes with the ba-
opmental years of a child are most impor- creation of conditions condu- sic education system will not solve all the
tant time to create conditions for psycho- cive to lifelong education. problems of early education for rural chil-
social, social, psychological, emotional and dren. So in optimising the network of edu-
cognitive development. In this respect, the cational institutions it is necessary to take
early childhood education concept and manual on early edu- into account the needs of early childhood education, particu-
cation prepared and approved in 2000 is highly important. larly in rural areas.
Moreover, an education programme for children under three In summing up, it could be said that children from rural
years of age must be formulated and implemented. It is ac- and urban areas have unequal opportunities to be prepared
knowledged that the successful and unsuccessful experiences for primary school. Generally speaking, access to pre-school
that children undergo in school to a large extent impact their education depends very much on the place of residence. Closely
lives and form their attitudes to future education. related to this is the distribution of pre-school age educational
In 2000, there were 501 pre-school institutions in urban institutions in the districts. Other factors that contribute to
areas and 213 in rural areas. The number of children attending these differences include the inequality and different social
pre-school institutions fell by nearly three times between 1991 and economic conditions of the family’s socio-cultural envi-
and 2000. In 2000, 41.1% of children of pre-school age at- ronment and so on, all of which contribute to attendance.
tended kindergardens, of which 11.8% were in rural areas and In the past five years enrolment in basic education schools
58.0% were in urban areas. In the past five years the number of in urban areas has grown, and in rural has fallen. However,
children throughout Lithuania attending pre-schools grew by despite this trend, in the academic year 1999/2000 there
11% - by 16.3% in urban areas and only were twice as many basic schools operat-
3.2% in rural areas. ing in rural areas, even though enrolment
In seeking to improve attendance of Children from rural and ur- there is three times less than in urban ar-
pre-schools along with creating new insti- ban areas have unequal op- eas. The disproportion in primary, basic
tutions, special classes and groups of pre- portunities to be prepared and secondary schools between rural and
school age children should be created for primary school. urban areas is also obvious. In rural areas
within schools. The increase in the num- there are nine times as many primary
schools and 12 times as many basic edu-
Enrolment at pre-school institutions, % of the corre- cation schools as in urban areas, while urban areas have nearly
sponding age group twice as many secondary schools and eight times as many
1995 1999 2000 special education schools as rural areas. Moreover, while in
Total rural areas there is only one youth school, and no adult educa-
1-6 years 30.1 40.4 41.1 tion schools, in urban areas the number of these types of schools
Up to 3 years 11.2 13.4 13.7 is 23 and 21, respectively. Pupils from rural areas have less
3 years and over 36.2 53.3 53.1 opportunities to enrol in different types of education past
Cities basic school if they have dropped out of basic school. There is,
1-6 years 41.7 56.6 58.0
Up to 3 years 15.7 19.4 19.9
Enrolment at basic school in Lithuania’s urban areas was
3 years and over 49.9 74.1 74.4
three times higher than in rural areas in the academic year
Rural areas
2000/2001. The number of gymnasium pupils in each
1-6 years 8.6 12.2 11.8
differs by 94.2 times, and enrolment at special schools in
Up to 3 years 2.6 3.4 3.2
urban areas was 10.6 times higher than in rural areas.
3 years and over 10.7 16.6 15.6

35
Education

therefore, a higher probability that students in rural areas will In striving to guarantee better opportunities for pupils
acquire a lower level of education. Access to educational insti- to acquire secondary education from 2000 to 2001
tutions is often linked to a lack of money for transportation. specialised learning was introduced in basic schools. Of
Even though the publishing of textbooks was considered the 740 secondary schools, gymnasiums and adult edu-
an important task of education reform, in reality insufficient cation centres, specialised grades were established in 546.
attention was paid to the quality of textbooks for basic educa-
tion. In stressing the importance of final grades in secondary Lithuanian Education 2000, Vilnius: PPRC, 2001, p.30

schools in relation to further studies (the possibility to enter
specialised secondary or higher education institutions), the qual- maximum realisation of pupils’ abilities. In actual fact gymnasi-
ity of the whole of basic education as the foundation on which ums created the conditions to change the final stages of second-
all future learning is based was somehow sacrificed. ary education schools for some categories of pupils. This only
Specialised and differentiated education: lessons learnt. In sharpened the problems of the whole of basic education, par-
striving to take the individual needs and preferences of pupils ticularly related to the specialisation of basic education schools.
into account, in 1998 an experimental programme on specialised Moreover, the establishment of gymnasiums raised questions of
education was approved. In the academic year 2000/2001, in a social and psychological nature, to which it is not easy to find
the final grades of secondary school pupils could choose be- answers at this time. Is a teenager who has finished eight grades
tween an exact, humanitarian or technical education. However, mature enough to choose the further direction of his or her
the survey of schools that revealed a need for specialised learning studies in a gymnasium? How much do gymnasiums contrib-
also revealed that the needs of pupils in selecting specialised ute to segregation in the education system?
education have not been completely satisfied. The ‘capacity’ of Opportunities to continue education for those who go
the specialised education model was itself insufficiently utilised, back to repeat studies in the same grade or who drop out
particularly regarding the tools and measures for redistributing of school. From the human development perspective, both
the workload and improving teaching methods. the individuals who stop studying and society as a whole
The secondary schools that did not meet the requirements suffer significant losses. These people become deprived of many
of specialised education were transformed into basic schools. essential choices in their lives and are exposed to a high risk of
This transformation worsened still further accessibility to schools. unemployment, poverty and social exclusion. And in eco-
Such a situation contradicts one of the main objectives of edu- nomic terms, society will need to ‘invest’ more in these people
cation, to not only guarantee opportunities to select a through additional social programmes.
specialisation, but also to freely change it, or, having stopped The total number of pupils who repeated courses between
studies, to be able to continue them whenever the need arises. 1995/1996 and 2000/2001 was approximately 34,800.
The education system must contain a ‘bridge’ linked to This demanded approximately 10 million LTL in additional
specialised education, to ensure such opportunities exist. Ac- funding annually. Most often, they are first-year students and
cording to OECD experts, however, the early specialisation and pupils in the sixth and ninth grades. ‘Repeat’ pupils from the
segregation of pupils in fact limits rather than boosts their edu- latter two grades usually drop out of basic school altogether.
cation-related choices. Uncertainties also arise during the accep- Particular attention is paid by society to children up to
tance of pupils with a different specialisation or without any the age of 16 who do not attend basic school since, accord-
into university or other higher educational institutions. ing to the Lithuanian Constitution and related laws, educa-
There is a clear trend in Lithuania where conditions are tion is compulsory for children until they turn 16. The reg-
created for students who are studying better, are more gifted, istration of drop-outs is made by the Ministry of Education
diligent and motivated from the ninth class to continue their and Science and the Department of Statistics. However, the
secondary education in a gymnasium. While in the academic different methodologies used for these calculations do not
year 1993/1994 there were three gymnasiums operating, in allow for accurate assessments.
2000/2001 the number increased to 80, and the number of The Ministry of Education and Science has indicated
schools having gymnasium classes was 12. In the academic year that 1,305 children up to 16 years of age were not attending
2000/2001, the were 28,921 pupils in gymnasiums, and there school (among them 485 children with disabilities) in 1998.
were 307 students in gymnasium classes in rural areas. In 1999, the figure was 824 (of whom 309 were with dis-
The 10 years of the gymnasium ‘movement’ has not been abilities), and in 2000, 689 children dropped out of basic
evaluated uniformly in the context of general educational re- school (of whom 255 were disabled). Statistics from
form. The idea behind the creation of gymnasiums was the Lithuania’s districts indicate that the number of drop-outs is
provision of higher quality education and conditions for the decreasing, and in the districts of Vilnius, Kaunas and

36

The results of examinations in basic and secondary gymnasiums very large, large and small schools, respec-
schools. tively constitute 35.1%, 23.3% and 5.6% of the total
In 2000, after basic education become a 10-year pro- number of secondary schools.
cess, completion examinations were taken by 10th grade The final examination results from gymnasiums were
pupils for the first time. Analysis made by the National the best of all Lithuania’s schools. Similar trends were noted
Examination Centre allowed for a comparison of the re- in comparing state graduation examination results. In
sults of different types of schools. Very small schools (up 1999, state graduation examinations were held in history
to 10 pupils in the 10th grade) and small schools (11 to and mathematics. In 2000, the number of state examina-
20 10th-grade pupils) dominate among the basic schools, tions was expanded, and biology, chemistry and physics
accounting for, respectively, 72.2% and 21.9% of all ba- examinations were included. The results of the state gradu-
sic schools. Of the total number of basic school pupils, ation examinations were better in urban and regional cen-
78.8% study in these schools. Very large (61 to 90 10th- tre schools than in schools in small towns and rural areas.
grade pupils) and large (31 to 60 10th-grade pupils) schools There is a link between the size of a school and the
together constitute 2.6% of total basic schools, with 14.1% results of the state graduation examination - the smaller
of all basic school pupils. Among secondary schools and the school, the worse the examination results.

Pupils who repeat course, thousands* Young people aged up to 16 who have
1995/1996 1996/1997 1997/1998 1998/1999 1999/2000 2000/2001 dropped out of the education system are
Total 8.1 7.5 6.4 5.0 4.1 3.7 just the tip of the iceberg. A large number
1 - 4 grades 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.1 1.7 1.4 of pupils who are older than 16 leave edu-
5 - 10 grades 4.9 4.4 3.7 2.8 2.4 2.3 cational institutions each year. In the past
11 - 12 grades 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.04 0.03 10 years, the number of drop-outs from
*Beginning of academic year basic school fluctuates from 5,000 to
11,000, in vocational schools from 4,000
Paneveþys their number is greater than to 5,500, and in tertiary institutions from
in other districts. Absence of reliable data on 5,000 to 9,000 students. On the other
According to expert assessments by the drop-outs can not allow not hand there are no statistics that can allow
Department of Statistics, for example, in only for a evaluation of the us to assess just how many of these people
the academic year 1998/1999, 96% of situation, but also for tar- actually continue their studies at a later date.
children aged 7-15 studied in various types geted policy measures. What the statistics do show is how much
of schools while 21,000 dropped out the education system incurs in losses, and
(4%). Expert calculations indicate that on this forces us to think about those oppor-
average 5,000 seven-year-olds do not enrol for school and that tunities that do exist for people to continue their studies at
approximately the same number drop out between the first and different stages of their lives. So the problem of dropping out
1
ninth grades. On the other hand, in the publication “Educa- should be related not only with compulsory education, but also
tion in Lithuania 2000” it is noted that in the academic year with the necessity to provide opportunities to re-enter the edu-
1999/2000 the number of children aged up to 16 who are not cation system and be involved in life-long education.
attending school was 24,724. The biggest age group among For those who leave school before reaching the age of 16,
drop-outs is 10-12 years of age (5.5% of those who are 10, there are several opportunities to continue education by re-
7.1% of those who are 11 and 6.2% of those who are 12 do not turning to basic school or attending a youth school (12-16
attend school). years of age). They can also enter a vocational school from
All figures and estimates unanimously reveal a decrease in the first level (from 14 years of age), and when they turn 18
the number of drop-outs. It must be noted that absence of they can then continue their studies and acquire a basic edu-
reliable data on drop-outs can not allow cation at an adult education centre. So
not only for a evaluation of the situation, for young people aged 16-18 who lack a
but also for targeted policy measures. It is The problem of dropping basic education (who, for example, have
only to be hoped that the 2001 popula- out should be related not not attended school for several years and
tion census will provide more accurate data. only with compulsory edu- have only completed five grades), the op-
cation, but with life-long portunities for an education remain
1
Lietuvos socialine raida, 2000, p.28. education. scarce. They cannot return to a basic

37
Education

Drop-outs from educational institutions*
It is difficult for them to continue their studies and at the
Pupils/students who left % of total
during academic year enrolment same time find their place in the labour market.
Basic school (day) Educational opportunities for all: meeting special needs.
1991/1992 10,057 2.1 In the past 10 years, special education was an important com-
1992/1993 11,089 2.2 ponent of the education system. In the Law on Education of
1993/1994 4,473 0.9 1991, it was already stated that children with special needs
1994/1995 6,263 1.2 have the right to be educated in the general educational insti-
1995/1996 6,706 1.3 tutions that are closest to their home. This created the condi-
1996/1997 6,081 1.2 tions for the social integration of pupils with special needs. In
1997/1998 5,108 0.9 1998, changes to the legislation noted that every child with-
1998/1999 5,127 0.9 out exception - even those with very special education needs
1999/2000 4,828 0.9 who until 1990 were considered ‘uneducatable’ - had the
Vocational school right to education. In 1999, the Law on Special Education
1991/1992 3,871 ... was passed, which encompassed an entire education chain
1992/1993 4,856 11.4 from early childhood to higher education for people with
1993/1994 4,579 9.9 special needs. On the adoption of this law, the following addi-
1994/1995 3,840 8.4 tional legal acts were adopted: an acceptance procedure for
1995/1996 4,163 8.4 people with special needs into a special educational institu-
1996/1997 4,730 9.1 tion; and a procedure for educating pupils at home. Today,
1997/1998 4,896 9.0 pupils with special needs have a wide range of opportunities
1998/1999 5,144 9.1 in being educated together with other children of the same
2000/2001 5,410 10.3 age in basic or specialised schools. According to the Ministry
Specialised secondary school of Education and Science, in 2000/2001 there were 53,308
1991/1992 4,086 10.9 pupils with special needs, (9% of the total number of pupils).
1992/1993 3,060 10.2 Of the 45,539 pupils who were studying in basic schools
1993/1994 2,400 10.1 together with children of the same age (this is called total
1994/1995 2,736 11.5 integration), 60% had language or communication disorders,
1995/1996 2,554 10.4 19% had specific recognition disorders, 8% had limited intel-
1996/1997 2,967 10.9 lect, 5% had visual impairments, and 1% had hearing impair-
1997/1998 4,126 13.4 ments. Only 1.1% of all pupils with special needs were en-
1998/1999 3,023 8.8 rolled in special educational institutions, a proportion that has
2000/2001 4,477 11.5 nearly halved over the last 10 years.
Higher education instituions There still remains the problem of children with
1991/1992 7,115 11.5 special needs who have limited opportunities to select fur-
1992/1993 6,684 11.8 ther education or a vocation. In 2000/2001, there were only
1993/1994 6,332 12.7 169 such pupils studying in vocational training and educa-
1994/1995 6,166 11.7 tion groups at special education schools.
1995/1996 5,358 9.6 ***
1996/1997 6,542 10.9 With the spread of globalisation and the increase in labour
1997/1998 7,227 10.5 force mobility, education should ensure the maintenance of
1998/1999 8,542 11.1 traditional values and cultural identity, and at the same time
1999/2000 8,828 10.1 provide the skills and knowledge to empower people with
* Excluding those who transferred to another educational institution. the ability to adjust to changing conditions. People should
have access to quality basic education and have equal ‘start’
school and they are not accepted to adult education centres opportunities, accessibility to secondary education and vo-
that provide a secondary education past basic school. So there cational training, and the chance to return to education at
are some people who remain with only a primary education. any time in their lives.

38

IV

Youth and the labour market
Nijolë Veèkienë

Employment. On the one hand, young people, in accor- According to the labour force survey, approximately
dance with their socio-demographic position, determine the 868,000 young people (15-29) were part of the labour force
prospects for the labour market. They are, on the other, the in 1997, of whom 401,000 were employed. By 2000, the
population group most sensitive to labour market fluctua- ‘young labour force’ had dropped to 811,000 people and the
tions. This is, therefore, to some extent a priority ‘contin- number of employed young people reached 357,500. The
gent’ for the labour market. The important issue is whether number of young people who were unemployed, meanwhile,
vocational training qualitatively and quantitatively corre- rose from 71,000 to 82,000 during the same period.
sponds to labour demand. There is a tendency among young Changes like these occurred in all groups of young people
people to reject low-qualified jobs in favour of more impor- aged between 14 and 29: the employed, unemployed and
tant strategic aims by acquiring a speciality that is in de- economically inactive (those who study, those who neither
mand. work nor study and those who are not seeking work). In
According to forecasts from the Department of Statistics, 1997, 57.7% of young people were economically active, of
the number of young people should start to fall dramatically whom 46.2% were employed and 11.4% were unemployed,
from the year 2010. This will reduce competition in the and economically inactive young people accounted for
labour market, but in the long term any fall in the number 42.3%. In 2000, the following shift occurred: 55.2% were
of young people will inevitably result in a decline in total economically active, of whom 44.1% were employed, while
population and a shortage of young workers. Increasing mi- the proportion of those who were unemployed fell to 11.1%
gration has also contributed to the decline in the younger and the proportion of economically inactive young people
population. In the last 10 years the number of young people grew to 44.8%.
has fallen by almost 63,000 people. The process of migra-
tion as a whole is most common among people between the Labour force by age and gender, thousands
ages of 20 and 29. The declining numbers of young people Age group 1997 1998 1999 2000
are, of course, leading to a decline in their presence on the Total 1,827.9 1,842.5 1,861.7 1,793.6
labour market. Labour force surveys in 2000 revealed that 15-19* 67.3 56.4 52.3 33.4
the number of economically active young people (employed 20-24 192.3 183.4 179.7 165.0
and unemployed people aged 14 to 29) fell between 1997 25-29 241.1 252.9 254.6 249.1
and 2000 by approximately 53,100. Men
Total 965.8 960.5 962.3 918.7
15-19* 43.9 35.4 31.2 22.8
The concept of state policy on young people de- 20-24 113.3 104.9 102.1 93.0
fines them as being 16 to 29 years of age, people who 25-29 134.7 135.5 136.0 130.2
are forming their own personalities and preparing them- Women
selves for an independent life in society. In Lithuania, Total 862.1 882.0 899.4 874.8
even though the age from which a person can begin 15-19* 23.4 21.0 21.1 10.5
work is 16, legislation on work contracts allows for the 20-24 79.0 78.5 77.7 72.0
possibility to work from 14 provided there is the con- 25-29 106.4 117.4 118.6 118.9
sent of the parents or carers. *Between 1997 and 1999, the age group was from 14 to 19 years,
and in 2000 from 15 to 19.

39

Employed, thousands
Working a shortened day.
1997 1998 1999 2000
The possibility of working a shortened day or part-time is
Total 1,570.7 1,597.6 1,598.4 1,517.9
particularly important for students, not to mention young
Young people 401.3 404.9 391.2 357.5
student families. However, a shortened working day is
15-19 43.8 41.0 36.1 19.5
more popular among women.
20-24 150.3 145.7 134.3 121.5
This is how 10.5% of all employed women and 7.5% of
25-29 207.2 218.2 220.7 216.5
employed men worked in 2000. Among young people,
20% work part-time. In the last few years the number of
Employment by age group varies and has significantly
people working part-time has been increasing, as young
changed over time. In 1997, 14% of 14-19 year olds were
married women strive to protect their jobs. However, mar-
employed. In 2000, the proportion was 7%. The propor-
ried women working part-time are not popular among
tion of young people aged 20-24 who were employed was
employers, and their number has been decreasing.
56% in 1997 and 47% in 2000. About a third of bachelor’s
students and approximately 80% of master’s students work
and study at the same time. They belong to the category of employed by economic activity, with the exception that slightly
the employed. more young people compared to adults work in commerce
The employment of men and women. Since there are tradi- (20% and 13%, respectively) and 19% of those who are older
tionally more women enrolled in secondary, specialised sec- than 30 work in agriculture, while for young people the fig-
ondary and higher education institutions, ure is 16%. As the majority of people aged
less of them are employed and the num- 15 to 19 work in agriculture their most
ber of men exceeds the number of em- About a third of bachelor’s popular choice of profession is farming
ployed women in all age groups. The students and approximately (48%). Twenty per cent of this age group
number of young men aged up to 24 80% of master’s students work do non-qualified work. The majority of
who are employed or economically ac- and study at the same time. young people who belong to the 20-29
tive is markedly higher than the number age group have acquired qualifications;
of women employed in the same age 20% of them are qualified workers, 19%
group. However, economic activity increases for women aged work in services, 13% in agriculture and 5% are legislators,
25-29 years, whereas for men of this age group it decreases. senior officials and managers. A relatively high proportion
Employment by economic sector and profession. The dis- (11%) of people aged 20 to 29 belong to the category of
tribution of employed young people by economic sector de- specialist (for example, professions like engineers, teachers and
pends on their age. For example, in 2000, 7% of people aged doctors) compared to those who are older than 30, of whom
between 15 and 19 were employed and the majority of them 15% are specialists.
(60%) were rural residents, who helped their parents in pri- Generally speaking, the greatest chance of employment
vate farming. The distribution of employed people aged 20 for young people comes from services and industry. Their
to 29 resembles the distribution of the total number of the employment in agriculture also remains high. In terms of the
development trends of the countries of the EU, which
Employment level by age, % Lithuania intends to join, this cannot be seen as a positive
1997 1998 1999 2000 factor. The reduction of the agricultural sector is an important
Total 52.8 53.5 53.2 51.2 prerequisite for EU membership. Given that 17.3% of young
15-19 13.9 12.9 11.2 7.2 people are employed in agriculture, special programmes aimed
20-24 55.4 55.1 51.7 47.0 at labour mobility should be implemented.
25-29 73.5 76.9 77.7 76.8
Men 60.3 59.6 58.4 55.5
15-19 18.2 15.6 12.6 8.7
20-24 62.1 61.7 57.7 52.4
25-29 82.0 80.2 80.1 76.3
Women 46.4 48.2 48.7 47.5
15-19 9.5 10.1 9.8 5.6
20-24 48.6 48.5 45.7 41.4
25-29 64.6 73.4 75.2 77.4

40

As surveys on the integration of young people into the
labour market have shown, the work young people do is paid
nearly 40% less than the national average. The difference is
more notable by region, depending on its level of urbanisation.
In all three regional groups the supply of jobs for people
aged 16-19 exceeds demand. The potential for labour supply
is best in the first group and worst in the third. In the cities,
the unemployed have the higher level of education. Condi-
tions for young people to integrate into the labour market are
more favourable for those who live in the cities. The situation
Territorial gaps in employment opportunities for young is worse in the country’s rural areas. One of the ways of miti-
people. Qualifications among young people living in urban gating differences in employment opportunities is more ratio-
areas are significantly higher than those of young people in nal use of the Employment Fund - to decentralise the voca-
rural areas, and their work is better paid. More than 49% of tional training of young people, optimally using the network
young people are concentrated in Lithuania’s five largest cit- of schools.
ies. Moreover, educational opportunities Unemployment. The International
and choices of training programmes are Labour Organisation (ILO) defines the
much wider in the cities. Meanwhile, in The work young people do is unemployed differently to the Lithuanian
rural areas there is a shortage of work in paid nearly 40% less than the Labour Exchange. According to the ILO,
non-agricultural sectors and the territorial national average. the unemployed are people of working
mobility of young people is very low. age who: have no work or personal busi-
ness; who have been actively seeking a job
Unemployed young people by education in selected during the previous month; and, having found a job, who are
labour exchanges, %, 2000
able to start work within two weeks. The regular labour force
Specialised
Region Higher secondary Vocational Unqualified surveys conducted by the Department of Statistics use the
Group I ILO definition of unemployment. It should be noted that
Vilnius 3.9 11.9 40.9 43.3 before 2000 the minimum age for polling was 14, and since
Panevëþys 2.9 10.3 43.2 43.6 2000 it has been 15. Data on young people obtained before
Group II and after 2000, therefore, is difficult to compare.
Rokiðkis 0.7 6.4 39.2 53.7 The Law on Unemployment Benefits passed in 1996
Akmenë 0.2 3.3 38.5 58.0 defines the unemployed as working-aged, able-bodied people
Ðvenèionys 0.9 5.8 53.1 40.2 who are out of work, are not attending day schools, are regis-
Group III tered with a labour exchange as job seekers, or are ready to take
Kaiðiadorys 0.5 6.0 32.5 61.2 on professional training. Labour exchanges register the unem-
Vilkaviðkis 0.6 4.8 52.7 41.9 ployed according to this law.
Ðalèininkai 0.6 4.6 30.9 63.9 According to the labour exchange, the number of un-
Lithuania 2.8 7.7 42.4 47.1 employed young people is increasing every year. Their num-

41

ber grew from 48,000 people in 1997 to 62,600 in 2000. Unemployment level by district, age up to 25, %, 2000*
On 1 September 2001, 29,200 young unemployed people District Total Women Men
were registered. The level of unemployment among young Total 29.0 26.3 30.8
people reached 18.9% (total 12.0%) on 1 November 2001. Alytus 39.1 18.7 48.2
On average, every fourth person registered with the labour Kaunas 33.8 39.2 29.9
exchange is under 29. The level of unemployment among Klaipëda 23.9 18.2 28.1
young people was always higher than the national average. Marijampolë 20.3 27.6 28.2
The highest levels of unemployment at the beginning of Panevëþys 27.8 25.1 29.8
2001 were 21% to 29% in Akmenë, Ðalèininkai, Pasvalys, Ðiauliai 32.9 22.6 38.4
Lazdijai and Maþeikai. Tauragë 40.9 44.4 37.8
According to the labour force survey, however, actual Telðiai 13.1 11.8 14.2
youth unemployment is twice as high as the registered rate. Utena 30.5 39.7 26.4
This occurs not only because of a difference in the definition Vilnius 26.0 22.9 28.5
of unemployed applied by the labour exchanges and there- *Labour force survey data
fore in the labour force survey, but also
because not all unemployed people ap- Unemployed young people by age and gender, % of total unemployed
ply to the labour exchange. Moreover, 14-19 20-24 25-29
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
the Law on Unemployment Benefits lim-
1997 9.1 10.8 7.2 16.3 20.0 11.4 14.1 12.1 16.6
its job seeking opportunities at the
1998 6.3 7.4 4.9 15.4 16.6 13.8 13.7 14.1 13.3
labour exchange for those who study.
1999 6.1 7.0 4.9 17.2 17.7 16.5 13.3 14.6 11.9
Young people who study at daytime edu-
2000 5.0 6.8 2.5 15.8 14.7 12.9 11.8 12.9 10.4
cational institutions do not officially be-
*Labour force survey data
long to the category of unemployed, de-
spite the fact that very often they want
to work and seek employment. So data ment was noted in the 25-29 age group.
on unemployed young people from the According to the labour ex- Generally, older age groups suffer lower
labour exchange are not accurate. Un- change, the number of unem- unemployment.
like the labour exchange, the labour force ployed young people is increas- The level of unemployment is in-
survey revealed particularly high unem- ing every year. The level of un- creasing among young men. In 1997,
ployment in the regions of Tauragë employment among young the proportion of men in the total num-
(41%), Alytus (39%) and Ðiauliai people reached 18.9% (total ber of unemployed young people was
(33%). 12.0%) on 1 November 2001. almost 60%; in 2000 it fell to 56%. By
In 1997 the young unemployed ac- the beginning of 2001, the proportion
counted for 38% of the total unem- reached 59.8%. The highest level of un-
ployed, and their proportion decreased to 33% in 2000. employment is among boys in the 15-19 age group (63%).
From 1997 to 2000, the level of unemployment for In 2000, 12,600 vocational, secondary and tertiary school
both the age groups 15-19 and 19-24 was more than 1.5 to graduates sought the assistance of the labour exchanges. This
two times higher than the national average, according to the figure was 3,200 more than for the previous year.
labour force survey. The highest level of unemployment was The insufficient level of education and vocational train-
noted in the 15-19 age group. The level of unemployment ing or their disparity with labour market demand often
for the 20-24 age group was lower, but it grew by 4.6% becomes the reason for unemployment among young
between 1997 and 2000. The lowest level of unemploy- people.

Unemployment level by age and gender*, %
National average 14-19 20-24 25-29
Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women Total Men Women
1997 14.1 14.2 13.9 34.9 33.7 37.2 21.8 25.0 17.4 14.1 12.1 16.6
1998 13.3 14.3 12.2 27.4 28.8 25.0 20.6 21.7 19.0 13.7 14.1 13.3
1999 14.1 15.6 12.6 30.9 33.8 26.5 25.2 26.1 24.0 13.3 14.6 11.9
2000 15.4 17.3 13.3 43.0 47.8 29.5 26.4 26.7 26.0 13.1 15.7 10.2
*Labour force survey data

42

ability to get a job: expiry of work con-
tract; engagement in seasonal work; dis-
satisfaction with employer; insufficient
remuneration; poor work conditions;
work not according to speciality; and vi-
ability of company employer (liquida-
tion, bankruptcy, staff reduction). Ap-
proximately 8% of young employees
were fired because of bad relationships
with their employers and because they
Education and unemployment among violated their work discipline code. Less
young people. Lithuanian Labour Ex- Approximately 3,300 of the than 3% of the young unemployed who
change statistics indicate that by the be- young unemployed did not had work experience stated that the rea-
ginning of 2001 the proportion of uneven have a basic education. son for the loss of a job was insufficient
employed young people with a higher Young people with a low vocational training. Meanwhile, in the
education was only 2.8%, and with level of education are ex- opinion of the employers, young people
specialised secondary 8.3%. The propor- posed to a high risk of long- lose their jobs because they lack profes-
tion of the young unemployed without term unemployment. sional training. The majority of unem-
vocational training was 41.7%. It was ployed people without much work ex-
noted that approximately 3,300 of the
young unemployed did not even have a basic education. The
labour force survey suggested a different picture, with the
unemployed with higher education accounting for 5%, those
with specialised secondary education 15% and those with
secondary 41% of the total number of young unemployed
people. More than a third had no basic or primary education.
Young people with a low level of education are exposed to a
high risk of long-term unemployment.
Research on the demand for professionals with a higher
education conducted in 1999 on the initiative of the Depart-
ment of Education and Science revealed that more and more perience (60%) also think that the main reason for their
young people from the cities are seeking higher education. unemployment is their lack of vocational training. When
The residents of rural areas and towns are gradually being stating the main reasons for their unemployment more
pushed out of the higher education system. The majority of women than men identified a lack of vocational training,
people aged up to 29 were labourers before registering with whereas men identified a lack of jobs.
the labour exchange. Only 2% had their own business, 1% Employment opportunities and challenges. The behaviour
were farmers, and 1% were employed in of young people in the labour market
other jobs. and the reasons behind their unemploy-
Reasons for unemployment among Young people account for ap- ment depend on many social, economic
young people. Surveyed young unem- proximately a third of all the and demographic factors that are very
ployed people have indicated the follow- long-term unemployed. much interrelated. The following impor-
ing reasons for loss of employment or in- tant factors can contribute to the expan-
sion of employment opportunities for
young people: the motivation of young people themselves
The average unemployment benefit received by the young
to improve their education; the accessibility of that educa-
unemployed in 2000 was 137 LTL. According to research
tion; the availability of information and consultation about
data, only 29% of the young unemployed receive unem-
employment and changes in the labour market; a more ac-
ployment benefits. The majority of unemployed young
tive role of labour exchanges in addressing employment
people are not eligible to receive benefits, because they do
needs; active labour market policies; and the improvement
not have the required two-year employment record.
of territorial and occupational mobility of young people.

43

Long-term unemployment among Long-term unemployed, thousands
young people. Of which young people, aged 15-29
Total Men Women Total Men Women
Long-term unemployment (jobseeking
1999 101.9 61.8 40.0 28.4 19.5 8.9
for more than 12 months) is growing
2000 144.2 86.3 57.9 42.9 30.2 12.6
steadily along with the increase in total nd
2001, 2 quarter 168.5 106.4 62.1 41.0 29.2 11.8
unemployment. According to the
labour force survey, the long-term un-
employed accounted for 58% of the total number of un- went to a vocational college after school with skills that
employed in the second quarter of 2001. In 1999, the were not in demand at their place of residence. Young
proportion was 39%. people with a specialised secondary education and those
Long-term unemployment among young people is also who got vocational training after secondary school ac-
rising. Young people account for approximately a third of counted for only 6% of the total number of the young
all the long-term unemployed. There are twice as many long-term unemployed. Many young long-term unem-
men as there are women among the young long-term un- ployed people have either previously worked (40%) or
employed. studied at daytime schools (31%).
Around 50% of the young long-term unemployed have The most popular method of jobseeking is through the
been seeking jobs for one to two years, and approximately a state labour exchange, by applying directly to employers or
third have been looking for work for two to three years. via advertisements in the-media. Less often, young unem-
There are relatively few young people among those seeking ployed people apply to private labour exchanges or place
jobs for four years or more, but their numbers are growing advertisements in the press.
rapidly. In 1999, such jobseekers accounted for 1,400 About a third of all the long-term unemployed (the
people, or 5%, of the total number of the young long-term same is true for young people) would agree to work for the
unemployed, and by the second quarter of 2001 these fig- minimum wage, 10% for even less than that, and approxi-
ures had jumped to 11,100 and 27%. mately 13% would agree to earn from 400 to 800LTL,
The ultimate influence on success in jobseeking is edu- while 5% would agree to earn no less than 1,500LTL.
cation and work experience. By the second quarter of 2001,
Vitalija Motikaitienë, Head of the Employment Statistics Division,
a third of unemployed people aged 15-29 had left school Department of Statistics
without any qualifications or work experience. Of these,
This text is included in this chapter by the editors of the Report.
25% left a secondary school or a gymnasium, and 16%

From July to September 2000, the Institute of Labour lar source of income, unmarried and without children,
and Social Research carried out a survey of the young un- and still living with his or her parents and maintained by
employed (jobseekers) in eight territorial labour exchanges. them.
The aim of the research was to determine motivation, terri- The research also revealed deep regional disparities in
torial mobility and opportunities for integrating young economic development and standard of living, the demo-
people into the labour market. graphic composition of the population, and labour supply
The research helped to reveal a socio-demographic por- and demand. The Lithuanian labour market differs from
trait of the young unemployed. The typical young unem- those in developed countries not only by deep territorial
ployed person who is unsuccessful in finding job is 21 to disparities in employment opportunities but also by low
24 years old, with insufficient educational background, labour mobility. Opportunities for young people to partici-
without ‘marketable’ professional qualifications or any regu- pate in the labour market therefore differ.

1
Systemic measures for the improvement of employment ment opportunities for young people should include :
opportunities for young people. The problem of youth · the advancement of basic education emphasising the impor-
employment is much wider than labour market policy or tance of knowledge about labour market development, strength-
approaches to the allocation of the Employment Fund. It
should be considered from a systemic human development 1
Jaunimo integravimas á darbo rinkà, The Institute of Labour and
position. A system of measures aimed at improving employ- Social Research, Vilnius, 2001

44

ening motivation for acquiring competitive qualifications;
· developing sustainable vocational training by improving its
quality and accessibility, and the correlation between training
and labour market demand;
· the expansion of the entrepreneurial skills of young people as
a part of a national programme on the development of small-
and medium-sized businesses;
· the promotion of active labour market policy measures based
on competitive vocational training, the dissemination of in-
formation, increasing the popularity and variety of social pub-
lic works, and increasing the flexibility of Employment Fund-
supported jobs;
· the development of information systems, non-governmental
youth organisations, international work contracts, territorial
mobility and support for first-time jobseekers by tax conces-
sions for employers.

45

46

V

Standard of living:
children, youth and poverty
Romas Lazutka

General trends. The year 2000 is widely considered to be Monthly consumer expenditure per household
Lithuania’s year of recovery from its economic crisis. The ag- member, LTL
gregate wealth indicator, GDP, grew by 3.9% after a fall in 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
1999. However, economic growth had no positive effect on Total 348.1 382.6 426.8 425.4 404.4

the average standard of living of the population. Disposable Food 192.2 199.6 205.5 194.4 179.7

income fell below the level of 1998. In 1999 it reached 428 Communications 2.9 4.0 8.1 9.8 14.4

LTL per household member on average, and in 2000 it fell to Rent, water, electricity, 41.0 46.8 52.7 54.8 54.4

415 LTL. Income both in cash and in kind went down. gas and other fuel

The fall in income continued into the beginning of 2001. Transport 18.1 25.0 28.8 32.3 30.5

Compared to the 1st quarter of 2000, it fell by 2% in the 1st
quarter of 2001. Even though the average gross wage in 2000 Expenditure on food in total household consumer
rose from 987 LTL to 1,008 LTL, it was not sufficient to expenditure, %
compensate for the growth in consumer prices, and the real 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
wage fell by 1.9%. The majority of Lithuanians have no share 55.2 52.2 48.1 45.7 44.4

in the benefits of the economic recovery.
to decrease food consumption absolutely in a society that is
Monthly disposable income per household not wealthy. Even so, during 2000, average expenditure on
member, LTL food fell from 194.4 LTL to 179.7 LTL per household mem-
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 ber per month. This occurred because an increase in prices of
Disposable income 326.7 368.9 422.5 428.0 415.4 essential goods and services provided in a centralised way (like
in cash 253.0 297.0 350.4 360.4 349.4 heating, water) did not bring about a decrease in their con-
in kind 73.7 71.9 72.1 67.6 66.0 sumption. Therefore, the fall in income forced people to save
on food.
The decrease in income led to a worsening of consump- The difference in consumer expenditure between deciles
tion indicators. In 2000, average monthly consumer expendi- I and X decreased. In 2000, consumer expenditure per capita
ture per capita fell by 21 LTL. The population spent less of the wealthiest decile was 7.9 times higher than that of the
money on almost all consumer goods and services. Expendi- poorest. The ratio was 8.7 times in 1996 and 8.1 times in
ture on utilities (water, electricity, gas) and transport, remained 1999.
almost at the same level, but grew noticeably on communica- Although the disparity in consumer expenditure between
tions. Higher prices were behind this increase in expenditure. the wealthiest and poorest of the population slightly decreased,
Lithuanians reduced their expenditure on food in both it nevertheless remains significant. The expenditure on food
relateve and absolute terms. The welcome continuous decrease of decile X is almost four times as large as that of decile I, while
since 1996 in the proportion of expenditure on food in total the poorest households allocate 64% of total expenditure on
consumer expenditure slowed a little in 2000, the proportion food, and the wealthiest 31%.
dropping from 45.7% to 44.4%. Standard of living of households with children. The stan-
Usually, when total consumption falls the proportion of dard of living of households with children is on average lower
expenditure on food tends to increase, since it is more difficult that that of households without children. A single person

47

Monthly consumer expenditure of wealthiest and Households with a relatively low standard of living with
poorest deciles, per household member, LTL children and young people who do not work cannot be ex-
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 plained by income distribution among a larger number of
All households 348.1 382.6 426.8 425.4 404.4 dependants only. Usually households where the breadwinner
decile I 105.6 118.3 135.3 133.5 128.4 has low-paid jobs also have more children. Almost one third of
decile II 160.7 176.9 199.5 202.8 189.6 households with a higher income from business and employ-
decile IX 530.6 564.1 642.2 631.2 608.1 ment have only one child, and only 3-4% of such households
decile X 920.7 1,004.6 1,080.3 1,077.7 1,008.7 have three or more children. Meanwhile, households of farm-
ers, the unemployed and those living on social benefits (these
enjoys the highest income, and couples without children are attributed to the category of ‘others’ in surveys) often have
slightly lower. Households called in the survey ‘other house- more children. Over 10% of such households have three or
holds with children under 18’ and single-parent households more children.
with children appear at the opposite end of the scale. Their Available data do not allow for a conclusion on causality.
income is the lowest. As a rule, three generations live in ‘other Do those with lower incomes tend to have more children or,
households with children’, either parents with children under on the contrary, do those with more children find no suffi-
18 and those who are over 18 or children and grandchildren cient income-earning opportunities?
together with parents and grandparents. Households with three or more children virtually do not
There is a clear link between the size fall under the category of wealthiest house-
of disposable income and the number of The standard of living of holds (deciles IX and X). They constitute
children in a household. In 2000 dispos- households with children is almost one-fifth of the poorest households
able income per capita in households with on average lower that that of (decile I), although households with three
one child was slightly higher than the households without children. or more children make up less than 4% of
country’s average, and in households with the total number of households in the
three or more children it was 60% lower. country. In total, half of households with
Families with a bigger number of children stand out not only three or more children fall under the two poorest deciles.
for their low income but also for their consumption of durables. Since 1997, families with three or more children have
Most indicative in this respect is the consumption of modern been entitled to social assistance benefits. Households with
hi-tech appliances. For example, 7% of families with one or two children make up almost 16% of all households in the
two children have computers, while only 3.7% of families country. If these positioned themselves in the middle accord-
with three or more children do. A total of 28% and 10% of ing to rate of consumption, they would also make up approxi-
households respectively have access to cable television, and mately 16% in each household of a corresponding decile. In
1
37% and 24% have stereo sound systems. the least consuming households (decile I) their proportion is
almost 30%, while in the wealthiest 10
percent (decile X) the proportion of
households with two children is two times
smaller.
With the shift from the poorest to
the wealthiest deciles, the proportion of
children is decreasing and that of adults

1
Lietuva 1999: gyvenimo sàlygos, 2000, Table 4.5c.

Distribution of households by occupation of breadwinner and number of children, %, 2000
Total Households Households Households Households
with 1 child with 2 children with 3 or more children without children
All households 100 22.5 15.9 3.8 57.8
Farmers 100 22.0 21.1 10.4 46.5
Employees 100 31.4 21.8 4.2 42.6
Self-employed, employers 100 28.3 39.2 4.4 28.1
Other 100 28.0 18.2 11.4 42.4

48

Households by number of children in marginal deciles, %, 2000
Decile
Number of children in household % of all households I II IX X
Households without children 57.8 31.4 39.9 70.1 75.5
Households with children: One child 22.5 21.7 24.6 19.4 16.6
Two children 15.9 29.3 27.6 9.5 7.5
Three or more children 3.8 17.7 8.4 0.9 0.4
All households 100 100 100 100 100

is increasing (the proportion of men and women). In the poor- Households by age of breadwinner, % of total number
est deciles (I and II) children make up over 30% of the total of households
number of people in these deciles. Meanwhile, in decile X the 18–23 24–29 30–49 50–64 65+
proportion of children is only 13 %. 1996 3.1 9.9 50.8 23.1 13.0

Standard of living of young people. This analysis of the 1997 2.2 9.3 51.0 23.9 13.6

standard of living of young people is based on the assumption 1998 3.2 9.7 51.0 23.2 12.9

that people live in families (households), which adhere to the 1999 2.3 9.0 51.0 22.8 14.9

solidarity principle. This means that household members share 2000 2.8 8.7 50.0 23.8 14.7

resources and consume irrespective of per-
sonal input into the household’s wealth. their decline is slower in the towns and
Household budget surveys con- Households with three or even slower in rural areas. In 2000, in ru-
ducted by the Department of Statistics more children virtually do ral areas there were more independent
single out households where breadwin- not fall under the category of young households of the first age group
ners are 18-29 years old. These house- wealthiest households (18-23) than in 1996. In the cities the
holds made up 11.5% of the total num- number of independent young house-
ber of households in 2000. People aged holds is decreasing every year.
18–29 make up approximately 17% of the total population. Most households aged 18-23 consist of single people, the
Since 1996, the number of households in the 18-23 age majority of whom study and are starting their independent
group decreased from 3.1% to 2.8% and those of 24-29 years lives. Their standard of living to a large extent depends on
from 9.9% to 8.7%. This trend could partially be explained support from their parents. On the other hand, about 30% of
by a decline in the number of marriages. these households already have children who possess a serious
Factors determining the standard of living of young people. risk of becoming poor.
Referring to the differences in standards of living in Lithuania, The 24-29 age group marries and has children three times
four key factors affecting them can be named: demographic more often than the 18-23 age group. Almost half of these
composition of household, source of income, occupation of households consist of married couples with children. The
household members and place of residence. number of single-person households in transition from the
Territorially, young households are spread relatively evenly. first group of young people to the second fell from 45% to
Their number is decreasing more rapidly in the cities, whereas 15%. Moreover, younger (18-23 years) households as a rule
have only one child, whereas 25% of households where the
breadwinner is aged 24-29 have two children. A significant

Households by age and place of residence, % of total
number of households within age groups, 2000
Age of Urban Rural Five largest Towns
breadwinner areas areas cities
18-23 2.9 2.5 3.1 2.6
24-29 8.7 8.7 8.3 9.2
30–49 52.3 45.1 60.0 52.8
50-64 23.8 23.9 24.3 23.0
65 and over 12.3 19.8 12.3 12.4
Total 100 100 100 100

49

Households by type and age, %, 2000 Income and consumption of young
Age of breadwinner people. Compared with more senior age
Type of household 18–23 24–29 30–49 50–64 65+ groups, for young people income from
Single person 45.6 15.7 7.2 27.1 49.7 employment in the private sector (other
Couple without children 6.0 5.9 6.2 30.0 31.1 than agriculture) is playing a more and
Other households without children 17.7 8.7 12.2 25.0 11.8 more important role. Over 40% of all
Couple with child(ren) 16.7 48.9 47.4 6.6 1.0 young households receive their income
Single person with child(ren) 6.6 11.7 10.2 2.1 0.9 from that sector. Less than 30% of the
Other households with child(ren) 7.4 9.1 16.8 9.2 5.6 total income is earned in the public sector
Total 100 100 100 100 100 by the 24-29 age group, and in the
youngest age group this source of income
Households by number of children, 2000 accounts only for 12.5 % of total income.
Age of breadwinner Within the last five years young
18–23 24–29 30–49 50–64 65+ people have clearly tended to rely on em-
Households without children 69.4 30.3 25.6 82.1 92.5 ployment in the private sector. The pro-
Households with children: 30.6 69.7 74.4 17.9 7.5 portion of income earned in this sector in
with one child 25.4 42.3 34.5 13.4 5.3 the total income for the 18-23 age bracket
with two children 3.6 23.4 31.9 3.9 1.8 grew from 32% in 1996 to 41% in 2000,
with three or more children 1.7 4.0 8 0.7 0.3 and in the 24-29 age group from 37% to
Total 100 100 100 100 100 46%, respectively. The percentage of in-
come the youngest age group of house-
proportion of these households (almost 12%) are composed holds earned from the public sector has decreased significantly
of a single parent and children. within the last five years, from 28% to 12.5%.
The demographic structure of young households has seen On the other hand, the proportion of young people’s
a significant change over the last five years, determined mostly income from business and freelance activities almost halved.
by changes in the family structure and the growing impor- The share of social benefits, on the contrary, grew signifi-
tance of education. Since 1996, the number of single young cantly. Between 1996 and 2000 the income of middle-aged
people within the total number of households of the 18-23 breadwinners from business and freelance activities remained
age group increased by 50% and almost doubled in the 24- unchanged, at about 7% of the total income. Young people
29 group. Young people more often postpone or reject mar- are becoming more and more dependent on social and private
riage. Households headed by 18-23 year olds that are com- support (usually from parents).
posed of couples with children dropped from 32% to 16%. The income enjoyed by young households is relatively
The trend for young people to choose to live alone is large. The income of the 18-24 age group exceeds 500 LTL
likely to be predetermined by more complex circumstances per household member per month and is higher than the
in life, in the presence of which it is in-
creasingly difficult to assume responsi- Households by education and age, % of total number of households
bility for a family. Another factor is the of respective age group
growing significance of education. Pro- Age of breadwinner
fessionals, particularly people with higher 18–23 24–29

education, are more competitive and bet- 1996 1998 2000 1996 1998 2000

ter paid on the labour market. The level Specialised secondary education 17.6 14.9 12.1 33.7 34.5 36.9

of the education of breadwinners from Higher education 4.9 7.9 7.5 12.9 14.0 15.4

young households has been growing over
the last five years. Despite the positive Households by age and place of residence, % of total population
developments, young households lag Age of breadwinner
behind the others in terms of education. 18–23 24–29
Among 24-29 year old breadwinners Year Five largest cities Towns Rural areas Five largest cities Towns Rural areas
15.5% have a higher education, while 1996 4.2 3.3 1.7 9.9 10.6 9.2
among the 30-49 age group the propor- 1998 3.7 2.6 3.2 9.6 11.0 8.8
tion is 22%. 2000 3.1 2.6 2.5 8.3 9.2 8.7

50

Education of breadwinner by age, % of total number of households the generation of people in their 50s
of respective age group, 2000 lives a more modest life than young
18–23 24–29 30–49 50–64 65+ people.
Specialised secondary education 12.1 36.9 34.4 22.7 9.2 The consumer expenditure and in-
Higher education 7.5 15.4 21.9 16.7 8.0 come of young people very much de-
pends on the specific age group. Those
national average. Household income tends to fall with age. If aged 18-23 spend the most, on average 486 LTL per capita
per capita income in the 18-19 age group is 561 LTL, it falls per month. In the more senior age group (24-29 years), the
to 425 LTL in the 25-29 age group. It further decreases to average consumer expenditure is much smaller, (396 LTL),
368 LTL for 30-34 age bracket - the lowest level. Income is equal to that of pensioners. Another interesting characteris-
only slightly lower for people aged 80 and up. The main tic of the consumption pattern is the relatively little expen-
reason for such a change in income is that diture on food. In the 24-29 age group,
young people rarely have dependants. In young people spend less on food than
the age groups that follow, income is Young households lag be- any other age group. Households in the
shared among dependants as the number hind the others in terms of 18-23 age group spend more on goods
of households with children where the education. and services, transport, communications,
mother cares for the children and does education, leisure, alcohol and tobacco).
not work increases. They spend less, as one might expect,
Social benefits are small and do not compensate for the only on health care and household appliances in comparison
decrease in household income. Moreover, benefits for families with the senior population. The senior youth group (24-
raising children are paid until the child reaches the age of 29) is barely distinguishable by either size or consumption
three. In the 20-24 age group, income from three main ben- pattern compared to the consumption of the middle-aged
efits related to raising children (maternity, family and a child- population.
birth grant) amounts to 24 LTL per household member, and Young households are unevenly distributed by decile.
in the 30-34 age group it is only 9 LTL. Most belong to the wealthiest deciles (VIII,
In addition, support (such as presents and IX and X), which include almost 40% of
charity) for the 20-24 age group halves Benefits for families raising households of the 18-23 age group and
compared to the 18-19 age group (from children are paid before the about 30% of households of the 24-29
290 LTL to 147 LTL), and in the 25-29 child reaches the age of three. age group. Young households of the sec-
group falls further to 83 LTL per house- ond group are found not only in the
hold member. wealthiest deciles, but also in the poorer
As adult children leave, income in households where ones (between I and IV), which include about 40% of these
breadwinners are in their 50s nears 500 LTL per capita. households. However, noticeably fewer of those households
According to size of income, it appears that people in their appear in the middle deciles, between V and VII. The 24-29
50s and early 20s live best in Lithuania. It must be remem- age group is characterised by a considerably large differentia-
bered that part of the income earned by people in their 50s tion in consumption.
is accounted for twice. First as their income, and second as The households of the senior population vary signifi-
support to the young. As consumer expenditure shows, cantly by decile. Pensioners’ households would commonly

Sources of household income, % of total income in corresponding age group
18-23 24-29
Source of income 1996 1998 2000 1996 1998 2000
Private farming 1.8 4.8 3.9 4.7 6.2 5.8
Business and freelance activity 4.3 5.4 2.7 10.0 7.0 5.3
Employment in private sector (excluding agriculture) 32.1 35.4 40.8 36.8 43.5 46.3
Employment in public sector (excluding agriculture) 28.1 21.1 12.5 33.5 28.5 28.6
Employment in agriculture 2.9 4.0 1.2 5.7 5.5 3.6
Stipends 19.0 13.7 17.7 0.2 0.3
Social benefits 5.0 7.5 8.7 4.3 5.3 6.0
Other 3.4 6.0 9.3 2.3 2.0 2.9

51

Scales of equivalence.
In calculating household income, expenditure and the
poverty line, scales of equivalence are used to eliminate the
effect of the size and composition of households. Research
has revealed that relatively less income is needed to satisfy
the needs of larger households, since the size of a certain
expenditure does not increase in proportion to the number
of household members. The application of scales of equiva-
lence makes the standard of living of households of differ-
ent sizes more comparable. Lithuanian statistics use a scale
attributing 1 for the first adult in the household, 0.7 for
be concentrated within the middle deciles, (between IV and each following adult and 0.5 for each child under 14.
VII). The middle-aged (30-49 years) households are dis-
tributed more evenly, i.e., by approximately 9-11% in each “Namø ûkiø pajamos ir iðlaidos 1999”, 2000

decile. In contrast to young people, there are a similar num-
ber of poor and well-off households in this age group. seems doubtful. The relative poverty line reflects differentia-
Poverty. According to the relative poverty line, of 50% of aver- tions in the standard of living, but it cannot accurately reflect
age consumer expenditure per household member which is a change in poverty when consumption changes evenly for all
frequently used in Lithuania and many other European coun- groups of the population. For eliminating the influence of
tries, the poverty level in Lithuania in 2000 was 16%. Approxi- variation in the average standard of living by comparing pov-
mately 560,000 people lived below the erty levels over several years, a poverty line
poverty line. The depth of poverty (aver- of any year adjusted by the consumer
age deviation of the consumer expenditure The poverty level in Lithuania price index can be used as a basis for com-
of the poor from the poverty line) was in 2000 was 16%. parison. The basic poverty line makes it
23%. This means that average consumer possible to assess a change in the part of
expenditure in households below the pov- the population whose consumption level
erty line as calculated per equivalent consumer was smaller than remains below the poverty line irrespective of a change in the
the poverty line by almost a quarter. If the poverty line in 2000 standard of living of the other part of the population. Using
was 260 LTL, then the poor spent on average 201 LTL. the adjusted relative poverty line from 1996, the poverty level
In 2000, for the first time in two years, the poverty level of 2000 exceeds the 1999 figure by almost 3.5 percentage
grew by 0.2 percentage points and reached the same level as in points and is higher than the poverty level of 1997.
1998. Taking into account the relatively steep economic de- As it was earlier, in 2000 poverty remained unequally
cline of 1999, the insignificant increase in the poverty level distributed in society. Households where the main source of

Relative poverty line and poverty level
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Current relative poverty line (50% of average consumer expenditure), LTL 226.2 248.6 276.7 274.6 260.0
Poverty level, % 18.0 16.6 16.0 15.8 16.0
Relative poverty line (50% of average consumer expenditure in 1996, adjusted by price index), LTL 226.2 246.4 258.9 261.0 263.6
Poverty level, % 18.0 16.3 13.2 13.1 16.6

52

The Lithuanian Poverty Reduction Strategy defines pov-
erty as insufficient income and other resources (material,
cultural and social), ensuring a standard of living accept-
able for Lithuanian society. (“Skurdo maþinimo Lietuvoje
strategija,” 2000, p.13).
The Second Poverty Programme of the European Union
is based on a poverty definition by the Council of Minis-
ters that considers individuals, families and groups as be-
ing poor if their resources (material, cultural and social)
are limited to the extent that they exclude these people
from the minimum standard of living acceptable in the
state where they live. (Callan, T., 1996. p.25).
One way to measure the scale of poverty in a country is
to assess the volume of resources needed for its elimina-
tion by increasing the consumption of the poor to at
least the level of the poverty line. In Lithuania this would
require approximately 320 million LTL annually (0.7%
of GDP in 2000). At first sight this seems to be an
affordable amount of money and that poverty can there-
fore be overcome, particularly if the economy grows at
least 4-5% annually. However, it is not only the quan-
tity of resources, but also the possibilities of their
utilisation that matter.
income was business, crafts and freelance activities were among First, it is difficult to reach a consensus in society that
the least affected by poverty. The poverty level among the significant funds should be directly allocated for the poor.
households of employees was less than the national average Second, these calculations are based on the assumption
(11%). Poverty was much higher than the national average that these funds were allocated only to cover the differ-
among households that live on benefits and stipends (41%); ence between the consumer expenditure of the poor and
have three or more children (37.6%); and where the bread- the poverty line. In reality, however, it is not that easy to
winner is a farmer (35%). The poverty level among pension- target the funds for consumption precisely. Third, with
ers’ households was slightly higher than the national average. Lithuania’s steadily growing GDP, income and consump-
A much higher (up to 50-60%) poverty level appears in house- tion increase and so does the poverty line. Therefore, to
holds for which several risk factors overlap. These are, for in- adjust consumption for the poor would demand more
stance, the households of small farmers who have many chil- and more funds. Finally, the reduction of poverty using
dren. a mere redistribution of income would de-motivate the
In 2000, the highest poverty level was in rural areas poor to seek income-earning opportunities.
(27.6%) and the lowest in the cities (12%). Although the
rural population accounts for only 32% of the total popula-
tion, 56% of the poor live in rural areas. Expenditure devia- deviation was smaller than in other households. In house-
tion from the poverty line reveals that poverty is deeper in holds with a breadwinner who had the lowest standard of
rural areas. The average consumer expenditure of the rural education the poverty level was the highest.
population below the poverty line was 25% that of the urban Poverty among children and young people. The propor-
population, or 21% below the poverty line. tion of those in poverty is much higher among children and
The poverty level in 2000 in households with a female young people than among the adult population. In 2000,
breadwinner was 18.6% and with a male breadwinner 14%. children under 18 constituted 26% of the total population,
Women were breadwinners in almost half of all households. yet 31% were below the poverty line. More than 20% of
However, 36% of these households were couples while the children of pre-school age are in poverty. There is a clear trend
others were of single people or women with children. for poverty to decrease with age.
In households with a breadwinner who had a higher edu- It is difficult to explain the differences in poverty among
cation, the poverty level was only 2.5% and the expenditure young people of different gender. The poverty level of young

53

Poverty level among vulnerable groups of the population, % able positive factors traced in the standard
Type of household 1997 1998 1999 2000 of living of single mothers with children.
Unemployed* 39.6 40.8 40.4 41.1 Their situation on the labour market has
Households with three or more children 37.2 34.5 35.4 37.6 not changed, nor have any targeted mea-
Single person with child(ren) under 18 years 21.6 22.0 25.7 … sures been applied to social policy that
Farmers 30.2 32.2 39.9 35.3 could positively affect the situation of such
Rural population 25.9 26.5 28.2 27.6 households. Considering that households
People with basic (8-9 grade) education 24.4 24.6 26.3 24.2 of this type make up only 6% of the total
Pensioners 22.1 20.9 19.1 20.4 number of households included in this
*Households of this type include all unemployed irrespective of whether they are registered survey, it is possible to think that the un-
with the labour exchange or not.
expected result could have been prede-
termined by the size of the sample even
women aged 25-29 generally coincides by some mistake. The next household
with the national average, whereas pov- In 2000, the highest poverty budget survey should reveal whether the
erty among young men of the same age is level was in rural areas result of 2000 was accidental.
almost 19%. This is probably because (27.6%) and the lowest in the The poverty level among households
men most often leave their parents’ home cities (12%). composed of couples with children is close
without a sufficient source of living and to the national average (15.3%). The pov-
rely on parental assistance less. The poverty level in 2000 in erty level for all households with under-
The poverty level depends on the age households with a female aged children is 18.1%.
of the breadwinner. In 2000, most of breadwinner was 18.6% and It is understandable that the poverty
those living in poverty appeared in house- with a male breadwinner 14%. level of households with children varies
holds where the breadwinner was under substantially and depends on the number
30 or over 60, while those least affected More than 20% of children of of children in the family. In households
by poverty were households with bread- pre-school age are in poverty. with three or more children the poverty
winners aged 50-59. Although young level in 2000 was 37.6% and consumer
people (particularly those aged 18-23)
have a higher average income and consumer expenditure, due Poverty level by age, %, 2000
to significant income inequality many young people fall be- 18–23 24–29 30–49 50–64 65+
low the poverty line. 16.9 18.1 15.7 14.7 18.0
A comparison of households of different demographic
compositions reveals the clear trend that the highest poverty is Poverty level by household type, %
in households with under-aged children. Type of household 1997 1998 1999 2000
Usually poverty is widespread among single-person house- Couple without children 11.2 8.7 8.6 9.9
holds with children. This is easily explained by the fact that Single person 13.4 13.1 13.1 12.8
women most often bring up children while their incomes are Other households without children 14.2 15.3 14.7 15.2
lower that those of men. Nevertheless, if between 1997 and Single person with
1999 the poverty level for these households grew from 21.6% child(ren) under 18 21.6 22.0 25.7 14.9
to 25.7%, in 2000 it dropped abruptly to 14.9%. It is diffi- Couple with child(ren) 15.0 13.9 15.5 15.3
cult to explain such a significant change. There are no notice- Other households with child(ren) 24.0 24.8 21.9 24.1

54

Opinions by households on their standard of living, %
“We are poor, very poor” “We are middle class” “We are well off”
All households 34.6 63.9 1.5
Households without children: couples without children 27.5 71.5 1.0
other households without children 36.7 61.8 1.5
single person 42.9 55.7 1.4
Households with child(ren): couples with child(ren) under 18 27.5 70.3 2.2
other households with child(ren) 34.0 64.4 1.6
single person with child(ren) 47.7 52.1 0.2

Poverty level and the number of children in a household, %
All households with Number of children
child(ren) under 18 years one two 3+
1997 18.8 14.9 16.0 37.2
1998 18.1 14.1 17.0 34.5
1999 18.2 12.4 18.7 35.4
2000 18.1 12.9 17.7 37.6

Forty-three percent of respondents from single-parent
households with children indicated that they were poor, but
according to objective data less than 13% really were poor.
While 27.5% of households of couples with children per-
ceived themselves as poor, the real pov-
expenditure deviation from the poverty line erty level was 15.3%.
was 25%. Approximately 8% of all house- Young people and children A figure of 27.5% of couples without
holds have three or more children, but they (particularly of a pre-school children considered themselves poor, al-
account for 20% of poor households. age) are more vulnerable to though objectively only 10% really are.
In 1997, the poverty level in house- poverty than other age groups. While assessing the general standard
holds with three or more children ex- of living in the country, almost 85% of
ceeded 37%. The introduction of social people from households with children
support for such households at the end of 1997 was a signifi- and 80% of households without children indicated that their
cant poverty reduction measure that allowed for poverty level situation had deteriorated.
reduction to 34.5% in 1998. However, large families again Young people and children (particularly of a pre-school
fell victim to a deteriorating economic and financial situation age) are more vulnerable to poverty than other age groups.
in the country between 1999 and 2000, and their poverty Although young people who live separately from their par-
level went above that of 1997. ents have a higher than average income compared to other
Subjective perception of poverty. Alongside adverse stan- groups due to mainly their parents’ support, there is a large
dards of living evaluated by income or consumption indica- inequality among them. For this reason, relative poverty is also
tors, are important manifestation of poverty is the way a per- very significant even in this age group. When young people
son assesses his or her life. In 2000, almost 64% of respon- start their families and children, their average standard of liv-
dents attributed themselves to the middle-class and slightly ing declines sharply.
more than one-third to the poor.

55

56

VI

Family
Gediminas Navaitis

Changes in family models: background and the situation the traditional family model, research indicates that the fami-
today. After the restoration of state independence and the lies of farmers raised their children with the intent of replicat-
rapid transformation of social and economic structures in soci- ing their rural way of life, whereas city-based families were
ety, significant changes occurred in family relationships and more inclined to encourage their children to be more inde-
family models. In stating that during the last decade of the pendent, responsible and creative.
previous century Lithuanian families changed, it is worth not- In the middle of the 20th century, the prevailing family
ing that from a historical perspective during the relatively short model in Lithuania remained the traditional nuclear family.
period of two or three generations many stereotypes of con- The main characteristics distinguishing this model from the
temporary family models were developed. non-traditional family are the means by
At the start of the 20th century, a which marriages are acknowledged and
Lithuanian could not freely choose to live The differentiation of society their stability; the principles for combin-
the life of a single, unmarried person and and an increase in migration ing the social and family roles of both a
still maintain the status of a fully valued from rural areas to the cities man and a woman; family planning; and
member of society. If at that time 15-20% and overseas prompted attitudes towards extra-marital sex. In re-
of women in Western Europe did not es- changes in family models. viewing the identified factors we can note
tablish families, the figure for Lithuania the following recent changes in families
was much lower, at just a few percentage in Lithuania:
points. There were few opportunities to legally dissolve a mar- Legality of marriage. The traditional family model
riage and officially re-marry. An absolute majority of marriages recognises only marriages that have been officially confirmed
were between inhabitants of the same parish and this did not in one way or another and rejects any other form of co-habita-
fare well for social mobility. At that time, Lithuania was a tion. In Lithuania older people condemn unregistered co-habi-
predominantly agrarian country where the family was mainly tation more than young people. The registration of couples
a union of persons working together on farmland. Rather strict living together came into effect in July 2001.
sexual control prevailed. Children born out of wedlock were Necessity of marriage. The roles of men and women as
ostracised from their communities together with their moth- fully worthy members of society used to be inseparable from
ers. Yet at that time it was possible to see not only traditional living in a family as a married couple. Today approximately
family characteristics, but also features of contemporary west- 40% of women aged 30 and older do not have a husband,
ern family models. For example, the average age for marriage and are single, widowed or divorced.
was relatively late (25-33 years), which corresponds to the Stability of marriage. In the traditional family model mar-
Western European family model. riages cannot be dissolved or broken off. In 1950, 0.2 mar-
The differentiation of society and an increase in migration riages per 1,000 inhabitants resulted in divorce. Today the
from rural areas to the cities and overseas prompted changes in divorce rate is 3.2. Close to 20% of marriages today are second
family models. The intelligentsia tried to promote a family or subsequent marriages.
model in which it is accented that the wife should support her Control of sexuality. The traditional family model recognises
husband’s public aspirations and raise her children based on sexual relations only within marriage and strongly condemns
national traditions. Although between wars state policy on extra-marital sexual relations and homosexuality. With every
family and the prevailing attitude of society acknowledged new generation the age of those engaging in sexual activity for

57
Family

Main demographic indicators
People in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are more inclined
for people younger than 30 years
to marry than in Lithuania. In Estonia and Latvia people
1990 2000
are less inclined to marry than in Lithuania. Based on the
Marriage
number of divorces per 1,000 inhabitants and the ratio
men 28,097 11,668
of marriages to divorces (100 to 65), Lithuania can be
women 29,303 13,201
assigned to those European countries where the divorce
% of total number of marriages
rate is considered high. It also has a low birth rate.
men 77.4 69.0
women 80.7 78.1
Demographic indicators Divorce
in selected European countries, 2000 men 3,793 2,417
Registered Divorces per Natural women 4,748 3,470
marriages per 1,000 growth of
% of total number of divorces
Country 1,000 population population population
Austria 4.9 2.3 0.0 men 29.8 22.2

Belgium 4.3 2.6 0.9 women 37.2 31.9

Czech Republic 5.2 2.3 - 2.0 Births

Denmark 6.7 2.5 1.3 Total 44,931 24,803

Estonia 3.9 3.2 -4.1 births per 1,000 women 107.3 62.0

Finland 4.7 2.7 1.5 % of the total number of births 79.0 72.6

Greece 5.9 0.9 0.1
Hungary 4.5 2.5 - 4.8 jority of families describe themselves as equal-partner families.
Latvia 3.9 2.5 - 5.5 The role of the husband as head of the family is confirmed by
Lithuania 4.8 3.1 - 1.0 approximately 6-8% of families.
Norway 5.3 2.1 3.2 Changes in the family model have led to a decrease in the
Poland 5.7 1.1 0.0 birth rate, both in absolute numbers and relative to the mor-
Portugal 6.9 1.8 0.8 tality rate. This has resulted in negative population growth, as
Russia 6.2 2.7 - 6.4 well as in the accelerated ageing of the population (a decrease
Sweden 4.0 2.4 - 0.7 in the number of children and young people and an increase
Switzerland 5.7 2.9 2.3 in the number of old people). Similar changes are taking place
Ukraine 6.2 3.6 - 6.0 in almost all European Union countries. For example, mar-
United Kingdom 5.1 2.7 1.2 riage and divorce statistics in the United Kingdom and
Lithuania are relatively close. Also, the birth rate is very similar
the first time is getting younger and younger. The number of in Lithuania and Sweden.
children born out of wedlock is also increasing. Legislation Despite radical changes in societal and family models, the
stating that homosexuality is a criminal offence was abolished. predominant family model has not changed: the two-genera-
Importance of children. In a traditional tion nuclear family consisting of a mar-
family model, children are perceived as an ried couple or couples without children,
essential part of the family. They are raised Changes in family behaviour as well as other children who as yet have
by both parents. Fifty years ago, women and family attitudes were par- not established their own families. Over
gave birth to 2.6 children on average, ticularly evident among 90% of Lithuanian families belong to this
whereas the average family size was 3.6 young families. type of family.
people. Currently the average family size During the last decade of the last cen-
is 2.7 people, and approximately 18% of tury, changes in family behaviour and
children live in single parent families (more often without family attitudes were particularly evident among young fami-
fathers). lies (couples younger than 30) who play an important role in
Roles of husbands and wives. The traditional family identi- demography and in forming future family models.
fies the role of the man as heading the family and as having Young marriages. In 1990, 125 men and 117 women were
more responsibility for its well-being. Today the absolute married per 1,000 men and women aged 20-24, whereas in
majority of families are ‘two-career’ families, where both hus- 2000, the figures were 48 men and 56.7 women, respec-
band and wife are professionally active. Accordingly, the ma- tively. The number of marriages among people who did not

58

Marriages per 1,000 men of a corresponding age leave the daily household chores and care of the children to
1990 1995 2000 their wives, and to limit their contribution to the family to
19 years of age or younger 19.2 13.3 18.3 large one-off tasks (e.g., home renovations or repair of house-
20-24 125.3 70.3 48.0 hold equipment).
25-29 47.7 36.1 33.4 Full implementation of the above views is hampered by
several factors, the most significant of which are:
Marriages per 1,000 women • an absolute excess in the number of boys (381,700)
of a corresponding age over girls (372,000) aged between 16 and 29. The discrep-
1990 1995 2000 ancy is more noticeable in rural areas.
19 years of age or younger 65.9 43.2 18.3 • an increasing gap in the level of education between boys
20-24 116.9 73.5 56.7
and girls. In 1990, for every 100 boys studying in specialised
25-29 31.9 23.2 25.2 secondary (college-type) institutions there were 103 girls,
whereas in 2000 the latter figure grew to 178. In 1990, for
reach marriageable age (18 years) decreased. In 2000, com- every 100 boys studying in universities there were 108 girls,
pared to 1990, the number of under-age girls who married whereas in 2000 there were 139 girls. During the 1990s, the
was 2.6 times less and the number of boys six times less. ratio of boys to girls in vocational schools was also unbalanced.
In comparison with countries in the EU, the average age In 1990 it was 100 to 59, whereas in 2000 it was 100 to 67.
of people marrying for the first time is lower, though in the • higher unemployment among men. Especially given the
past few years it has been increasing. In 2000, the average age fact that men are expected to be the breadwinners, a higher
for men was 25.7 years, and for women it was 23.6 years (in unemployment rate for boys than girls can be regarded as a
1990, the age for men was 24.1 years and for women 22.2 factor hampering the establishment of families. In 2000, there
years). were 56,100 unemployed men and 33,800 unemployed
The decrease in the rate of marriage for young people women.
differed in urban and rural areas. In 1990, 116.4 per 1,000 • imprisonment, which also impacts on the establishment
urban men aged 20-24 were married, whereas in 2000 the of a family. In 2000, there were 6,841 men under 30 years of
figure was only 45.5. Respectively, for women the figures age in prisons.
were 108.3 and 53.3. In rural areas in • the spread of sexually transmitted
1990, 148.6 men aged 20-24 married diseases (STD), which can have a nega-
per 1,000 men of this age group. In Increased incidence of co- tive impact on families and their estab-
2000, the number was 54.4. Respec- habitation and a more toler- lishment. The largest proportion of people
tively, the number of women was 89.8 ant view of it in society is one suffering from venereal diseases is young
and 62.1. Similar changes occurred of the manifestations of dras- people (59.1%). The incidence of STD
amongst other young age groups. tic changes in the family among boys is two times higher than
The decrease in the number of mar- model. among girls.
riages is linked to other changes in family In summary, it must be noted that
behaviour. These include a rise in the the disproportion in terms of the num-
number of people co-habiting in unregistered relationships ber of girls and boys, which is particularly unfavourable for
(de facto relationships), the decrease in the birth rate and the boys living in rural areas, as well as a disproportion in ‘qual-
growth in the number of children born out of wedlock. ity’ (difference in level of education, rate of unemployment)
Meeting marriage-related expectations. Surveys of various can hinder the chances of 15-20% of young people to find
age groups of young people carried out between 1990 and their ideal marriage partners.
2000 attest to the fact that the main characteristic features of Consensual unions (cohabitation). Increased incidence of
an ideal marriage partner have not changed. Girls would like unregistered cohabitation and a more tolerant view of it in
to marry someone three to five years older than themselves, of society is one of the manifestations of drastic changes in the
a similar or higher education, who is able to provide for the family model. Often this phenomenon is termed as ‘unregis-
material needs of the family, who does not possess a drinking tered marriage’. In comparing the 20-25 year interval that
habit or a criminal record, is a faithful husband, who wants to differentiates one generation from another, cohabitation has
care for the children and also assist his wife with household increased by approximately 3.5 times. Due to ethno-cultural
chores. The majority of boys would like to aspire to the ideal and religious norms, people living together unregistered often
partner described by girls. However, they are more inclined to do not openly disclose this information. Therefore, it is pos-

59
Family

Attitudes towards cohabitation. Extra-marital births.
Up until the 1990s, society did not tolerate cohabita- For a long time, the birth rate in Lithuania was deter-
tion. In the last few years attitudes have become more mined by births within marriage, whereas births out of
tolerant, and particularly noticeable changes have occurred wedlock constituted only 4-6% of the total. While in
among young people. Approximately 14% of young 1990, 7% of all children were born out of wedlock, in
people and approximately 25% of respondents aged 40 2000 the proportion increased to 22.6%. It is worth
to 50 believe that cohabitation can negatively affect noting that most extra-marital children were born to
friendly relationships with neighbours and others in an young women (aged up to 24). The number of children
immediate circle of acquaintances. Among both young born out of wedlock in rural areas is higher than in the
and old, women are more doubtful of the tolerance of towns and cities. In rural areas, mothers aged up to 30
neighbours and others to cohabitation. give birth to 23.8% of children out of wedlock, and in
With every younger generation the attitude towards co- urban areas 19.5%. The latter phenomenon can be ex-
habitation is becoming more liberal. However, the major- plained by the more conservative attitudes of rural women
ity of all age groups believe that cohabitation does not to family planning, the lack of accessibility to contracep-
bode well for a steady relationship between a man and a tives and social benefits for single mothers.
women. Rather, it is a period when couples can test and
harmonise their feelings until the marriage is registered.
births for all age groups also decreased. The most considerable
fall occurred among women aged 20-24 (by 42%), whereas
sible to assume that cohabitation is more frequent than re- for women aged 25-29 it fell by 27%. The birth rate among
vealed during surveys. women under 18 decreased the least, by just 21.8%.
The most reliable indicator of the scale of cohabitation Young mothers (aged 20-29) give birth to three-quarters
and its development into unregistered marriage and then un- of the total number of children born, so they play an impor-
registered family could be children born out of wedlock whose tant role in population growth. The fact that 57% of young
parentage is determined by the joint application of both par- women give birth to a first child, 33% have a second child
ents. and 7% have a third allows us to assume
Today, it is no longer appropriate to that there should not be any significant
identify children born out of wedlock with Between 1990 and 2000, the changes in the demographic situation in
the children of single parent mothers. In fertility rate decreased mark- the near future.
1990, the total number of applications to edly from 2.02 to 1.35. Children are regarded by the major-
register children born out of wedlock was ity of the population as an indispensable
1,337. In the same year, 3,977 children part of the family, important not only for
were born to unmarried mothers, and of this number only parents as individuals but also for society. We are now wit-
2,640 were registered as the children of single mothers. The nessing a trend towards families with one or two children.
ratio of children of unmarried parents and single mothers was Various sociological studies indicate that 60-70% of respon-
0.5 to 1. In 2000, unmarried parents reg- dents favour two-child families, usually a
istered 2,309 children, whereas single boy and a girl. This popular opinion has
mothers constituted 5,387. In the same While in 1990, 7% of all chil- not changed for several decades.
year, single mothers gave birth to 7,713 dren were born out of wed- The desired number of children is
children. The ratio of unmarried parents lock, in 2000 the proportion nearing what is regarded as the ideal num-
and single mothers giving birth to chil- increased to 22.6%. ber. Two decades ago it was thought that
dren was therefore 0.42 to 1. These indi- the ideal family should on average raise 3
rect estimates support the idea that long- to 3.5 children. Today the ideal family is
term cohabitation is increasing and that the birth of a child regarded as having on average 2.3 children, whereas respon-
often does not change this attitude since the children acquire dents’ desired number is 2.0 to 2.1.
a legal status, which ensures all their rights (to inheritance, The main reasons for reducing the number of children is
alimony, and so on). their ‘cost’, related not only to the material aspect of their
Reproductive behaviour of young people. Between 1990 upbringing and education but also to the uncertainty of the
and 2000, the fertility rate decreased markedly from 2.02 to family’s social and financial prospects, as well as the
1.35 per 1,000 women aged 15-49 years. The number of unpredictability of the parents’ status. On the one hand,

60

young people are responsible enough to consider their chances opinion, both the wife and the husband will later have to
of meeting their children’s needs, including education. On allocate more time and effort to household chores, their free
the other, they do not feel secure in terms time will be reduced, their intimate rela-
of improvement in the standard of living tions will no longer be so attractive, and
in the long run, so they strive to reduce Young families, like the fami- communication will not be as interesting
the risks related to the care of a child. lies of other age groups, more or fulfilling. On the other hand they do
However, surveys reveal that the main often (65-70%) divorce on the not believe that children can have a nega-
motives for having children are not di- initiative of the woman. tive impact on marriage. Rather, it is
rectly linked to financial opportunities. thought that caring for children can only
Rather, it is either the expression of an enrich the marital relationship. It is worth
emotional need by the parents (“Children bring a special joy”, noting that men are more pessimistic than women about fam-
“It would be so good to see how children grow”) or a way of ily life.
strengthening the family and ensuring a secure old age (“With Family stability can be impacted by the still prevalent
children, there is less likelihood you’ll be on your own in your view that a woman who was married and later divorced has a
old age”, “Children strengthen a marriage”). The decision higher status than a woman who has never been married at all.
whether to have children, and how many, is both a personal Nearly 4% of marriages collapse during the first year and ap-
and a family decision. It is rare that a young family in making proximately 18% fall apart in the first four years of marriage.
a decision to have children would consider the interests of Given that in the majority of cases the decision to break off the
society, or their relatives. Thus, the dominating motives for marriage is initiated by the woman, one can make the assump-
reproduction meet the needs of a small nuclear family with tion that the idea of marriage is overrated and that the mis-
one or two children. judging of a marriage partner can be one
Stability of young families. In 2000, of the reasons for instability in a family
2,417 men and 3,470 women aged up The divorce level in Lithuania relationship.
to 30 divorced. In comparison with 1990, is relatively high and exceeds Consequences of divorce. The divorce
the numbers were 36.2% lower for men the highest divorce levels of level in Lithuania is relatively high and
of the same age and 26.9% lower for the countries of the EU. exceeds the highest divorce levels of the
women. Changes are evident in the pro- countries of the EU. However, in making
portion of this age group in the total num- this comparison one needs to take into
ber of divorces. In 1990, divorced men constituted 29.8%, account that for a long time in Lithuania marriage was the
whereas women constituted 37.2%, of the total divorce rate. most popular way of establishing a family. Cohabitation and
In 2000, group of men aged up to 30 constituted 22.2% and its termination were not registered.
women 31.9% of all divorcees. Divorce often represents a very powerful emotional stress,
Young families, like the families of other age groups, more which negatively affects one or both of the married couple’s
often (65-70%) divorce on the initiative of the woman. The self-confidence, work effectiveness, and mental and physical
main reasons cited for divorce are: psychological discord; the well-being, and hampers one’s ability to make adequate deci-
husband’s drinking problems; unfaithfulness; violence; and/ sions about potential new marital partners. The children of
or irreconcilable differences in the family. divorced couples often do not receive all the financial support
Factors conducive to divorce. In every family, relationships that they are entitled to, and generally the father or mother
change naturally with time. As the family experiences emo- living separately from the family does not participate suffi-
tional times or whenever there is a change in daily communi- ciently in the child’s upbringing. It is worth noting that after
cation, the pressure can build up on the family relationship separation the mother’s input into the child’s care and up-
and a crisis can break the family down. The ability to over- bringing still exceeds significantly the father’s input.
come these hurdles depends on the motivation of family mem- Divorces are more complicated and usually take more time
bers to protect and improve their family ties and their experi- when children are involved. Nearly one-fifth of young couples
ence of communicating with each other. Surveys of young who divorce do not have children, 60% of couples are raising
people not yet planning to establish a family and young one child, and the remaining number of couples have two or
couples about to marry indicate that their understanding of more children.
family life is not favourable to stability. The majority of re- Overall, every eighth family in Lithuania consists of only
spondents to surveys believe that the happiest and most en- one parent, usually the mother. Surveys of divorcees indicate
joyable time for families is the first year after marriage. In their that people who have come from incomplete or broken families

61
Family

are more likely to break off their marriage. The family’s instabil- abundance of information has not solved the problem of the
ity is therefore ‘reproduced’ from one generation to another. preparation of young people for family life. Separate topics
Psycho-social support for young families. Socially disad- related to family life and sexual self-determination have been
vantaged families, families undergoing divorce or separation ‘inserted’ into basic school curricula, replacing a previous teach-
or those that face other social or psychological problems are ing program called Family Ethics and Psychology, which en-
not necessarily young families. However, often the problems compassed a systematic way of teaching important general
that families experience are the result of problems or conflicts information and skills about family life.
that are not resolved or addressed in the pre-marital phase or Moreover, civil metrication departments no longer organise
in the early phases when the family unit is developing. seminars for young couples planning to marry. For the most
Today the preparation for family life from an educational part, their education has been taken over by various religious
perspective is contradictory. A relatively large amount of sci- organisations. In every diocese a family centre is operational.
entific and popular educational literature about communica- However, only a certain number of young couples who are
tion between the sexes, ethics, psychology, and sexual and planning to marry attend courses set up by these and other
family life has been published. Often these topics are also organisations.
discussed by the mass media. However, together with the The cheapest and most effective way of dealing with con-
useful information there is a great that is misleading. The flicts in young families is conflict prevention, consultations and

The new Civil Code came into effect in July 2001. The Civil Code emphasises the responsibility of both
Much discussion and criticism has taken place in relation to parents for the raising of their children, and for ensuring
the book, which in part regulates family relationships. The opportunities to get basic education and provide material
book introduces many new legal regulations previously un- support for them while they are under-age (proportionally
known in Lithuania (such as marriage and engagement agree- to the parents’ material situation). The family laws in es-
ments, agreement on separation and the status of a sepa- sence regulate the relationship between parents and chil-
rated rather than divorced person, and the preparation of a dren. For example, the law limits the parents’ power and
marriage contract). It includes a very detailed description of restricts their control over the property of under-age chil-
not only the rights and responsibilities of family members dren.
(spouses, parents, children, grandparents and grandchil- Many people think, however, that the principles of this
dren), but also the property rights and responsibilities of new family law reflect first and foremost the interest of law-
engaged and cohabiting couples. The role of courts has yers themselves. One doubts whether the law will strengthen
been markedly increased not only in relation to resolving the attractiveness of the institution of marriage and at the
property disputes, but also in terms of regulating marriage same time the significance of the family in society as stipu-
and divorce, the procedures of determining parental status, lated in Article 3.3. On the other hand, several acute prob-
adoption and foster care. lems were not addressed by the code, for example the laws
The legal regulation of family relationships is based on regulating artificial fertilisation; Article 3.154 states that is-
monogamy, voluntary marriage, the equal legal rights of sues of motherhood and fatherhood regarding children con-
spouses, the opportunity for all family members to exercise ceived by artificial fertilisation are regulated by other laws.
their rights and the priority and protection of the rights of Despite such contradictory evaluations, the new family
children. The code does not recognise marriage between law is a significant step towards establishing a legal system of
people of the same sex. Sufficient attention is paid to en- family relationships in Lithuania based on Western Euro-
gagement and also to public agreements to marry, related to pean traditions. The principles of the new family law com-
property relationships (the return of gifts, debts and comply with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
pensation for non-property losses). the Child, as well as other international family laws and
With the enforcement of market reforms the property conventions. The code includes many important legal rela-
relationships between family members have become par- tionships, which up until now were not present in
ticularly relevant. These include the civil responsibilities of Lithuania’s legal system.
spouses, and the management and division of common and
individual property taking into account the interests of chil- Dr. Vida Kanopienë, Associated Professor, Department of Sociology,
Vilnius University
dren. The property relationships of cohabiting couples are
also regulated. This text is included in this chapter by the editors of the Report.

62

support for those families facing difficulties. Over the last de- ing to establish a family and have children is increasing.
cade, a relatively large number of consultative groups have been Obviously, during such abrupt and deep societal trans-
established to assist families. At the same time, as these formation families lack an active state policy. There is still no
organisations were being established, some of the existing suc- clear understanding of family models that is supported by
cessful and well-known organisations disappeared. For example, state institutions. The scope of analysis of families does not
Family Relations and Mental Health consulting rooms belong- correspond to the newly set objective regulating family rela-
ing to the Ministry of Health were operational in most urban tionships. And the contribution of the education system to
areas. Psychologists providing psychological consultations for strengthening the family is insufficient. Young people who
couples separating and about to undergo a divorce operated in are establishing families and who will have an impact on
all the civil metrication departments. The work of these con- Lithuania’s demographic situation are not informed about
sulting rooms and consultative services was effective, since the such support, which is available to make an impact on this
consultations were available free of charge and were accessible to problem.
all in need. The services were dissembled in the years following Transformations within families, contradictory attitudes
Lithuanian independence and the work of the consulting rooms towards family values and insufficient scientific
was stopped. Vilnius Municipality stopped the last psycholo- acknowledgement of this, along with a lack of active state
gist at the Civic Metrication Department in 2001. policy on families, make it difficult to foresee the future pros-
The popular values and views of contemporary Lithuanian pects for families. It is believed that by overcoming economic
society regarding relationships between a man and a woman problems the demographic situation in Lithuania should not
in a family and community context, marriage and the birth of worsen. We can make the assumption that the current situa-
children, are contradictory. They are more in favour of the tion regarding families is indicative of a certain stabilisation of
traditional view of the family, abortions are strictly condemned, family processes given that during the past few years there
and a more active role by religious organisations in promoting have not been any notable changes. On the other hand, the
attitudes towards marriage and the family are evident. How- steadily increasing number of extra-marital births and the
ever, at the same time there is a more tolerant attitude towards spread of alternative family models allows us to substantively
couples living together, and the number of people not wish- forecast further rapid changes in family models.

63
Family

64

VII

Social assistance to families
Audra Mikalauskaitë

Development of family policy. The family is the main ‘cell’of women’s economic activity.
society, on which the future of a nation relies. State social · Economic factors. The size of benefits and social services for
assistance to families should be targeted at strengthening their families is directly dependent on the state budget, which in
stability and sustainability, which is an important precondi- turn depends on economic development.
tion for the reproduction of further generations and ensuring · Political factors determine the implementation of social policy.
developmental opportunities for children. Decisions about budget allocations for
In assessing the development of fam- social security or legitimising concrete so-
ily assistance policy following the resto- State social assistance to fami- cial measures depend on the political forces
ration of independence, it can be said lies should be targeted at of the day.
that this process was not even or smooth. strengthening their stability Current pattern of family assistance.
These were caused by the economic de- and sustainability. Social assistance for families raising chil-
velopment of the country, as well as by dren continues to be oriented mostly to-
changes in education, health care, social ward the payment of cash benefits, rather
security and the attitudes of society towards certain moral than to the provision of social services or addressing employ-
and cultural values. Societal changes influenced the trans- ment and housing needs. In narrowing family assistance to
formation of the family structure and model and its stability. cash benefits, it becomes more and more concentrated on the
To some extent the family assistance policy and its pattern most socially disadvantaged families. The largest proportion
reflect the dominating ethnocultural features of the nation, of these families’ incomes (benefit recipients, or families rais-
as well as their adherence to certain human development ing three or more children) comes from social assistance ben-
values. So far the theoretical foundation for policy making in efits provided in various forms (56%). So social assistance ben-
the field of social assistance to families as a societal activity efits have a very significant impact on the standard of living of
has not been formulated. For a relatively long period discus- families receiving them.
sions have taken place regarding the relationship between In summarising the development of family assistance
the family assistance policy and general social policy and policy, it can be said that in wanting to create conditions for
even the similarity of these policies. the family to become and remain stable as a social institu-
As part of social policy, family assistance policy holds inde- tion, it was necessary to look at it as a complex and integral
pendent status within the general social-demographic system. part of state policy.
It should take on an important role not only in regulating
social demographic processes, but also in laying the founda-
The renewal of family policy conceptualisation at the gov-
tions for the harmonious relationship of individuals with their
ernmental level was influenced by the United Nations con-
environment (social, economic, political, ecological, cultural
ference on population and social development that took
and so on).
place in Cairo in 1994. At this conference for the first time
Scientific literature identifies three groups of factors that
governments from all over the world agreed with the prin-
influence social security and at the same time the system of
ciple that individuals with their own needs and aspirations
social assistance to families:
should be at the core of decision-making regarding objec-
· Demographic factors, which include the birth rate, average
tives relating to the development of society.
life expectancy, marriage and divorce rates, and the level of

65

Stages of family policy transformation. assistance for families raising children was adopted. A large
Five stages can be identified in the development of fam- number of small benefits, which could not provide sub-
ily policy in Lithuania during the last decade. stantial assistance to families, were relinquished, while assis-
Stage 1 - 1988-1990. Formulation of the concept of fam- tance for the most socially disadvantaged families was in-
ily policy creased. It was decided that the “drop in the ocean” type of
The formulation of the concept of new family policy assistance should be done away with, and that policy should
began in 1988. The main principle was to establish condi- move towards family assistance systems, which had been
tions that helped to reconcile the concerns of the family tried and tested in other countries.
with the employment of the parents. Its implementation There was a shift towards a more flexible system of pre-
began at the start of 1989, when the Lithuanian govern- school care. Special kindergartens or groups for children
ment adopted a resolution on the increase of benefits for with various disabilities and special needs as well as for gifted
families. This resolution prolonged partly paid maternity children were established. Attempts were made to adopt
leave for the care for young children at home to a year-and- individual educational programs for children. Private pre-
a-half and unpaid leave to three years. It was planned that schools were established. A new form of educating and train-
women caring for children until they turned eight years of ing children was developed, in which children attending
age would maintain their uninterrupted employment record kindergarten also went to elementary classes.
(legal maternity protection). Assistance provided to families The weakest area of family assistance policy continued
raising a child with a disability was raised. to be the expansion of flexible forms of employment.
One of the most pertinent problems of raising children Stage 4 - 1995-1996. The development of a family policy
needed to be addressed - to improve pre-school care institu- concept
tions. The resolution also foresaw measures for institutions and The family policy concept recognised the importance of
organisations supporting the provision of housing for families, the economic foundation of the family and therefore identi-
improving conditions for employed women, family services fied the sustainability of livelihood as the priority area for
and recreation, and expanding psychological support for them. development. The stability of the family as a social institution
Family assistance measures eliminated some of the limi- was linked to the strengthening of internal family ties.
tations within the legislation pertaining to employment, It was emphasised that in seeking to improve socio-eco-
while combining the functions of motherhood with profes- nomic conditions for families measures were required that
sional activities. They created more favourable conditions would allow for the improvement of family planning, mater-
for raising children of pre-school age at home and improv- nity and children’s health, the raising of young children and
ing the work of pre-school institutions. opportunities for young people to raise children and main-
A further topic of discussion was pre-school education tain good employment. The concept sought to challenge the
and the role of women in society and in the family. Atti- perception that people with special needs (the disabled, the
tudes towards the traditional patriarchal family were more elderly) were to some extent second-rate members of the com-
prevalent in society, however. munity, and sought to help them and their families.
Stage 2 - 1990-1992. The establishment of a family Stage 5 – 1997-1999. The need to develop an integrated
policy system family policy
In 1990, family policy basically took a fundamental Even though the family policy concept and its areas of
turn in the direction of increasing financial assistance to activity were confirmed, assistance to families continued to be
families and promoting the maximum rearing of children at understood rather narrowly. It was mainly oriented towards
home. For this reason, pre-school institutions for children the development of monetary assistance to families raising
were closed especially in rural regions, and in turn the num- children. Benefits for mothers raising three or more children
ber of children attending them decreased drastically. were introduced, and increased benefits for the care of a child,
Between 1990 and 1992, the family assistance system free meals for children from poor families who attend school,
became quite complicated and expensive. It poorly reflected and compensation for the payment of utilities were allocated,
the objectives of family policy. Flexible working conditions, and so on. The problem of housing and the possibility for
as well as the implementation of equal opportunities for both families to receive long-term loans or municipal housing, and
men and women, were left outside family policy in Lithuania. the development of family-friendly employment and social
Stage 3 – 1993-1994. A breakthrough in the establish- services for families (including psychological support for fami-
ment of family policy: the selection of a family policy model lies in crisis) still remains a problem. One of the reasons that
In 1993, the system of financial assistance for families family policy remains fragmented could be that it has been
began to stabilise. Major changes in the payment system insufficiently co-ordinated. Several institutions were respon-
were given an adjustment to inflation only. Between 1993 sible for the implementation of separate parts of family policy,
and 1994, the system of assistance to families was also mark- while one state institution was authorised to co-ordinate and
edly simplified. At the end of 1994, a new law on state monitor these activities.

66

State social assistance benefits to families raising children
Benefit recipients, thousands Expenditure, LTL
1995 1998 1999 2000 1995 1998 1999 2000
Child birth grant 36.4 37.3 36.0 34.1 13,483.8 27,481.0 27,004.9 25,519.7
Family benefit 98.9 93.9 89.5 88.2 60,202.6 101,057.6 98,375.8 95,674.7
Military servicemen family benefit 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 254.9 156.6 223.6 154.9
Benefits for families with 3 or more children - 42.3 44.3 45.0 - 79,269.3 81,132.1 91,929.5
Foster care benefit 3.3 5.6 7.3 8.1 4,057.0 14,573.6 38,055.5 43,240.8
Settlement benefit for orphans and foster children 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.7 402.7 1,076.9 1,245.3 3,075.6
Pregnancy benefit for studying mothers 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.3 60.5 76.9 76.6 70.0
Orphan stipend 0.8 1.6 1.7 1.9 1,012.6 3,498.1 7,456.5 11,178.0

Problematic families and the care of According to data from the munici-
children. The number of socially disad- Social assistance to families pal children’s rights protection authori-
vantaged and problematic families is grow- raising children continues to ties, since 1995 the number of socially
ing from year to year. Indirectly this pro- be oriented mostly toward the disadvantaged families has increased by
vides evidence that state family assistance payment of cash benefits, rather 1.9 times and the number of children be-
policy insufficiently contributes to the than to the provision of social ing raised in these families grew by 57%.
preconditions for family sustainability. services or addressing employ- However, the rise in these figures can be
There is a high risk that the children from ment and housing needs. partially ascribed to more accurate regis-
these families will be neglected and not tration.
properly cared for during their developmental period crucial Foster care in the broader sense is the maintenance and
for socialisation and the formation of personality. upkeep of children, their upbringing, health care, education,

67

Foster children. have arisen in improving the quality of care at institutions and
In analysing data from the last few years regarding the in the community, accelerating the establishment of alterna-
reasons why foster care was assigned for children, it can tive foster care in families and the effectiveness of the entire
be said that each year on average only about 9% of foster network of care, and educational services for children with
children lost their parents and became real orphans. Oth- problems and special needs.
ers become foster children for the following reasons: The research showed that in implementing the reform
· the parent(s) have been declared missing (4%); of local governments the decentralisation of children’s homes
· the parents’ rights have been limited (often terminated) (10%); and special educational institutions was carried out. How-
· the parents do not want to raise children with health ever, the corresponding responsibilities were not completely
problems at home (3-4%); ‘adjusted’. The municipal children’s rights protection au-
· the children have behavioural problems or special learn- thorities often did not sufficiently consult with the district
ing needs (8-10%); administration on questions relating to the assignment of
· the children are abandoned by their parents (4-5%); foster case, placement in children’s homes, adoption or the
· the children are removed from socially disadvantaged return of children to their families. The districts do not
families (more than 30%). have any functions or authorisation on the above ques-
On the one hand the assignment of foster care is an at- tions. There is no mechanism foreseen for the co-ordina-
tempt to remove a child from unfavourable conditions tion of activities between the different types of care institu-
that are usually the result of unresolved, long-term social tions. In some districts there was co-operation in relation to
problems within the family. In other cases, a child is re- the placement of children in foster care homes, their trans-
moved from a family not because of the fault of the par- fer to other foster care homes, and the resolution of conflict
ents, but rather because the child requires special long- between children, carers and staff. As the institutions are
term medical, instructive or psychological support. This interested in staying operational, no effort is put into search-
could potentially be provided at the community level,
ing for alternative care for children. The establishment of
but this type of service is rather limited and not yet fully
alternative care within families is objectively slowed down
developed and accessible.
by municipalities.
Approximately 70% of children in
protection from exploitation and heavy foster care are cared for by close family
workloads, and protection of their prop- The number of socially dis- relatives (the majority by grandparents).
erty and other conditions that ensure their advantaged and problematic If the foster parents are people who are
physical and spiritual health. However, families is growing from year not relatives of the child they tend to
in reality the representatives of different to year. take younger children and children
specialities (lawyers, social workers, medi- without health problems. Older chil-
cal personnel) interpret child foster care Approximately 70% of children, particularly children who have
in the narrower sense and usually from dren in foster care are cared lived in foster care institutions, do not
their own perspective. Today this attitude for by close family relatives. themselves want to live in foster care
is ‘reflected’ by the entire child foster care families. It is extremely difficult to find
system. In an attempt to better evaluate At the start of 2001 there were foster families for older children with
the development of institutional foster approximately 20,000 chil- behavioural problems. Even relatives
care, at the initiative of the Ministry of dren with disabilities. decide not to care for these children as
Social Security and Labour complex re- they assume that it will be impossible to
search was undertaken in 2001. The aim Care services provided at in- cope with their teenage problems be-
of the research into child care institutions stitutions dominate the social cause of a lack of experience and the
in the districts and municipalities was to services pattern for children fact that there are no services that can
help to identify the main obstacles that with disabilities. assist.

Socially disadvantaged families*
1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 01 01
Total 9,709 14,937 15,144 16,043 18,114
Number of children in these families 25,604 34,328 34,379 36,856 40,276
* Ministry of Social Security and Labour data

68

Opinions of district representatives on the district net- · care facilities for children with disabilities who have un-
work of care institutions for children. predictable behavioural problems and who no institution
If the majority of districts consider the network of special board- wants to accommodate, as well as for children with multiple
ing schools as sufficient and even too expanded, then in the disabilities or hearing vision impairments.
opinion of the majority of districts there is a shortage of institu- In the opinion of district representatives there are too many
tions for children with severe disability. The research showed institutions like state children’s homes.
that there is a need for the following types of institutions: The following institutions for children should be under the
· day centres for children from families with problems; jurisdiction of the district:
· temporary or short-term stay children’s homes; · care homes for children with disabilities
· rehabilitation centres for under-age children who have · special boarding schools
been released from children’s detention centres or for chil- · special children’s homes and educational centres
dren with behavioural problems; · sanatorium schools

What do children themselves think about their own well bad behaviour was anger, and nearly two thirds said they
being and future. had experienced aggressive behaviour in their homes. Fur-
In 2001, at the initiative of UNICEF within the world-wide thermore, the study showed that children who are beaten
public opinion survey (“Voice of Youth”) polling was si- by their parents are more inclined to remain silent about
multaneously undertaken in Europe and Central Asia. In this wrongful behaviour towards them.
total, 15,000 children aged nine to 17 were polled. They A total of 58% of respondents said that they were able to
were split into two groups - those from nine to 13 were watch whatever television programmes they wanted with-
known as the ‘children’s’ group and the second from 14 to out any parental control.
17 were known as the ‘youth’ group. The main values propagated in the Lithuanian family are-
The main aim of the survey was to encourage young people, respect (75%), honesty (57%), and discipline (45%).
providing them with the opportunity to express their opin- Only 15% of respondents thought that local government
ions, attitudes and concerns on the issues that are important takes into account the opinions of young people when they
to them. are making decisions on questions that are important to
Lithuania also participated in this survey. It showed that them, predominantly recreation and education.
nearly half of the respondents felt happy, 44% were unsure Young people in Lithuania believe that the government should
and could not comment whether they were happy or not, pay more attention to education (48%), culture, sports and
and 4% said that they thought they were not happy. The leisure (38%), and social assistance (35%). One third of the
main reasons why Lithuanian children and young people respondents indicated that participation in elections is an ef-
feel unhappy are poverty, and poor relations with their fam- fective way of changing the country's situation, while 50%
ily members, in particular with their parents. In the survey of young people in Western Europe indicated that voting is
as a whole, these reasons were most often indicated by chil- an effective method for adopting political decisions.
dren from countries that were in transition to a market In response to how they see the future of the country, 60%
economy. The majority of Lithuanians feel happy when of Lithuanian children said they believed that in the future
they are communicating with their friends and family. Of it would be a better place to live in. Major problems that
children’s concerns, 63% are related to school, 51% to their raise pessimism are related to the economic situation (68%)
families, and 20% are about the poor economic situation in and social problems (64%).
their country. The number of children who are happy is Only 43% of children (aged 9-17) would like to live in
larger in the countries of Western European than in Central Lithuania when they grow up and that the same percentage
and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states. would like to emigrate. These figures are markedly higher
Children from deprived families indicated more often that than in other countries. Seventy-two percent of respon-
their family relationships were bad, that they experience abuse dents in Western Europe, 74% in countries in Central Eu-
and that their parents are inclined to spend less time commu- rope and 53% in the Baltic states would like to stay in the
nicating with them. The survey also indicated that virtually country of their birth.
every five to seven children in 10 experience family abuse. The majority of young people who want to emigrate indi-
A total of 51% of the children and youth in the Lithuanian cated that their main motive was not a lack of social guaran-
survey said that their opinions are heeded by their family, tees in the future, but job insecurity. In their opinion it
and 22% said they would like to be included in making would be extremely difficult for them to find a well-paid
decisions about the family and its leisure-time. Meanwhile, job in Lithuania. Many would agree to do unqualified
69% said that the usual reaction of their parents to their manual work abroad, for the money.

69

The majority of districts support the opinion that it is through social assistance and social services, but also through
essential they take over the responsibility of the functioning of the education and training system.
the children’s rights protection authorities. This way there Care services provided at institutions dominate the social
would be a foundation for co-ordination and closer co-opera- services pattern for children with disabilities. They constitute
tion between the activities of the municipality and the dis- 65%, and out-of-institution services account for 35%. For ev-
tricts in the field of childcare. The municipalities in attempt- ery 100 children, approximately 15 children receive the latter
ing to provide assistance to children growing up in problem- services. However, this proportion differs for each municipality.
atic families prefer an expansion of services offered in institu- The narrow view on family assistance by the state, as on
tions, instead of developing outside services for families. the provision of monetary benefits, should be changed be-
Services for children with disabilities. At the start of 2001 cause this approach is not conducive to family sustainability.
there were approximately 20,000 children with disabilities. Family policy should be inseparable from employment policy
On average, 1.6 children per 100 have a disability. Over 9,000 and housing. Young people value employment and the fam-
children with disabilities (44% of the total number of chil- ily most. This attitude should be supported by a long-term
dren with disabilities) receive social services. However, services strategy on family development as well as by family policies
provided for children with disabilities are not only organised backed up by funding and investment.

70

VIII

Health
Arûnas Liubðys, Jonas Kairys

General demographic trends. Since The mortality rate continued However, death by non-medical causes is
1990, the birth rate has been consistently its downward slide to 10.5 per the most common cause of death among
falling. From 1990 to 2000, the annual 1,000 population in 2000. young people (15-29 years of age).
number of births decreased from 56,900 Infant mortality. In 2000, 294 in-
to 34,100. The number of deaths has ex- The most common cause of fants died, making up 0.76% of the to-
ceeded the number of births since 1994. death was diseases of the car- tal number of deaths. Infant mortality
Mortality: patterns and trends. A total of diovascular system. continued to decrease, reaching 8.5 per
38,919 people died in 2000, and 1,897 1,000 live births in 2000. Even though
more men died than women. The mor- the mortality rate is falling, there has
tality rate continued its downward slide The number of deaths has ex- been a marked increase in the number
to 10.5 per 1,000 population in 2000. ceeded the number of births of perinatal deaths. Perinatal mortality
The most common cause of death was since 1994. takes into account deaths that occur to a
diseases of the cardiovascular system, foetus over 28 weeks of pregnancy, still-
which killed 20,931 people, a mortality
of 566.4 per 100,000 people (53.8% of the overall number
of deaths). Another important cause of death was oncological
diseases. In 2000, 7,723 people died of malignant tumours, a
mortality rate of 209.0 per 100,000 people (19.8% of total
deaths). Lung, stomach and prostate cancer dominate the pat-
tern of mortality related to malignant tumours in men. Among
women the most prevalent are breast, stomach and uterine
cancer.
The third most important cause of death is accidents, sui-
cide, traumas and poisoning. These can be grouped together
and termed death by non-medical causes. In 2000, 5,102 people
died in this way, a mortality rate of 138.1 per 100,000 people.

71
Health

Mortality pattern, %, 2000
Diseases of cardiovascular system 53.78
Malignant tumours 19.8
Suicide 4.2
Road accidents 1.98
Drowning 0.93
Alcohol poisoning 0.88
Murder 0.88
Respiratory tract tuberculosis 0.81
Other 16.74

born births and the deaths of infants up to six days after
birth. This was influenced by increases in the number of Ðvenèioniai, Molëtai, Zarasai districts and the towns of
stillborn births (0.68% of all births in 2000; in 1999 it Palanga and Visaginas) infant mortality has considerably ex-
was 0.58%) and in the number of infants who die shortly ceeded the national average for several years (over 18 per
after birth (102 cases or 3.02 per 1,000 live births in 2000; 1,000 live births). No targeted research has been made in
2.85 in 1999). this area, so grounded conclusions on cau-
In developed countries infant mor- sality cannot be drawn. However, poor
tality does not normally exceed 4-5 per Infant mortality continued to social and economic conditions and/or
1,000 live births. Lithuania has the low- decrease, reaching 8.5 per an insufficient level of health care are
est infant mortality of all the countries of 1,000 live births in 2000. probably to blame.
the former Soviet Union, including Due to complications during preg-
neighbouring Latvia and Estonia, but it nancy, birth and post-birth diseases,
is 10 to 15 years behind the developed In developed countries in- four women died in childbirth during
nations of Western Europe. It must be fant mortality does not ex- the year of 2000 in Lithuania. Women’s
noted that in some regions and towns ceed 4-5 per 1,000 live births. mortality during childbirth was 11.8
(Radviliðkis, Këdainiai, Alytus, per 100,000 live births. Even though
this indicator is the lowest of the past decade it remains
high when compared with the majority of developed coun-
tries.

72

Children and infant mortality pattern, %, 2000 Youth* mortality, per 100,000 population
Cause of death Infants Children 1990 1995 1998 2000
(0-1 years (1-14 years Total 128.6 151.9 136.6 126.5
of age) of age)
Malignant tumours 8.3 9.4 5.8 8.4
Congenital developmental disorders 41.2 12.2
Cardiovascular diseases 8.7 7.2 6.3 5.2
Diseases of perinatal period 32.0 -
Non-medical causes 94.4 113.4 108.1 98.4
Death by non-medical causes 7.1 52.5
Road accidents 37.9 28.0 36.8 24.5
Cardiovascular diseases 2.4 2.9
Alcohol poisoning 1.6 4.9 3.3 2.5
Respiratory diseases 6.5 4.6
Drowning 10.7 12.8 9.9 8.1
Infectious and parasitic diseases 2.7 3.4
Suicide 16.9 32.5 30.6 32.8
Malignant tumours 0.7 11.3
Murder 7.2 9.2 8.3 7.4
Other 7.4 13.3
Other 20.0 26.1 19.1 23.1
Other causes of death 17.2 21.9 16.4 14.5
The pattern of infant and perinatal mortality has been Male: 202.1 238.5 213.6 200.8
virtually unchanged over the last few years. More than Malignant tumours 10.5 9.8 4.9 7.5
70% of deaths occur due to congenital developmental de- Cardiovascular diseases 12.1 11.0 9.5 8.3
fects (41.2%) and diseases during the neonatal period Non-medical causes 159.3 191.8 179.0 165.8
(32.0%), the largest proportion of which is taken up by Road accidents 63.3 46.3 57.9 41.3
premature births and disorders of the central nervous sys-
tem. A very similar pattern of mortality is evident in other
Drowning 20.0 22.9 17.0 14.8
countries.
Suicide 28.0 55.1 52.5 55.2
The mortality pattern for children aged between 1 and 14
Murder 11.8 15.0 13.4 12.4
years has also not changed a lot. Over half (52.5%) of all
Other 33.2 43.6 32.1 37.4
deaths in this age group occur through non-medical causes,
Other causes of death 20.3 26.0 20.2 19.2
such as accidents, traumas, suicide and murder. In 2000, the
Female: 51.6 61.8 57.2 50.0
number of deaths related to non-medical causes fell; in 1999
Malignant tumours 6.0 8.9 6.8 9.3
they accounted for 59.3% of deaths in this age group. There
Cardiovascular diseases 5.3 3.2 3.0 2.0
was a decrease in the number of children who drowned (40
Non-medical causes 26.3 32.0 34.9 29.0
and 65, respectively), who were killed in road accidents (40
Road accidents 11.2 8.9 15.0 7.3
and 45), and who committed suicide or were murdered (9
and 17). The other two important causes of child mortality
were congenital developmental disorders (12.2%) and malig- Drowning 1.0 2.2 2.5 1.3

nant tumours (11.3%), among which the most prevalent was Suicide 5.3 8.9 8.0 9.8

leukaemia. Murder 2.4 3.2 3.0 2.3

Mortality of young people (15-29 years of age). The ma- Other 6.2 7.9 5.8 8.3
jority of young people die by non-medical causes. In 2000, Other causes of death 14.1 17.6 12.5 9.8
the indicator was 98.4 per 100,000 population aged be- * Aged 15-29
tween 15 and 29 years. Cardiovascular
1
diseases accounted for only 5.2 per Morbidity . There is still no unified da-
100,000 population in this age group. Suicide among boys was 55.2, tabase allowing for a thorough and quali-
Many more boys than girls died (200.8 and among girls 9.8, per tative assessment of morbidity in
and 50.0, respectively, per 100,000 100,000 population. Lithuania. Morbidity is evaluated accord-
population). Deaths by non-medical ing to data from outpatient and inpatient
causes were higher among boys than health care institutions. In 2000, 14.3%
girls (165.8 and 29.0, respectively, per 100,000 popula- more children aged 0-14 years received outpatient treatment
tion). Suicide among boys was 55.2, and among girls 9.8, than in 1999. For the same period the number of children
per 100,000 population. receiving inpatient care decreased by 10.1%. It is difficult to
In the pattern of mortality related to non-medical causes, explain the shift from the more serious inpatient morbidity to
suicide and road accidents prevailed (44.1 and 20.8 per
100,000 respectively in 2000). 1
Some data provided by the Lithuanian Health Information Centre

73
Health

Pattern of child morbidity with treatment in out-
Life expectancy. patient instititions, per 1,000 children
The positive changes in mortality overall have conditioned Name of disease, according to
an increase in average life expectancy. Average life expect- Nr. ICD-10, (selected diseases) 1999 2000
ancy at birth was 72.87 years of age (67.62 for men and Diseases of respiratory system 1,110.0 1,229.5
77.93 for women). Diseases of gastrointestinal system 120.0 166.7
Life expectancy for people who reach the age of 45 Traumas, poisoning and other external factors 89.4 103.7
years has also grown. The average indicator for 2000 was Infectious and parasitic diseases 97.2 107.1
31.15 years (27.28 for men and 31.51 for women). Malignant tumours 3.4 4.7

Pattern of child morbidity with treatment in hospitals,
per 1,000 children
Name of disease, according to
Nr. ICD-10, (selected diseases) 1999 2000
Diseases of respiratory system 77.8 66.7
Diseases of gastrointestinal system 24.5 23.4
Traumas, poisoning and other external factors 18.3 19.1
Infectious and parasitic diseases 18.4 14.7
Malignant tumours 2.3 2.4

diseases, complaints of the eye and related organs, dermal and
epidermal illnesses, infectious and parasitic illnesses, poison-
ing and traumas.
In 2000, nearly every fifth child (191.4 per 1,000 chil-
dren aged 0-14 years) was treated in hospital. Compared with
1999, there were 20.1% less infectious diseases, 14.3% less
respiratory tract diseases and 4.5% less digestive tract diseases
among children. On the other hand, the number of children
treated in hospitals with diseases of the perinatal period did
not significantly increase (2.5%) compared with 1999, and
the same can be said of accidents and poisoning (4.2%). Re-
gardless of the fact that the number of children treated in
hospitals differed in comparison to earlier
the lighter outpatient morbidity without years, the overall morbidity pattern did
a thorough investigation. Most probably Compared with 1999, there not change.
it can be explained by the fact that some were 20.1% less infectious Malignant tumours. According to
children who were earlier treated in hos- diseases, 14.3% less respira- Lithuanian Cancer Register data, the num-
pitals could now make do with medical tory tract diseases and 4.5% ber of people suffering from malignant
assistance at the outpatient level. In 2000, less digestive tract diseases tumours is gradually rising (from 278.0
every child of up to 14 years of age visited among children. per 100,000 population in 1990 to
outpatient facilities on an average of 2.4 379.5 in 2000).
times. The current system for the registra- When speaking about cancer in men,
tion of outpatient morbidity does not allow for a true assess- malignant lung, prostate and stomach tumours prevail. For
ment of how many children were ill during 2000. The same every 100,000 people, there were 77.7 cases of lung cancer,
patient could have received medical assistance from several 55.2 cases of prostate cancer, and 32.8 cases of stomach
doctors or on several occasions throughout the year, whereas cancer in 2000.
other children would not have visited a doctor at all. In women, malignant tumours of the breast, stomach and
The pattern of outpatient morbidity for children has re- uterus prevail. In 2000, there were 67.8 cases of breast cancer,
mained virtually unchanged over the last few years. More 23.6 cases of stomach cancer, 24.8 cases of cancer of the uterus,
than a half of children suffered from respiratory diseases, with and 23.9 cases of cancer of the uterine diagnosed per 100,000
a markedly smaller proportion suffering from digestive tract population.

74

Young people of the 18-29 age group
constituted 59.6% of the total morbid-
ity for sexually transmitted diseases regis-
tered in 2000. Men contracted STDs 2.3
times more often than women in this age
group There were 906 cases of sexually
transmitted disease registered for males,
and 391 cases for females.
Tuberculosis. The number of people According to the WHO European
suffering from tuberculosis in Lithuania In 2000, the number of chil- Regional Bureau, the prevalence of syphi-
is falling. In 2000, 2,668 new cases of dren suffering from active tu- lis and gonorrhoea is higher in Latvia and
tuberculosis were diagnosed, which con- berculosis was 16.8 per Estonia, and lower in EU countries.
stitutes 72.2 per 100,000 population. Ac- 100,000 children. HIV Infection/AIDS. Eastern Europe
cording to data from the World Health and Central Asia are regions where the
Organisation’s European Regional Cen- rate of the spread of HIV infection is high.
tre, the prevalence of tuberculosis is similar in Latvia, lower in Due to the relatively high rate of HIV infection in neighbouring
Estonia and significantly less inside the European Union. countries, Lithuania is recognised as a place where the rate of
After years of continuous increase, the number of children the infection is lower.
suffering from tuberculosis has finally stopped growing. In Data from the Lithuanian AIDS Centre on 31 Decem-
2000, the number of children suffering from active tubercu- ber 2000 indicated that 266 cases of HIV infection have so
losis was 16.8 per 100,000 children (21.9 in 1999). far been registered in Lithuania. In 2000, 65 new cases were
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). In 2000, the preva- registered (66 in 1999). The oldest person infected with
lence of syphilis was 31.7 per 100,000 population, and of acute HIV is 68 years of age (at the time of being diagnosed), and
gonorrhoea 25.1 per 100,000 population. It is difficult to say the youngest 15 years of age. The number of men infected
how many private clinics and doctors are operating on such cases
as their submitted statistics do not always reflect the true picture. Selected sexually transmitted diseases, per 100,000
This in turn means that the prevalence and incidence of sexually population
transmitted diseases is not completely accurate. The statistics pre- 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
sented are based only on the officially registered cases. Syphilis 1.9 90.8 101.4 84.9 62.8 45.3 31.7
Acute gonorrhoea 58.8 96.6 70.7 49.2 36.3 30.9 25.1

Selected sexually transmitted diseases among young
people by gender, per 100,000 population aged 18-29
1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Total 312.9 718.6 637.9 494.7 350.3 267.6 201.5
Men 362.4 962.9 833.1 640.4 437.3 355.6 277.9
Women 260.8 464.1 435.4 344.2 260.7 177.1 123.1

75
Health

Syphilis in selected countries, per 100,000 population
1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Lithuania 3.24 2.43 2.9 2.11 2.22 1.94 4.81 7.64 18.6 57.57 90.96 101.39 84.9 62.82 45.3
Latvia 8.92 8.88 6.13 2.53 2.25 4.79 8.11 10.37 32.1 59.7 93.7 126.19 121.82 106.05 63.4
Estonia 6.8 5.45 3.35 4.23 3.63 3.37 7.41 11.4 22.55 56.83 69.68 66.16 75.38 72.43 58.31
Denmark 6.45 3.03 1.87 1.97 1.77 1.09 0.62 1.03 1.08 0.48 0.75 0.78 1.12 0.83 0.64
The Netherlands 4.04 2.88 2.88 2.68 3.63 3.34 1.68 1.24 0.88 0.86 1.32 1.35 1.72 0.79 -

HIV/AIDS in selected countries*
Country Lithuania Latvia Estonia Russia Poland Belarus Ukraine
2000 12 31 2000 10 15 2000 10 01 2000 09 01 2000 11 01 2000 01 01 2000 01 01
HIV infected 266 929 297 49,715 6,616 2,752 30,603
AIDS 36 70 4 408 934 52 9,400
Died 26 22 4 594 506 600 400
* In September 2000, 3,521 people were HIV-infected in the Russian Enclave of Kaliningrad

with HIV is dominant, with 230 cases registered (86% of also 1,944 registered cases of chronic alcoholism and 546 regis-
the total). tered cases of drug addiction and substance dependency.
The first case of HIV infection was registered in 1994, Prophylactic medical examination and vaccination. The
contracted through the use of intravenous drugs. This case prophylactic medical examination of children continued in
was registered in Druskininkai. Some two years later another 2000. Out of every 1,000 children who were examined, 98.4
four cases were registered, in Klaipeda, the cause once again were diagnosed with eyesight impairments (94.3 in 1999),
being the use of intravenous drugs. and 68.4 had postural disorders (62.9 in
The majority of cases of HIV infec- 1999). Children living in urban areas were
tion, 112 of them, were registered in The spread of HIV infection diagnosed more often with various disor-
Klaipeda, and there were 90 registered and AIDS was highest in ders than children from rural areas. Given
cases in Vilnius. The prevalence of AIDS Lithuania’s large cities and that both morbidity and mortality were
was highest in Vilnius, that is 17 cases, also in the resort town of higher in rural areas, it was doubtful that
which constituted 47% of all AIDS cases. Druskininkai. children from rural areas were healthier
The spread of HIV infection and AIDS than those from urban areas. Obviously
was highest in Lithuania’s large cities and the more favourable statistics for rural chil-
also in the resort town of Druskininkai. It was thought that dren were influenced by the fact that generally regular and
the high figures for Druskininkai were due to the use of intra- thorough prophylactic medical examinations were less acces-
venous drug use. sible for rural children.
Diseases of addiction. In 2000, 764 people were registered as Since 1997 the budget has no longer financed medical
suffering from alcoholic psychosis for the first time. There were units at school. The reason behind this decision is that health

76

Vaccination of children and infants.
Children are prophylactically well vacci-
nated. The staff of primary health care
centres, polyclinics and medical offices in
schools carry out this task. Vaccinations
are available free of charge, are bought
centrally by the Ministry of Health and
HIV/AIDS by location are distributed to health care institutions. The vaccination of
Location HIV-infected AIDS Died infants against hepatitis B began in 1998.
Klaipëda 112 7 10 Health of mothers. The Mother and Child Health Care
Vilnius 90 17 9 Department, which methodically managed children’s poly-
Kaunas 9 5 2 clinics, children’s hospitals and so on, no longer exists in the
Paneveþys 5 2 1 Ministry of Health. In the cities and regions temporary posi-
Druskininkai 10 0 0 tions for senior paediatricians, obstetricians (midwives) and
Ðiauliai 6 1 2 gynaecologists have been allocated. As the Ministry of Health
Other districts 14 3 2 abides by the policy that general practitioners should work
Total 246 35 26 in the primary health care system, resident doctors do not
freely choose paediatrics as a speciality.
Diseases of addiction, per 100,000 population There is no guarantee of future jobs with
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 this speciality.
Alcoholic psychosis 53.7 55.4 45.6 55.8 55.1 55.9 In 2000, every gynaecologist-obste-
Chronic alcoholism 1,949.7 1,985.5 1,980.4 1,871.6 1,788.9 1,729.2 trician cared for 58.7 pregnant women
Drug addiction and and women who had given birth (in
substance dependency 46.0 63.5 77.4 77.5 83.3 95.3 1999 the number was 63.1). The num-
ber of beds allocated for pregnant women
care is financed by the Mandatory Health and women giving birth was 4.2 per
Insurance Fund and medical staff in Since 1997 the budget has no 10,000 population (in 1999 it was 4.4).
schools are from polyclinics or primary longer financed medical The number of birth pathologies of
health care institutions, and polyclinics units at school. women giving birth was 23,769, which
where children are registered already re- constitutes 70.6% of all births.
ceive funds for this purpose. If medical Of every 100 women who gave birth
units in schools are closed, children go for prophylactic exami- only 46.8 were healthy. Every fourth woman who gave birth
nations and vaccinations at the polyclinics where they are reg- was diagnosed as being anaemic. Every tenth woman suffered
istered. However, while 1997 children were examined on a from respiratory tract diseases, three in 100 had cardiovascular
regular basis, after the closure of school diseases, and every tenth woman had
medical units their examination depended other health-related problems. In addition,
on many factors (the will of the parents, Of every 100 women who 45.4% of pregnant women had various
for example). Moreover, children in gave birth only 46.8 were other pregnancy pathologies.
schools will be less likely to receive an edu- healthy. Every fourth woman Even though the number of abortions
cation in health care and they will also not who gave birth was diag- in Lithuania has remained very high com-
be able to receive emergency medical as- nosed as being anaemic. pared with other developing European
sistance. nations, in 2000 there was a tendency

Vaccination of children and infants, %
Disease 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Time of vaccination
Tuberculosis 87.4 93.9 97.6 95.9 96.6 98.3 98.4 99.1 99.3 99 New-borns
Diphtheria 74.9 87.2 86.8 87.2 97.3 92.1 92.0 93.5 93.1 93.5 1 year
Poliomyelitis 79.0 88.2 86.3 87.7 89.3 92.6 94.8 96.6 96.9 96.9 1 year
Measles 85.7 89.0 91.8 92.7 93.7 96.3 95.9 96.5 96.9 97 2 years
Epidemic parotitis 73.8 75.9 54.3 79.4 76.8 93.4 94.9 96.7 96.9 97 2 years

77
Health

Abortions try of Health are the State Forensic Medicine; Psychiatric and
Abortions per 1,000 Abortions per 100 Drug Dependency Authorities; National Pathological Anatomy
women of fertile age births Centres; Nursing Care Advancement and Specialisation Cen-
1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 tres; Health Care Information Centres; and Health Care Legal
Total 30.28 28.35 25.06 76.45 73.63 69.61 and Economic Centres.
Cities 42.08 40.20 35.03 85.59 80.52 75.50 Outpatient health care. The reforms that have been made
Rural areas 20.17 18.30 16.40 64.20 63.51 60.86 so far in the outpatient health care system can be evaluated
positively. When once there was only one central hospital in
towards a decrease in the number of abortions. The number each region, more attention was allocated to inpatient ser-
of abortions was 69.6 per 100 births. vices than to polyclinics. With the commencement of sepa-
The majority of abortions (68.3%) are carried out at the rate financing to primary health care institutions they be-
request of the woman, 22.3% of cases came more independent. However, the
occur because of unexpected (spontane- strict distribution of services to primary
ous) miscarriage and a very small number The number of abortions was health care institutions have created their
are carried out because of medical indica- 69.6 per 100 births in 2000. own problems. Expanded services were
tions. This division has remained roughly established in terms of primary health
the same for the past few years. In urban care and consultation facilities, polyclin-
areas, the number of abortions carried out by women of a ics, mental health centres, dental clinics, nursing and care
fertile age is more than twice the number as women living in hospitals. A patient who has applied to a primary health care
rural areas. It is difficult to say what the reasons are for such a centre cannot be seen by a secondary level medical practitio-
clear difference in numbers. It is certainly markedly easier for ner or consultant as this type of practitioner cannot be em-
women living in urban areas to terminate a pregnancy (easier ployed in such a centre. In some regions patients have several
access to medical care). The difference could also be attributed outpatient cards and tests are duplicated. Expenses are in-
to the more traditional and conservative attitudes towards preg- creasing as it is necessary to maintain separate administrative
nancy and the family that exist among rural inhabitants. staff for each institution and patient information is difficult
The Ministry of Health has transferred part of its respon- to compile and maintain. Only in some of the city polyclin-
sibilities to the newly created following institutions: ics can patients be tested quickly with the full range of nec-
⋅ Committee on Medical Ethics essary tests and receive consultations on time with the ap-
⋅ State Accreditation of Health Care Services Authority propriate doctors and consultants. The Ministry of Health
⋅ State Medical Audit Inspectorate should not artificially differentiate between primary health
⋅ State Control of Drugs Authority care services and secondary health care in outpatient services.
Among the institutions under the authority of the Minis- The ministry is striving to establish more General Practitio-

78

ner (GP) clinics. The establishment of such clinics should be for investment programmes and the medical community only
better planned, and more oriented toward rural areas or places learns about these through the media. Other hospitals are
where primary health care centres are located some distance struggling to implement the minimum requirements for a
away, where it is uncomfortable for patients to reach. Mu- variety of services and employ specialist medical practitio-
nicipalities should be given the authority to regulate the ners (for example radiologists) and they will soon be forced
establishment of these types of institutions, which today are to close. Health care reforms do not encourage hospitals to
limited by the Law on Competition. Competition is not accept more patients and earn more money. Contracts be-
appropriate for health care. The establishment of GP clinics tween health care institutions and state patient accounts set
should be linked not only with the number of inhabitants quotas for the number of patients to be treated, indicating
but also to a foreseen distance (for example, 5 kilometres) the amounts of money hospitals must cover in accepting
between each primary health care institution. more patients. The institutions therefore find themselves
Inpatient health care. The highest, that is, third level of bogged down in debt, since for every ‘unplanned’ patient a
institutions should provide only those types of services that list of expenses is compiled for medication, tests and meals.
are necessary for small numbers of patients or else the services In this way, hospitals in a position to accept more patients do
must be very specific. In every district there should be guar- not do so as the treatment is non-profitable for them. In
anteed quality and an essential minimum of services. For the 1997 and 1998 – before the current recession – the state
majority of inpatient services, there are wide gaps between patient accounts would make payments on time to health
the demand and availability of equipment, professionals and care institutions and pharmacies and still had money to spare.
funding. Funding is not assigned for the procurement of Today the accounts are in debt to the health care institu-
new technology and the repair and maintenance of old equip- tions and pharmacies. The balancing of the health insurance
ment. Unfortunately there are no open tenders advertised budget should be a top priority for the government.

79
Health

80

IX

Juvenile crime

1
General crime indicators. In 2000, compared to 1999, to- In 2000, the number of solved crimes committed by re-
tal registered crime in Lithuania grew by 6.8%, while regis- peat offenders grew by 27% and made up 46% of the total
tered serious crime decreased by 12.9%. The crime rate per number of solved crimes. This might lead to the conclusion
100,000 population increased from 2,083 to 2,225. that law and order and the penal system are ineffective, since
In 2000, for the first time since 1994, 16% more pre- a growing number of repeat offenders find it increasingly dif-
meditated murders (including attempted murders) were reg- ficult to integrate into society. However, law enforcement in-
istered in Lithuania in comparison to the previous year. Their stitutions report that they find it a great deal easier to solve
number, however, is still 25% lower than the figure registered crimes committed by repeat offenders.
in 1994. The number of registered cases of premeditated seri- Drug-related crime. More drug-related crimes are being reg-
ous bodily harm rose by 17%, thefts by 11%, and robberies istered since 1990. In 2000, the number of these crimes in-
by almost 30%. This alarming increase is creased by 33% in comparison to 1999.
related to the fact that since 1995 a part The number of crimes committed by
of theft has been qualified as robbery. The In 2000, compared to 1999, people under the influence of narcotic
number of cases of rape (including at- total registered crime in substances also grew by 15%, while crimes
tempted rape) fell by 19%. Lithuania grew by 6.8%. committed by drug addicts grew by 22%.
Property-related crime accounts for This rise is difficult to evaluate unambigu-
80% of the total number of crimes (65% ously. Sociological surveys and interna-
thefts, 6% premeditated damage to property, 5% robberies, tional research speculate that the trend will continue. Atten-
2% fraud, etc.). tion should be paid to the fact that not all registered drug-
The registered level of crimes solved remains constant at related crimes could be grouped together according to statis-
40%. The crime-solving situation in Lithuania resembles gen- tics. Certainly, a considerable share of thefts and robberies
eral trends in European countries (up to 50% of registered
1
crimes are solved in Germany, up to 35% in the United King- This article is based on statistics from the website of the Centre for Crime
2 Prevention in Lithuania (CCPL) at www.nplc.lt unless stated otherwise.
dom) . 2
Data from the official statistics of these countries on the Internet.

81
Health

committed as well as bodily harm and even murder could be
related to drug addiction, and not be recorded by statistics.
Latent crime and crime victim survey. Analysis of the key
statistical crime indicators leads to the conclusion that regis-
tered crime in Lithuania will increase gradually over time.
However, registered crime only partly reflects the real crime
situation. Research into latent crime along with an analysis of
statistics based on sociological surveys of offenders and crime
victims may complement the real picture. There has been no
national sociological survey of latent crime offenders conducted
in Lithuania (except those focusing on specific types of crime
like abuse of power or violence among children). Similar sur-
veys abroad show that, depending on the country and type of
crime, actual crime is bigger than that recorded.

In 2000, the United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute (UNICRI, Italy) conducted a crime
victim survey within the framework of the interregional project
on the evaluation of violence, corruption and organised crime
in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In Lithuania,
this survey was conducted only in the capital Vilnius. It con-
sisted of two parts: a survey of 15,260 individuals and a sur-
vey of 525 enterprises, and was made by Baltijos tyrimai on
the basis of special questionnaires and general methodology
provided by UNICRI. The results of the survey were
summarised and evaluated, and the final report was prepared
by a task force from the Lithuanian Institute of Law.
The survey revealed that 70% of respondents indicated
that during the last five years (1996 to 2000) they had become
a victim of crime against their property or themselves personally
at least once. In 1999, 30% of respondents fell victim to such
crimes. In the last five years, 28% of respondents suffered thefts
from cars and were robbed, 21% were burgled, 19% had their

82

cars vandalised, 17% were victims of attempted robbery, and formal legal sense they cannot commit a crime. But the study of
13% experienced attempted assault or were assaulted. Sexual their criminal behaviour is particularly important.
3
crimes were committed against 7% of respondents. The sur- Registered minor and under-age delinquency. Every year
vey showed that 41% of respondents representing enterprises juveniles commit 14-16% of the total crime committed by all
indicated that they were victims of crime; theft accounted for age groups (14.3% in 2000, though as a group they constitute
more than a half of all crimes committed against enterprises. only about 6% of the total population) and the number of
The survey also showed a marked critical attitude of re- crimes they commit that are solved accounts for 16-19% of the
spondents to the performance of police in investigating and total (16.7% in 2000).
controlling crime. More than half of respondents did not re- In 2000, the 14-15 age group accounted for 28.9% of all
port crimes to the police, and the majority juvenile crime offenders, while the 16-17
of those who did assessed the police work age group accounted for 71.1% (30.4%
that was done negatively. In the respon- Every year juveniles commit and 69.6% in 1999, respectively).
dents’ opinion, police either failed to de- 14-16% of the total crime. Among juvenile crime offenders, 5% were
tain offenders or return property or were female and 95% male. Schoolchildren
not diligent enough. made up 60% of under-age crime offend-
The crime victim surveys led to the conclusion that latent ers (56.8% in 1999, 41.1% in 1996); those who neither
crime in Lithuania (as in many industrialised countries) is sev- study nor work made up 38.1% (40.2% in 1999, 51.5% in
eral times larger than that registered, and that its trends do not 1996); and 52.5% had neither worked nor studied for more
necessarily coincide with the trends of registered crime. than six months. It should be noted that people who neither
Juvenile crime. It can be stated that general crime trends in work nor study committed 54.4% of all solved crimes in 2000
Lithuania are similar to those of the majority of countries in (53.3% in 1999 and 55.1% in 1996).
Europe. One of the key factors behind the growth in crime is an In 2000, 37.6% of all solved juvenile crimes were registered
increase in juvenile crime. Juvenile crime accounts for a signifi- in Lithuania’s five largest cities (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipëda, Ðiauliai
cant part of total crime figures. There is a high probability that and Panevëþys), compared to 40% in 1999 and 41.4% in 1998.
some young offenders, particularly those who have experienced A total of 77.5% of solved crime committed by juveniles
incarceration, will commit crimes in the future. were property-related (theft, robbery and property extortion).
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights Almost two-thirds of juvenile offenders acted in groups.
of the Child and national legislation adopted by Lithuania a Each year approximately 1,000-1,200 minors break the
‘child’ is usually defined as a person under 18 years of age. law. However, they do not fall under criminal responsibility as
However, the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Proce- they have not reached the age (14) for criminal prosecution.
dure of the Republic of Lithuania single out the age category of This is why older juveniles and adults are engaging minors in
14-17, which is subject to a special legal regulation and is de- 3
See K. Aleðiûnaitë, A. Dapðys, […]. Tarptautinis nusikaltimø aukø
fined as that of ‘juveniles’ or under-age. ‘Youth’ in Lithuania is tyrimas Lietuvoje (Vilnius, 2000). Teisës problemos 2001. No. 2.
4
generally the age group between 16-29 . People of up to 14 p. 21-37.
4
Decision of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania of 27 June 1996:
years of age (generally referred to as ‘minors’) are not account-
On the State Youth Policy Concept (“Valstybës þinios”, 10 July 1996,
able according to the Criminal Code, which means that in the No. 65, Publication No. 1537).

83
Juvenile crime

thority decision but not the court’s, clearly violates the rights of
the child declared in the Constitution of the Republic of
Lithuania and the European Convention of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms. Despite that, this procedure was
established albeit as provisional and temporary, and has been in
force already for seven years. A regional report prepared by the
UNICEF Research Centre on the situation of children indi-
cates that Lithuania is likely to be the only country in Central
and Eastern Europe where children can be detained in specialised
educational establishments upon the decision of the Children
5
Rights’ Protection Agency and a school.
Trends in juvenile delinquency. The following trends in regis-
tered juvenile delinquency were noted between 1999 and 2000:
• the number of juveniles accused of a crime and con-
victed, as well as the number and the rate of crime committed
by juveniles, have increased; this trend also stayed its course
for the first six months of 2001;
• more crimes have been solved that were committed by:
repeat offenders (by 33.3%); groups of offenders (9.4%),
including crimes committed by groups including adults
(55.7%); and offenders under the influence of alcohol (16.5%)
or illegal narcotic substances (90.9%), or by drug addicts
(52.4%). The number of crimes committed by drug addicts
leapt up by 130% during the first six months of 2001.
• the number of solved crimes that were committed by
juveniles who dropped out of school rose from 5% to 33%.
Crimes committed by pupils were up 13.2%, and crimes com-
mitted by pupils of secondary schools were up 33.7%. These
5
UNICEF (2000), “Young People in Changing Societies”. Regional
Monitoring Reports, No. 7. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research
Centre, p. 100.
criminal activity more and more often (although in such cases
they are held accountable as the perpetrators of the crime
themselves according to the Criminal Code).
A minor who has committed an offence can be sent to a
special correctional or care establishment on the grounds of data
provided by the police. The existing procedure, when a child
can be deprived of liberty on the grounds of an executive au-

Crimes committed by under-age
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001(06)*
Total 2,506 2,702 3,555 4,297 4,433 4,551 5,348 5,278 4,977 5,070 5,519 3,069
Premeditated murder (including attempted) 2 7 11 14 22 30 28 27 23 20 23 15
Premeditated serious bodily harm 9 3 3 13 12 12 15 16 16 15 17 19
Rape (including attempted) 40 26 22 29 28 33 29 16 21 28 27 13
Robbery 46 37 47 89 123 286 296 347 333 361 363 225
Theft 1,643 1,963 2,702 3,330 3,157 3,455 3,736 3,539 3,383 3,414 3,869 2,082
Hooliganism 164 100 146 137 216 389 432 420 350 362 349 188
Crimes committed by those who neither study or work 2,666 2,945 3,125 2,711 2,702 3,003 1,534
* By June 2001

84

The issue of age in criminal responsibility. Establishing years, in the Netherlands from 12 years), minors who have
a minimum age for criminal responsibility is hotly debated committed a crime are subject to a qualitatively different sys-
in society, particularly when minors commit a large number tem of punishments and correctional measures.
of crimes or when the mass media exaggerate juvenile crimi-
nality. The new Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania Minimum age of criminal responsibility
(adopted on 26 September 2000), which comes into force in Europe and the CIS
no earlier than 2003, in fact refers to the same threshold age Age of criminal Age for optional/mandatory
responsibility administration of criminal
of criminal responsibility as provided in the existing Code. responsibility set with
So people older than 16 years can be responsible for any Country regard to adults
crime committed and people aged above 14 years are held Austria 14 19
Belgium 16***/18 16/18
responsible only for serious crimes.
Czech Republic 15 18
The minimum age of criminal responsibility depends on a
Denmark* 15 15/18/21
number of historical, cultural, religious and economic fac-
Estonia 13****/15 18
tors, as well as the legal and penal systems of the country.
Finland 15 15/18
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
France 13 18
obliges countries to establish a minimum age below which Germany 14 18/21
children cannot be considered as having the ability to in- Greece 13 18/21
fringe the penal law. The 1985 UN Standard Minimum Hungary 14 18
Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Ireland 7/15** 18
Rules) state that “the beginning of that age shall not be fixed Italy 14 18/21
at too low an age level, bearing in mind the facts of emotional, Latvia 14****/16 14/16
mental and intellectual maturity.” The UN Committee on Lithuania 14****/16 14/16
the Rights of the Child, which carries out monitoring of the The Netherlands 12 16/18/21
implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Norway* 15 18
Child, considers that the limit of 10 years is too low for crimi- Poland 13 15/17/18
nal responsibility despite the fact that this or a lower limit has Russia 14****/16 14/16

been enforced in some industrialised countries. Spain 16 16
Sweden* 15 15/18/21
Although minors commit a considerable number of crimes in
Switzerland 7/15** 15/18
Lithuania that would make them subject to punishment,
Turkey 11 15
establishing a lower limit of criminal responsibility would be
a mistake that may lead to growth in repeat offending. Juve- Data according to: Dünkel.F./Kalmthout.A./Schüler.H. Entwick-
lungstendenzen und Reformstrategien im Jugendstrafrecht im
niles who have committed a crime are subject to punishment europaischen Vergleich. Mönchengladbach, 1997. S. 583 and
that is totally ineffective, as is the overall system of correctional UNICEF (2000), “Young People in Changing Societies”. Regional
Monitoring Reports, No. 7. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research
measures in Lithuania. This situation preconditions the steady Centre. p. 86.
rise of criminality in juveniles. Even in those countries where * only exceptions provided in general criminal law
** criminal responsibility - deprivation of liberty
criminal responsibility is set at a relatively low age (in Ireland *** only for violation of traffic rules
and Switzerland from 7 years of age, in England from 10 **** only for certain particularly serious crime

85
Juvenile crime

trends remained throughout 2001. The fact that pupils com- of the perpetrators of crime but also its victims. This has been
mit an increasing number of crimes leads to the premise that a revealed by both criminological surveys in other countries and
growing number of children of school age are listed at school crime victim surveys in Lithuania. Regular statistics on crime
but do not attend it, while in criminal statistics this group is victims have until this point not been collected in Lithuania.
identified as pupils. In 1998 a ‘statistical crime victim card ’ aimed at the accumu-
• violent crime, which causes a particularly negative reac- lation of information on crime victims was developed at the
tion in society, accounts for 1.2% of total juvenile crime. So- Ministry of the Interior. Its launch was planned for 1999, but
9
ciological surveys, meanwhile, show that the media offer a the card has not yet been implemented.
disproportionate number of descriptions of violent crimes by Criminological research led to the conclusion that chil-
6
juveniles in comparison to other crimes . Since 1995, the num- dren who fell victim to crime tended to commit a crime later,
ber of these crimes has not been increasing and remains fairly particularly those who experienced physical violence and sexual
7
stable (23 in 2001 ). During the first six months of 2001 abuse. Sociological surveys of children and parents in Lithuania
juveniles were more often accused of serious bodily harm (19) reveal that a large number of very young children experience
than throughout 2000 (17). the violence of adults (approximately half of them). This has
Registered juvenile crime is increasing in almost all the attracted the attention of the United Nations Committee on
countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS. This is the Rights of the Child, which was concerned about the physical
predetermined by a set of reasons: punishment of children that has become widespread in fami-
• Change in societal values. In times of abrupt and deep lies and institutions and which society itself tolerates. The
social change and instability society adjusts itself to the new committee is concerned by the fact that there is no sufficient
11
reality by challenging those social values that were previously information available on the issue.”
prevalent. This process undoubtedly directly or indirectly af- The sexual abuse of children, which causes a particularly
fects young people. Sociological surveys reveal that societal negative effect on their personalities, is a very latent phenom-
values are still in a state of flux. Negative attitudes to political enon. A very small number of sexual crimes against children
and law and order institutions are common. Many people are are registered in Lithuania in comparison to countries in West-
not satisfied with their lives and do not know how to change ern Europe. So a hypothesis may be raised that, along with the
them. Crimes against state, such as tax evasion and bribery, are fact that there may be more such crime in the West, the pro-
not considered an offence by a considerable part of society. tection of children’s rights and law enforcement systems func-
8
Bribery is justified by 67% of respondents.
6
• Global influences play a role. International drug-related A. Dobryninas. Nepilnameèiø justicija Lietuvos þiniasklaidoje.
Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights. Vilnius: 2000. p. 37.
crime influences the growth of similar crime in Lithuania. This 7
In Lithuania, 12 crimes of this type per 100,000 juveniles in com-
trend is clear in all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. parison to seven in Germany (1993), and 52 in the USA (in 1993).
(Cf. Walter. M. Jugendkriminalität. Stuttgart: 1995. S. 140 and
Features of juvenile crime. In 2000, people aged 18-29 con-
UNICEF (2000), “Young People in Changing Societies”. Regional
stituted 47% of all people accused of crimes committed in Monitoring Reports, No. 7. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research
Lithuania, although this group made up only 17% of the popu- Centre, p. 90).
8
Cf. “Lietuvos rytas” daily. 18 November 2000, No. 271, p. 7.
lation. From the age group of 18-24, which makes up 10% of 9
More information is available at the CCPL web site: http://www.nplc.lt/
the total population, the number of those accused of theft was stat/auk/auk1_kort1.htm
11
Conclusions by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the
much larger than that within the age group of 30 and older
Child on the inception report of the Republic of Lithuania. UNICEF/
(4,422 and 3,338, respectively). Moreover, this group accounts Ministry of Social Security and Labour: 2001.
for half of all offenders of robbery and hooliganism (598 out of
1,384 and 800 out of 1,834, respectively). The general crime
In June 2001, UNICEF conducted a sociological survey of
rate in the country increases due to the increase in the rate of
children aged 9-17 in Central and Eastern Europe and the
solved crimes committed by young people.
CIS. In Lithuania, out of 400 respondents polled, 5% indi-
While crimes committed by people who do not work or
cated that their relationship with their parents was bad or
attend school continue to grow, crimes committed by those
very bad; 8% had no parents; 64% suffered violence at
who do fell dramatically from 6,964 (56% of total crime) to
home or said that their family members or friends were
1,304 (5%) in 1990 and 2000. This leads to the conclusion
victims of crime; 10% were victims of crime themselves;
that a lack of something to do is an important factor that
and 43% of respondents wanted to live in another country.
influences criminal behaviour.
Children and young people as victims of crime. Children UNICEF. Young Voices. The CEE, CIS and the Baltic states. Subre-
and young people constitute the biggest proportion not only gional report. June 2001.

86

In 2000, an analysis of data obtained from a survey of incidents of sexual exploitation of under-aged people regis-
12
how children spend their time and crime levels conducted tered in Lithuania. In Germany by comparison, in 1997,
13
between 1997 and 1998 was completed. The survey 16,888 similar crimes were registered.
was initiated by the Police Department under the Minis- The young criminal offenders often become victimised
try of the Interior, the Children Rights Protection Agency themselves. This is especially characteristic of violent crimes
under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour and the that are frequently related to the aggressive behaviour of both
Institute of Law. The survey was aimed at accumulating the perpetrator and the victim.
information on children who were not occupied and who Correctional measures and the punishment of juveniles.
committed crimes, and finding out the causes and cir- In 2000, 47% of all convicted people were imprisoned. For
cumstances of these negative phenomena. 33.7% punishment was delayed, 2.4% were fined, and 14%
Analysis of the survey data showed that 54.9% of were released (mainly due to amnesties). According to crimi-
respondents live in incomplete families or without both nological studies, imprisonment may influence the rise in re-
parents. The majority of the parents of the interviewed peat crime. Attempts to improve penal practice by the appli-
children are either labourers or farmers, or do not work at cation of amnesty to resolve the problem of overcrowded con-
all. A third (33.4%) of the families of the interviewed finement institutions often cause a negative effect. This hap-
children have three or more children.
10 pens because a considerable proportion of released convicts do
not receive the assistance necessary for social integration and
go on to commit crime again.
A large proportion of the convicts are young people, mainly
young men who spend four or five years in confinement on
average. They often fail to get an education or employment,
develop social relationships or create a family. Obviously, most
of them will join the ranks of the unemployed and socially
excluded people unable to adjust themselves to the changing
socio-economic environment and may commit a crime again.
In 2000, almost 1,000 juveniles (35%) received prison
sentences in Lithuania. According to the data of Kaunas Cor-
rectional Labour Colony, the average sentence imposed by
the court to the juveniles who were confined there in 2000
was three years and three months, while actual average impris-
14
onment extended only to eight months. Most often, juve-
niles are sentenced to imprisonment for between one and five
years. Maintenance for a convict at the Kaunas Pre-Trial De-
tention Establishment for Juveniles/Corrective Labour Colony
costs 2,500 LTL per month. Perhaps some juveniles, particu-
larly those who have committed minor property-related crimes
or who have been committed for the first time, should not be
sentenced to imprisonment at all.
The excessive application of imprisonment violates the pro-
visions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, as well as the principles of criminal policy for children

10
For more information see “Vaikø ir jaunimo neuþimtumo ir
nusikaltimø prevencija.” Centre for Crime Prevention in Lithuania
(CCPL). Vilnius: 2000.
12
Bundeskriminalamr, 1997
13
Noted here is the fact that in Germany, as in many other countries in
Western Europe, there are many more defined types of sexual crimes
against children.
14
tion much more effectively there. Moreover, Western society Materials of the conference “Specifinës nusikaltusiø nepilnameèiø
socialinës adaptacijos problemos”. Kaunas: 19 April 2001. Compiled
is better informed about this phenomenon and more readily
by Kaunas Pre-Trial Detention Establishment for Juveniles/Correc-
takes measures against it. For instance, in 2000 there were 36 tional Labour Colony.

87
Juvenile crime

In October 1999, an educational and public information TV3 from 8.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
campaign within the framework of the Juvenile Justice on weekdays and from 5.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at weekends; and
Programme was launched, and the Lithuanian Centre for LTV from 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. on weekdays and from
Human Rights initiated a complex sociological survey that 10.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends. Taking into account
primarily aimed at analysing how the Lithuanian mass me- that the period from 7 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. is prime-time, it is
dia, first of all the press and television, presented the prob- not difficult to establish that out of the listed channels only
lems of juvenile criminal justice and what effect it had on LTV consciously or unconsciously tried to protect its audi-
society. One of the goals of the survey was also to establish ence from the wave of virtual violence.
the scope of violent information broadcast by television It is evident that scenes of a violent nature appear dur-
channels in Lithuania, which could have a negative effect ing the most watched periods. Consequently, they can po-
on juveniles and stimulate unlawful activity. tentially influence those social groups that are constant view-
The distribution of violent scenes in terms of number ers of television and whose socialisation habits are in the
and duration in the films broadcast through the Lithuanian process of development. Considering that juveniles also fall
television channels was as follows: under this social group, the author of the survey raises a
Analysis of the survey data revealed that each channel has hypothesis about the negative influence of Lithuanian TV
its own ‘violence grid’ of entertainment films. Most violent channels on juveniles, although he notes that the imitation
scenes were in films broadcast by BTV that were shown from of violent acts by juvenile viewers that result from intensive
9 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. (both on weekdays and weekends); LNK virtual violence in TV films must also be investigated.
from 9 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. on
From A. Dobryninas. Nepilnameèiø justicija Lietuvos þiniasklaidoje.
weekdays and from 11 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. at weekends; Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights. Vilnius: 2000. p. 37.

TV channel Share of violent scenes in all Duration of violent scenes in total
films broadcast, % duration of films broadcast, %
weekdays weekends weekdays weekends
TV 3 3.4 5.0 0.7 0.9
LNK 6.3 11.3 0.9 2.1
LTV 2.0 3.0 0.5 0.4
BTV 9.8 23.8 1.2 1.8

TV channel Use of weapon Fights Torture Sexual violence Explosions Murders
TV 3 528 389 75 12 46 86
LNK 1,197 603 216 23 138 167
LTV 125 88 4 5 7 39
BTV 2,054 1,148 179 39 201 327

and young people in the European Union are insufficient to apply them in practice.
member states. In Lithuania the excessive In 2000, people aged 18-29 As juveniles reach the age of 18, they
application of prison sentences to juveniles constituted 47% of all people are transferred to the adult penitentiary
is mostly preconditioned by legal and ad- accused of crimes committed system (since 1995 almost half of convicted
ministrative factors rather than by any in- in Lithuania, although this juveniles annually), which allows them to
crease in juvenile crime or its patterns. There group made up only 17% of continue pursuing their criminal ‘careers’.
is no system of effective correctional mea- the population. Such a practice is not conducive to the edu-
sures alternative to imprisonment that has cation and social integration of juveniles
long and successfully been applied in de- into society and contradicts EU practice
veloped countries (like public works, probation, different forms where confinement establishments for juveniles pursue a tar-
of care, social training, procedures for reconciliation between geted education and social integration and where the confined
perpetrator and victim). The new Criminal Code opens up juveniles serve their entire sentences. For example, in Austria
greater possibilities for the administration of alternative correc- young people aged up to 27 are confined in juvenile confine-
tional measures. However, organisational decisions and means ment institutions until their sentences are over.

88

Juvenile crime prevention. One of the key Children and young people and 58% of pupils as the prime cause of
programmes for child and youth crime pre- constitute the biggest pro- crime. A total of 29% of the offenders
vention is the National Programme for portion not only of the per- and 22% of the pupils finished the sen-
Child and Juvenile Delinquency Preven- petrators of crime but also its tence “I wish my father did not…” with
tion, which was approved by the govern- victims. the word “drink”. Physical punishment
ment in 1997. However, its budget fund- was inflicted on 54% of the offenders.
ing has steadily decreased year by year, i.e., Two thirds of the offenders could not
15
from 5,851,000 LTL in 1998 to 950,000 LTL in 2001. say anything good about their schools, but only 17% of the
Out of 1,001 respondents of a sociological survey conducted current pupils shared this view; 87% of the pupils and 35%
within the framework of the Juvenile Justice Programme, 87% of the offenders indicated that they had never played truant
noted that attention by Lithuanian society or missed their classes even on a rare occa-
to juvenile problems is insufficient; in the sion. Almost two-thirds of the offenders
opinion of 43%, the key cause of juvenile In 2000, 47% of all convicted were often absentees or did not attend
delinquency is the difficult socio-economic people were imprisoned. school at all. Meanwhile, 52% of the of-
situation in the country; 30% noted that fenders and 13% of the pupils indicated
the most efficient measure for cutting the that they had tried drugs.
levels of juvenile delinquency is to improve the socio-economic A total of 73% of the pupils noted that they were happy
situation in the country; 34% said that tightening penalties for with their lives and that they did not want to change them, while
16
juveniles is likely to be an ineffective measure. 65% of the offenders said they would like to change lives and

82% of them did not exclude the prob-
ability that they would either return to the
colony or to prison. Half of the offenders
stated that they would find it difficult to
adjust to life when released from the colony.
Referring to the crimes they had com-
mitted, the juveniles often stated that they
were pushed into crime because they
needed money (63%). They placed the
responsibility for the crime on themselves
In the process of the implementation of the Juvenile Jus- (70%), shared their guilt with friends or the victim, or dis-
17
tice Programme, the Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights missed it as the result of alcoholic intoxication (30%).
initiated a survey of psycho-social characteristics of juveniles
who have committed serious crimes. This survey was aimed at 15
“Vaikø ir paaugliø nusikalstamumo prevencijos nacionalinës
finding out what circumstances could serve as “preventive” programos vykdymas”. The service for the co-ordination of socio-eco-
nomic programmes at the Ministry of Education and Science of the
factors. The survey was conducted in two groups: juvenile Republic of Lithuania. Vilnius: 2000, p. 43.
16
offenders from Kaunas Juvenile Prison/Correctional Labour A. Dobryninas. Nepilnameèiø justicija Lietuvos þiniasklaidoje.
Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights. Vilnius: 2000, p. 57-60.
Colony and pupils from the secondary schools of Vilnius. 17
Nepilnameèiai, padaræ sunkius nusikaltimus: psichologiniai ir sociali-
A lack of social contact was specified by 74% of offenders niai ypatumai. The Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights. Vilnius: 2000.

89
Juvenile crime

According to data from 1 March 2001 by the Prisons De-
partment under the Ministry of Justice, out of 186 juve-
niles detained at the Kaunas Pre-Trial Detention Estab-
lishment for Juveniles/Correctional Labour Colony, 5.9%
were drug addicts, 17.2% had mental disorders, 3.2% had
no education, and only 14.7% were actually employed.

Juvenile criminal justice reform in Lithuania. Since 1998,
Lithuania has been in the process of implementing reform in enon from the mass media, which in turn shapes public opin-
the juvenile criminal justice system. The 1998 resolution of ion (and rarely informs the public about crime objectively or
the government on the reform’s guidelines, its legal frame- analyses it more deeply), as those who have never dealt with law
work and implementation approved new principles for the enforcement institutions have less trust in them than those who
18
legal system. have appealed to them. However, it is evi-
The common goal of the juvenile dent that the promotion of non-govern-
criminal justice reform was to cut back on Since 1998, Lithuania has mental organisations and co-operation with
repeat crime among juveniles by setting been in the process of imple- them – including the implementation of
up a humane and efficient juvenile crimi- menting reform in the juve- measures of punishment - could bring posi-
nal justice system. The programme also nile criminal justice system. tive results within a few years.
aimed at improving the legal framework The programme has been implemented
regulating juvenile justice. According to A large proportion of confor two years; a considerable amount of re-
the programme, juvenile (family) courts victs are young people, search was conducted to become the basis
and a network of special departments mainly young men. for concrete reform; specialist training is un-
within the criminal police and the derway, and so is a public information
19
Prosecutor’s Office will be established. campaign. The Juvenile Justice Programme
The programme seeks to establish a consistent juvenile crimi- is only one of numerous programmes that have been successfully
nal justice strategy based on respect for human rights and implemented and based on inter-departmental co-operation and
emphasising correction, rehabilitation and social inclusion for of- responsibility. It was positively evaluated by the committee of
20
fenders. Introducing alternative measures to imprisonment is re- experts dealing with juvenile justice in the Council of Europe, as
forming the system of penalties applicable to juvenile offenders. well as the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child,
Additional goals of the programme include establishing con- by emphasising that it “positively evaluates the reform of juvenile
ditions for the co-operation of non-governmental organisations criminal justice, which aims to decrease juvenile crime, the imple-
and enhancing the role of Children’s Rights Protection Agen- mentation of which inspired the juvenile justice
21
cies within the juvenile criminal justice sys- programme.” The key problems in imple-
tem. Building a civil society has always been menting this programme are its further fi-
an important precondition in changing the The common goal of the juve- nancing, which will be undertaken by the
approach of society towards the offender nile criminal justice reform Government of the Republic of Lithuania
and the work of law enforcement institu- was to cut back on repeat crime from 2002, and administration, which is
tions in establishing and implementing al- among juveniles by setting up related to changes in the composition of the
ternatives to imprisonment. Attention a humane and efficient juve- steering committee.
should be paid to the fact that most of nile criminal justice system.
society learns about crime as a phenom- 18
“Valstybës þinios,” 8 July 1998, No. 61-1736.
19
For more information on the programme and
its implementation, see the website at
Correctional measures and punishments imposed on juvenile convicts, %
www.nplc.lt/nj
20
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 European Committee on the Problems of Cri-
Release from punishment 28.9 46.9 41.2 31.4 22.2 35.1 me/Committee of Experts on New Ways of De-
aling with Juvenile Delinquency and the Role of
Delayed punishment 0.7 0.7 1.6 1 0.7 0.0 Juvenile Justice (PC-JU).
21
Fine 1.3 6.2 6.1 3.5 0.5 0.6 Conclusions by the United Nations Commit-
tee on the Rights of the Child on the inception
Correctional works 67.3 37.4 46.6 62 74.6 41.7
report of the Republic of Lithuania. UNICEF/
Imprisonment 1.8 8.8 4.5 2.0 2.0 22.6 Ministry of Social Security and Labour: 2001.

90

X

Rights of children and youth

The rights of the child are an indispensable part of the • Guaranteeing that the rights of children and young people
overall system of human rights. The assurance and the imple- are met is related to the particular experience of human dig-
1
mentation of the rights of the child (up to 18 years of age) nity, which if a young person has lost will not be recognised
2
and young person (up to 29 years of age) , however, have by him/her in relation to other people.
specific characteristics that are important from the point of • Children and youth make up a considerable part of
view of the well-being of society: society (43.2% at the start of 2001). So
• Children and young people are one based on the quality of life of this social
of the most vulnerable groups in society. Children and young people group, much can be said about society as
During the period of intensive political, are one of the most vulnerable a whole and in particular its future pros-
social and economic change the interest groups in society. pects.
of children and young people in making Guaranteeing the rights of children and
decisions about resource distribution, in- young people. The rights of children and
vestment and the development of infrastructure are often in- young people are consolidated in special international and
adequately taken into account. Even though the rights of national legal acts, as well as in legal acts regulating broad-
children are often used as tools for political contention, in based legal relations (such as civil, criminal, labour, social secu-
reality their importance fades in the face of the grand vision of rity and other laws).
economic, financial, political, state security, foreign affairs and Lithuania acceded to the 1989 United Nations Conven-
other ‘macro-interests’. In other words, at a time when the tion on the Rights of the Child on 5 January 1992, and on 3
most vulnerable groups of society are confronted with new July 1995 the Seimas ratified it. At the same time, Lithuania
challenges and most require attention and support, the joined the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the
country’s political attentions are elsewhere. This attitude is Child, adopted in 1959. In March 1996 the Law on Funda-
not unique to Lithuania. mentals on Protection of the Rights of the
• Children are perhaps the only age Child was adopted. In joining the con-
group in society whose rights, in their con- Lithuania acceded to the vention, Lithuania was obliged to take on
tent and actual implementation, completely 1989 United Nations Con- all the necessary legal and administrative
depend on another social group - adults. vention on the Rights of the measures for its implementation and show
From this point of view the rights of chil- Child on 5 January 1992. respect for every child, regardless of her or
dren as a component of the overall system his parents’ or legal guardian’s race, colour,
of human rights differ, for example, from sex, language, religion, political or other
the rights of women, ethnic minority groups, prisoners, people beliefs, nationality, ethnic or social origin, health, wealth, or
with disabilities, and other social groups in terms of implemen- any other circumstances.
tation. The members of the majority of these groups can repre- The main legal act that ‘represents’ the state’s position in
sent and advocate their own rights, and reproach decision mak-
1
ers and society when their rights are not heeded. They can also According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, 1989
draw on political measures to independently implement their 2
According to a Republic of Lithuania Parliament decision regarding
interests. The rights of children and young people are depen- the concept of the state policy on young people 27 June 1996 (Valstybes
Zinios “State News”, 1996.07.10, No. 65, Publication No. 1537)
dent only on the understanding and ‘mercy’ of adults.

91

implementing youth policy is the concept on state policy signed to departments and divisions within the ministry.
adopted by the Seimas (Parliament) in June 1996. Its pre- Therefore, at the highest governmental level there are no insti-
amble emphasised that during youth, people face many prob- tutions left that are directly responsible for the formation and
lems they are not able to overcome them- implementation of children’s rights policy.
selves. Society through its institutions This came to the attention of the United
should help to address issues of concern The newly established insti- Nations Committee on the Rights of the
to young people, making a positive im- tution of the Controller for Child.
pact on the formation of the individual- Protection of the Rights of the The newly established institution of
ity of young people and their socialisation. Child plays a very important the Controller for Protection of the Rights
Institutions responsible for implement- role in the field of the protec- of the Child plays a very important role in
ing the rights of children and young tion of children’s rights. the field of the protection of children’s
people. In Lithuania, responsibility for rights. Nevertheless, it does not and can-
the implementation of the rights of chil- not formulate state policy in this field. The
dren is distributed among various institutions. In March 2001, main function of the Controller for Protection of the Rights of
the Children’s Rights Agency at the Ministry of Social Secu- the Child is to oversee how the rights of the child are imple-
rity and Labour was abolished. Its functions were in part as- mented throughout the country and suggest improvements,

92

of the rights of young people, however, is in fact the responsibil-
The mandate of the State Council for Youth Affairs is to
implement measures to strengthen the motivation of ity of many different institutions. One of the most important
young people and to improve their opportunities to ac- tasks that needs to be addressed, therefore, is to separate spheres
quire an education and find employment, and to actively and functions and assign responsibility to one or another insti-
participate in community life. tution, while at the same time ensuring a co-ordinated imple-
The main areas of activity for 2001 are: mentation of policy on youth affairs.
1. Developing civil and democratic skills for young people The Minister of Social Security and Labour has confirmed
in youth organisations - organising elections, planning the composition of the State Council for Youth Affairs (term
organisations’ activities, advocacy, constructive lobbying and of office 2001-2003).
other skills necessary for participation in democratic life; Fundamental rights of children and youth. Children and
2. Informal teaching of civil and social skills for young youth have the majority of rights that are assigned to all
people - responsibility, initiatives, creativity, project man- people irrespective of their age. Nevertheless, they also have
agement, teamwork and similar skills, all of which are some specific rights, which take on additional aspects and
necessary in seeking an education and searching for a job;
nuances. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of
3. Providing social assistance - consultations and active
the Child contains approximately 50 children’s rights. The
social integration initiatives, particularly for young people
most important of these, which play a key role in the social
with social problems (drug abuse, psychological crises
development of children and youth, are: the right to life,
and so on) are supported;
4. Support for initiatives by young people in rural areas liberty and personal security, and the right to education.
and the expansion of leisure-time activities - additional The right to life. Every person’s right to life is the funda-
and separately funded support to meet the needs of young mental right upon which all other rights, freedoms and duties
people living in rural areas, as well as initiatives designed are based. Article 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of
to address community needs (teaching, leisure time, cul- Lithuania states that a person’s right to life is safeguarded by
tural, sport and so on). legislation. A person’s life and dignity are qualities you cannot
take away from a person and therefore they cannot be dis-
Adapted from the State Council for Youth Affairs website
www.jaunas.lt/vrjt cussed separately. A person’s life and dignity are higher than
the law. Taking this into account a person’s life and dignity
are regarded as particular values. In this
but not to formulate policy. case, the purpose of the Constitution is to
Every person’s right to life is
The State Council for Youth Affairs is ensure the protection of and respect for
the fundamental right upon
the main institution at the governmental these values. These requirements apply
which all other rights, free-
level responsible for the implementation doms and duties are based.
of policy on youth affairs. The protection 3
“Valstybës Þinios”, 1998.12.11, No. 109-3004.

93

The representative of the institution of Controller for One aspect of ensuring the right of children to life is
Protection of the Rights of the Child, Grazina Imbrasiene, related to the right to abortion. In looking at this question
was shaken by the anti-sanitary living conditions, and from the perspective of protecting the rights of the child,
particularly the strict, army-like regime and the habitual abortion is a violation of the right to life. Opponents of
abuse of children by teachers of the Èiobiðkis (Ðirvintas this position stress the right of the mother to decide whether
region) specialised children’s education and care home. or not the child should be born. In Lithuania the termi-
The residents of this home, who have carried out petty nation of pregnancy (abortion) is considered legal if it is
offences, were punished by being locked up in cells or carried out by a doctor in a medical institution and does
punishment rooms. Those who were punished were fed not contradict certain medical requirements. One of the
only bread and water. People with mental illnesses were requirements is that the duration of pregnancy should
placed together with other children. Children who com- not exceed 12 weeks. Illegal abortion can be punishable
mitted severe offences and those who committed petty according to Article 124 of the Criminal Code. Only
offences were kept together. Following her visit, the insti- those responsible for implementing the abortion, as well
tution of Controller for Protection of the Rights of the as those who assist, are punishable. The pregnant woman
Child encouraged the Ministry of Education and Sci- is not punishable. An illegal abortion is an offence against
ence to ensure that the rights of children raised in a person’s health, and highlights the protection of the
specialised educational or care institutions be protected. health of the mother, but not the right of the new life
4
that has just begun.
Children held in punishment cells receive only bread and water.
“Lietuvos Rytas”, 6 October 2001, No. 234. Statistics indicate that over the past few years in Lithuania,
out of every 100 births approximately 70 abortions are
3 performed.
first and foremost to the state.”
The fact that child mortality is high and that it is domi-
nated by non-medical deaths among which violent deaths are and co-operation between people and the nation. The right
widespread, means that the right of young people to life is not to education is an important factor that impacts the human
sufficiently ensured. In this respect, sui- development of young people and their
cide is most indicative of faults in society social integration. According to the
to protect fundamental rights. Lithuania The education system should Lithuanian Constitution, education is
has one of the highest suicide rates in bring up not only educated, compulsory for people up to the age of
Europe for young people. A high suicide but also free and democratic 16. But in emphasising the constitutional
rate, as well as an ongoing trend for it to individuals. duty to study, the right to education is
increase still further, is being noted in often forgotten. The state has an obliga-
many countries throughout Europe. This tion to establish an educational system that
trend is linked to social and psychological problems, intense ensures that this right is implemented and that it takes into
competition, a lack of communication skills, and intense eco- account the different interests and needs of children. The
nomic, cultural and social change. Often suicide is inspired by principle of the Constitution where it is stated that it is the
the immediate social environment, and a lack of assistance and duty of children to study to a certain age is questionable and
support. Based on the fact that the level of suicide in Lithuania ineffective. Often children who drop out of school before the
is so high, suicide prevention should be one of the priority
4
areas for state policy on young people. For more information refer to G. Sakalauskas. Protection of Children’s
Rights in Lithuania. Vilnius 2000. p. 10-13.
The right to education. The law on education states that
education is a priority area for state support and development.
Victims of road accidents, up to 18 years of age
Education determines the country’s cultural, social and eco-
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
nomic development. It strengthens the solidarity, tolerance
Fatalities 73 67 44 59 71 54

Victims of crime, up to 18 years of age, 2000
Total Up to 14 14 to 17 Girls Boys
Premeditated murder (including attempted murder) 13 6 7 4 9
Premeditated serious bodily harm 11 2 9 2 9
Sexual abuse 125 57 68 114 11

94

Suicide among children and young people The right to work. The aforementioned sociological survey
Males Females revealed that 93.6% of young people valued the importance
10-17 18-29 10-17 18-29 of work. More than half of employed respondents did not
1993 20 196 5 26 work according to their profession, however. More than 50%
1994 17 225 11 30 stated that the most realistic means of getting a job was through
1995 23 211 9 29 friends or relatives, or with the assistance of acquaintances and
1996 23 223 6 24 contacts. In the opinion of respondents, in wanting to secure
1997 20 236 6 24 a good job the most important factors were an education and
1998 13 205 12 21 contacts. The majority of employers stated that the most im-
1999 23 222 9 26 portant criterion when selecting employees was competence,
2000 18 214 14 25 which was also indicated by 10% of young people. The abso-
Per 100,000 population lute majority of young people would agree to move to another
7
1993 9.3 56.0 2.4 7.8 location if there were better employment opportunities there.
1994 7.9 65.3 5.3 9.1 It is probably not possible to overrate the importance of em-
1995 10.5 62.1 4.3 8.9 ployment for human development in modern society. Its impor-
1996 10.3 66.4 2.8 7.4 tance goes far beyond a source of living or supporting the family.
1997 8.8 71.0 2.7 7.5 It covers social relationships, possibilities for self-realisation, psy-
1998 5.7 62.1 5.4 6.6 chological comfort and many other factors. The right of youth to
1999 9.9 67.6 4.0 8.2 work has certain features. On the one hand, education and the
2000 7.7 65.6 6.2 7.9 development of skills should empower them with the knowledge
and abilities necessary to engage in fulfilling a professional career.
age of 16 are no more subject to compulsory education when On the other, it is necessary to protect children from early work,
they become older than 16 despite the fact that they have not which could harm their education and health. The UN Conven-
got any education. This duty should rather be linked to the tion on the Rights of the Child ensures the right to be protected
actual acquisition of some level of education (for example, from exploitation and from being used in any type of work that
basic education) rather than to a certain age. could be dangerous from a physical, mental, moral or social per-
It is also important that education be a real value for soci- spective, or could become an obstacle to education.
ety, accessible to everyone regardless of social or economic po- Employment for young people is an important precondi-
sition. Sociological research initiated by the State Council for tion for successful integration into society. It is alarming that
Youth Affairs and the Council for Lithuanian Youth in Lithuania, as in the majority of other countries, the level of
Organisations in 2000 indicated that 93.4% of young people unemployment among young people is higher than the na-
regarded education as being very important, and financial tional average. Unemployment usually affects young people
5
well-being was valued at 99%. After international research more strongly and deeply than older people, who already have
was carried out by UNICEF in 2000, it became clear from the work experience.
responses to the question, “What is necessary to be success- In the field of the protection of children’s rights, of par-
ful?” that young people from Western Europe more frequently ticular importance is the complex of rights related to violence
linked success to education. Young people from Eastern Eu- against children that is stipulated by the UN Convention on
rope (including Lithuania) linked success to contacts with the Rights of the Child. This includes the right to be pro-
6
important or influential people. This type of attitude dimin- tected against all forms of exploitation that can damage the
ishes the importance of education, and is more likely to be well-being of a child, and the right to not experience torture
conducive to corruption. or other cruel, brutal, inhumane behaviour and punishment.
The education system should bring up not only edu- Children and young people also have the right to both physi-
cated, but also free and democratic individuals. In other words, cal and mental health assistance in recovering from the conse-
education should not only give knowledge. It should also quences of any type of neglect, exploitation and violence.
empower young people. The advantages and disadvantages Implementation of the UN Convention on the Right of
8
of education reform are difficult to evaluate now, but should the Child: lessons learnt . In January 2001, the UN Com-
become clearer in the immediate decade. mittee on the Rights of the Child presented its conclusions
5
regarding the implementation of the principles of the UN
Refer to LIJOT Internet Website: http://www.lijot.lt/tyrimai_vertybes.htm
6 Convention. The opinion of an authoritative and indepen-
UNICEF (2000), “Young People in Changing Societies” Regional Moni-
toring Reports, No. 7. Florence. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, p. 42 dent international institution on the current situation in the

95

field of children’s rights is valuable since it presents an unbi- families, which due to economic difficulties and insufficient
ased, competent and internationally compatible assessment. support from the state cannot guarantee necessary care. Many
However, the committee expressed concern that there is a lack children are adopted by families from foreign countries, and
of systematic and comprehensive statistical data on children for some of them security is not guaranteed;
that could allow for the evaluation and • morbidity among children is high,
monitoring of the implementation of and the incidence of tuberculosis causes
children’s rights. Unemployment usually af- particular concern. A large number of chil-
The committee considered the adop- fects young people more dren die as a result of trauma or accidents,
tion of new legislation that is more fo- strongly and deeply than in particular road accidents. The large
cused on the problems that face children older people, who already number of suicides among children and
and young people, an important achieve- have work experience. young people in Lithuania is also reason
ment in the field of ensuring their rights. for concern. Children with disabilities liv-
In July 2000, the Civil Code was adapted ing in rural areas do not have access to the
with a separate book, “The Rights of the Family”. In Septem- same level of health care services and medication as children
ber 2000, the Criminal Code, which contains a separate para- living in other locations do;
graph that foresees criminal responsibility for crimes against • in the past few years the number of children and young
minors was adopted. In May 2000, legislation on the institu- people using narcotics has increased.
tion of Controller for Protection of the Rights of the Child The committee further encourages the reform of national
was adopted. The committee also positively evaluated the fact legislation so that the legal system conforms to the principles of
that at the President’s Office a Council for Children’s Affairs the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It stipulates
was established, whose job it is to inform and advise the Presi-
dent about various institutions concerned with the rights of
Over the last few years, a negative trend has emerged in
children and their activities. The committee particularly ap-
the mass media - to advertise information that might be
preciated the creation of a Lithuanian School Students’ Parlia-
harmful to children and teenagers’ ethical, moral and spiri-
ment in 2000. In the same year, the ‘Year of Youth’ was de-
tual development. For example, in the event of a child or
clared in Lithuania.
teenage suicide, the media use sensation for publicity.
However, the committee acknowledges that the transition
Tragic events are often reported in great detail, with sur-
to a market economy is negatively affecting certain segments
names and intimate descriptions of the family situation,
of society - mostly families raising children. This was one of
and the words of children are cited including their reac-
the main reasons hampering the implementation of the prin-
tions to the tragedy. In some newspapers, and also on
ciples of the UN Convention on the Right of the Child. The
television programmes, people - sometimes minors - who
following problems were identified as those that should be at
are suspected of committing crimes are portrayed as crimi-
the focus of society’s attention, which need targeted policy
nals whose guilt is unquestionable. This is based on in-
measures from the state:
formation received from police during the investigation,
• state budget funds allocated to policy in the field of
long before any trial. Often, without waiting for the end
children’s rights are not based on clear principles or proce-
of an investigation or a trial, there is a rush to present
dures. The priorities and targets of policy on children, both in
sensational data about crimes committed by suspected
state and local budgets, should clearly be defined, so it is pos-
minors. Information is published about the health of the
sible to properly analyse the use of funds and their impact on
children and their parents. More and more often we are
the well-being of children;
seeing interviews in the press and on television where
• the physical punishment of children in both families
children are questioned about private information about
and institutions is widespread and society tolerates it. Chil-
their parents and teachers. Unfortunately, nobody takes
dren are not sufficiently protected against the increased inci-
into account the potential harm to the child’s or teenager’s
dence of abuse, violence and pornography on television, video,
psychological state and the negative impact on his or her
the Internet and other sources of information;
life in the future.
• large numbers of foster children live in children’s homes
and institutions, and relatively few of them are cared for in Decision no. 5 of the Journalists’ Ethics Inspector regarding the rights
of children and teenagers, as well as the protection of their legal
7
Refer to LIJOT website: http.www.lijot.lt/ -tyrimai_vertybes.htm interests from harmful mental, ethical and moral developments through
8
The conclusions of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the the use of different types of media, 22 May 2001.
Child, UNICEF/Ministry of Social Security and Labour, 2001.

96

that the government should be the central institution respon- rights. Many institutions involved in activities related to the
sible for issues pertaining to children. Both at the national and rights of children and young people are not sufficiently funded
local levels there is a lack of mechanisms that can co-ordinate to carry out their tasks. There is also a shortage of professionals in
policy relating to children’s issues, which would be responsible the field.
for ensuring the implementation of the Overall state social policy on the pro-
Convention. tection of children’s rights is not suffi-
Main challenges for the protection of There is a lack of legislation ciently balanced. This is particularly the
the rights of children and young people. that clearly defines the specific case when talking about balance and co-
It is essential to develop an effective sys- tools, measures and forms of ordination between social assistance for
tem for the protection of children’s and support of the state in imple- children being raised in families and for
young persons’ rights and one that would menting policy on youth. those being raised by guardians, and when
ensure the implementation of these rights. speaking about the type and forms of care
First of all, the institutional structure and the issue of adoption.
of the system for the protection of children’s rights is not suffi- There is a lack of legislation that clearly defines the specific
ciently effective. At the governmental level there are no institu- tools, measures and forms of support of the state in imple-
tions that formulate, implement and co-ordinate policy on such menting policy on children and joung people.

97

98

Conclusions

“Young people are the future of society and the state.” culture. So the demand for highly skilled labour, which is
This widely used phrase contains a very strong message and extremely valuable for young people - and consequently the
merits serious consideration. A state that does not provide demand for quality education - is insufficient. Expenditure
young people with essential human development choices or on education in Lithuania was 6.64% of GDP in 2000,
support them on their way to adulthood will inevitably face lagging behind Poland and Latvia (above 7% of GDP).
socio-economic problems in the future. Despite varying eco- Numerous sociological surveys have revealed that more than
nomic, cultural and social contexts, young people all over half of young respondents have the intention to emigrate or
Europe face common problems and challenges. The most seek employment abroad.
important of these are job insecurity, inaccessibility to edu- In 2000, the Lithuanian economy overcame the impact
cation in the broadest sense, a lack of participation and em- of the Russian crisis. However, economic growth had no
powerment, the prevalence of extremism and crime. Most noticeable positive effect on the average standard of living of
youth-related problems are deeply rooted in societal and the population. In fact, monthly disposable income per
intergenerational relations and in the transition from educa- household member in 2000 fell below the level of 1998 and
tion and training to the labour market. Young Lithuanians, reached 415 LTL. Real wages fell by 1.9%. The proportion
a majority of whom associate Europe with their future, in of young people’s incomes from business and freelance ac-
addition to the common problems they share with their con- tivities almost halved. Income from social benefits, on the
temporaries in the EU, are facing difficulties common to any contrary, grew significantly. Young people are becoming
transitional society and economy. For example, in the opin- more and more dependent on social and private support.
ion of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, one of In 2000, 31% of children under 18 were below the
the main obstacles to the implementation of the principles poverty line. More than 20% of children of pre-school age
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in are in poverty. Young people and children (particularly of a
Lithuania was socio-economic change related to market repre-school age) are more vulnerable to poverty than other
forms and economic restructuring. age groups.
Objectively the Lithuanian economy is giving fewer op- Young people spend a high proportion of their lives in
portunities for a sustainable livelihood for young people com- full-time education and training, so this should be a signifi-
pared to the economies of the countries of the EU. In cant and productive element of their life experience. But
Lithuania GDP per capita had barely reached 35% of the despite the obvious success of educational reforms, the con-
EU average by 2000. If Lithuania has succeeded in building tent and quality of education still do not provide the mod-
a market economy, it still lags behind EU countries in tran- ern knowledge and communication skills necessary for an
sition to a ‘knowledge economy’ and investment in social information society. Territorial disparities in quality and ac-
capital. For example, in 2000, funds allocated to health care cess to education have also not yet been solved. In Lithuania,
stood at 4.4% of GDP, which is half the EU average. In as elsewhere, poor education presents a risk of poverty and
Lithuania research- and technology-intensive industry is re- social exclusion, but good education and skills are no guar-
sponsible for 5.9% of the total value added produced in antee of economic and social inclusion. Although the corre-
industry, while in the EU it exceeds 20%. While in the EU lation between qualification levels and employment chances
youth employment in agriculture does not exceed 3%, in has tightened, one can find such professionals as doctors,
Lithuania 17.3% of the young labour force works in agri- teachers, university lecturers and scientists among the ‘work-

99
Conclusions

ing poor’. One cannot predict exactly which qualifications cides among children and young people in Lithuania is also
people will need several decades hence, but what is known reason for concern.
for sure is that the capacity and the motivation to learn on a One of the key factors behind the growth in crime is the
continuous basis will become something like a basic skill for increase in juvenile crime. In 2000, almost 1,000 juveniles
everybody. (35%) received prison sentences in Lithuania. There is no
Society is insufficiently aware of the problem of children system of effective correctional measures alternative to im-
dropping out of school. There are no reliable data on the prisonment. However, the new Criminal Code opens up
number of drop-outs to allow for comprehensive targeted greater possibilities for the administration of alternative cor-
measures to combat the problem. The common conclusion rectional measures.
is to bring them back to the formal education system. But in Generally, young people are more liberal, more support-
our opinion, no less important is to search within the educa- ive of economic reforms and cultural change and more toler-
tion system itself for the reasons why children leave school. ant of new ways of thinking. The most important issues
Young Lithuanians rank job security highly and they facing Lithuanian society, according to young people, are
particularly lack labour competitiveness and stability. Ac- related to economic, physical and psychological security. This
cording to the labour exchange, the number of unemployed means that young Lithuanians feel that they are poorly inte-
young people is increasing every year. The level of unem- grated into society. They often feel ignored or unprepared
ployment among young people reached 18.9% (total 12.0%) to compete on the labour market. However, they do not
on 1 November 2001. Young people account for approxi- show a great deal of interest in overcoming this social alien-
mately a third of all long-term unemployed. Despite the fact ation. For example, more than half of young people in a
that they have significantly contributed to the qualification survey in 2000 said that they had not heard of any
level of the labour force in Lithuania in the past 10 years, organisations for young people.
their earnings are disproportionately low relative to those of The future pattern of intergenerational relations has been
adult workers (40% of the national average). influenced by income and social disparities. Under these
Young people are increasingly trying to combine differ- circumstances society can hardly expect young people to
ent areas of life. People’s lives are no longer divided up into develop a sense of intergenerational solidarity. In seeking to
clear-cut categories as obviously as they were in previous better integrate them into society, political and economic
generations. Perhaps the common concept of youth as a sepa- measures are necessary, targeted towards different groups of
rate stage between childhood and adulthood should be re- young people. More attention should be paid to young
vised. Childhood and adulthood have been ‘penetrated’ by people who neither study nor work. They are the group
this intermediary stage. Some ‘young’ people depend on most vulnerable to social exclusion and so are the most diffi-
their parents into their late thirties, while others earn more as cult to reach. Young people who study are the most active,
teenagers than their parents do. While 10 years ago the ma- both from a political point of view and from the view of the
jority of students did not work, today about a third of labour market. They should therefore be encouraged to take
bachelor’s students and approximately 80% of master’s stu- part in decision making. However, no less important is to
dents work and study at the same time. pay attention to outstanding and gifted young people who
Family and work are difficult to combine in Lithuania. often are ‘neglected’ by the education system itself.
This is one of the reasons why women who on average are The formulation and approval of a concept on state
better educated than men dominate in lower-paid activities policy for young people was the first step in addressing
and among those who accept precarious forms of employ- young people’s problems. The state policy on young people
ment (part-time, shortened day). Social assistance for fami- seeks to create favourable conditions for the formation of
lies raising children continues to be oriented mostly towards the personalities of young people and for their integration
the payment of cash benefits, rather than to the provision of into political, civil, economic, social and cultural life. It
social services or addressing employment and housing needs. could be stated, however, that a comprehensive and coher-
In the end the response of young women is clear - to post- ent approach to youth problems has not yet been devel-
pone having children or reject the idea of children altogether. oped and there is a lack of legislation that clearly defines
The number of socially disadvantaged and problematic the specific tools, measures and forms of support from the
families is growing from year to year. On average only about state in implementing youth policy. In this respect
9% of foster children have lost their parents and become real Lithuania is far behind the countries of the EU, where
orphans, while 30% of foster children are removed from tackling youth problems has gained significance and a con-
socially disadvantaged families. The large number of sui- structive response from society. On 21 November 2001,

100

for example, the European Commission adopted its White Lithuania can no longer afford to under-use or waste its
Paper ‘A New Impetus for European Youth’. The White youthful resources. From the sustainable human develop-
Paper seeks to better address the specific needs of young ment standpoint, however, the personal qualities and knowl-
people in the EU and national policies and to encourage edge that today’s young people are developing are not only
young people to participate in the process of European the most important ‘resource’ on which Lithuania will rely
integration. Funding for the new initiatives proposed by in the coming decades, they are a chance for people to lead
the White Paper will mainly come from the EU’s ‘Youth’ meaningful lives within the larger European family. On the
programme, which has a total budget of EUR 520 million other hand, the unaddressed problems young people face
over the period 2000-2006. After enlargement to a total of today may become a source of problems for the whole of
27 countries, the European Union will have some 75 mil- society in the future. The purpose of this report was to bring
lion people aged between 15 and 25. out some important features of the current situation facing
On the whole, Europe is a rapidly ageing continent. young Lithuanians with respect to essential human develop-
Economists emphasise that under such circumstances ment issues.

101
Conclusions

102

The principal human
development indicators

Measuring human development. The UNDP has constructed a composite Human De-
The human development embraces many sides of devel- velopment Index (HDI) which was used in the first ever
opment. On the one hand it is a conceptual advantage, Human Development Report 1990 (Global Report) for the
but on the other it makes the measurability of human international ranking of countries. The basic idea behind
development problematic. In addition, human develop- the HDI was to incorporate social choices beside income
ment contains crucial but not easily quantifiable factors into a single and relatively simple indicator. The HDI is
related to empowerment, human rights and freedoms. calculated using international data available at the time
The UNDP tried to advance the dialogue with the con- the Global Report is presented. The experience of the HDI
struction of a Political Freedom Index (PFI). It was sug- calculation reflect the continuos effort to improve data.
gested that the following clusters be combined: political Life expectancy at birth was therefore chosen as a proxy
participation; rule of law; freedom of expression. Each for many important choices since longevity closely corre-
cluster was assessed using data obtained from respected lates with the quality of life (adequate nutrition, good
international human rights organisations - Amnesty In- health, education).
ternational, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, the Education attainment measures a country’s relative
Inter-Parliamentary Union and other bodies. On the basis achievement in both adult literacy and combined pri-
of this data an illustrative PFI was designed, ranking 100 mary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment (ratio of
nations in 1994 (88 in 1991). With time, the method- enrolled to the total population aged between 7 and 24).
ology of the PFI should evolve. Although, the human As a measure of the standard of living and as an indi-
development concept is much broader than its quantita- cator of access to important economic choices GDP per
tive measurement. Yet simple tools are needed to moni- capita was chosen, adjusted for purchasing power parity
tor progress in human development. (PPP US$).

103
The principal human development indicators

Human development index, 1999
Life expectancy Adult literacy rate, Gross GDP per capita,
at birth % aged 15 and above enrolment, % PPP US$ HDI
World 66.7 79.2 65 6,980 0.716
OECD 76.6 97.5 87 22,020 0.900
Eastern Europe and the CIS 68.5 98.6 77 6,290 0.777
Developing countries 64.5 72.9 61 3,530 0.647
High human development 77.3 98.5 91 23,410 0.914
Norway(1)* 78.4 99.0 97 28,433 0.939
Australia (2) 78.8 99.0 116 24,574 0.936
Canada (3) 78.7 99.0 97 26,251 0.936
Sweden (4) 79.6 99.0 101 22,636 0.936
Belgium (5) 78.2 99.0 109 25,443 0.935
United States (6) 76.8 99.0 95 31,872 0.934
Finland(10) 77.4 99.0 103 23,096 0.925
Hungary (36) 71.1 99.3 81 11,430 0.829
Poland (38) 73.1 99.7 84 8,450 0.828
Estonia (44) 70.3 98.0 86 8,355 0.812
United Arab Emirates (45) 74.8 75.1 68 18,162 0.809
Croatia (46) 73.6 98.2 68 7,387 0.803
Lithuania (47) 71.8 99.5 80 6,656 0.803
Qatar (48) 69.3 80.8 75 18,789 0.801
Medium human development 66.8 78.5 67 3,850 0.684
Trinidad and Tobago (49) 74.1 93.5 65 8,176 0.798
Latvia (50) 70.1 99.8 82 6,264 0.791
Belarus (53) 68.5 99.5 77 6,876 0.782
Russian Federation (55) 66.1 99.5 78 7,473 0.775
Bulgaria (57) 70.8 98.3 72 5,071 0.772
Brazil (69) 67.5 84.9 80 7,037 0.750
Armenia (72) 72.7 98.3 80 2,215 0.745
Ukraine (74) 68.1 99.6 77 3,458 0.742
Jamaica (78) 75.1 86.4 62 3,561 0.738
Sri Lanka (81) 71.9 91.4 70 3,279 0.735
Viet Nam (101) 67.8 93.1 67 1,860 0.682
Cameroon (125) 50.0 74.8 43 1,573 0.506
Congo (126) 51.1 79.5 63 727 0.502
Low human development 52.6 48.9 38 1,200 0.442
Pakistan (127) 59.6 45.0 40 1,834 0.498
Togo (128) 51.6 56.3 62 1,410 0.489
Nepal (129) 58.1 40.4 60 1,237 0.480
Yemen (133) 60.1 45.2 51 806 0.468
Mauritania (139) 51.1 41.6 41 1609 0.437
Burundi (160) 40.6 46.9 19 578 0.309
Niger (161) 44.8 15.3 16 753 0.274
Sierra Leone (162) 38.3 32.0 27 448 0.258
* In brackets HDI rank.

With normalisation of the values of the variables, that From: UNDP Human Development Report 2001, Oxford Univer-
sity Press, New-York, 2001,
make up HDI, its value ranges from 0 to 1. The HDI
value for a country shows the distance that it had to over- Human Development: concepts and trends, SPU/UNDP, Vilnius,
1999
come to reach the maximum possible value of 1.

104

Demographic profile,2000
Population* 3,491.0 thous. Life expectancy at birth: Migration:
Youth (15-29) 811.6 thous. Birth rate per 1,000 population 9.2 Average 72.87 Arrived 1,510
Were born 34.1 thous. Mortality rate per 1,000 population 10.5 Women 77.93 Departed 2,616
Died 38.9 thous. Natural growth of population - 4,770 Men 67.62 Migration saldo -1,106
* Preliminary population census 2001 data

Health
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Morbidity, per 100,000 population
Malignant tumours 1,241.3 1,266.2 1,322.5 1,393.5 1,465.7 1,552.4 1,631.8
Active tuberculosis 240.0 250.2 268.0 288.5 308.0 318.3 290.3
Syphilis 57.6 90.8 101.4 84.9 62.8 45.3 31.7
Non-cumulative registered HIV/AIDS*
HIV-carriers 10 10 12 31 52 66 65
AIDS 1 1 5 3 8 5 7
Mortality by cause, per 100,000
Cardiovascular diseases 654.4 654.3 633.2 613.9 602.0 592.0 566.4
Malignant tumours 200.7 203.2 202.6 199.7 204.9 209.5 209.0
External causes 185.9 176.0 157.6 146.9 144.7 142.4 138.1
Suicide 45.8 45.6 46.4 44.0 42.0 41.9 44.1
Men 81.9 79.1 79.3 77.1 73.6 73.8 75.6
Women 13.4 15.6 17.1 14.5 13.7 13.6 16.1
Infant (0-1) mortality, per 1,000 population 14.2 12.5 10.1 10.3 9.2 8.6 8.5
*Corrected data from the AIDS Centre

Suicide among children and young people
Per 100,000 population
Males Females Males Females
10-17 18-29 10-17 18-29 10-17 18-29 10-17 18-29
1993 20 196 5 26 9.3 56.0 2.4 7.8
1994 17 225 11 30 7.9 65.3 5.3 9.1
1995 23 211 9 29 10.5 62.1 4.3 8.9
1996 23 223 6 24 10.3 66.4 2.8 7.4
1997 20 236 6 24 8.8 71.0 2.7 7.5
1998 13 205 12 21 5.7 62.1 5.4 6.6
1999 23 222 9 26 9.9 67.6 4.0 8.2
2000 18 214 14 25 7.7 65.6 6.2 7.9

Employment, unemployment, wage
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Employment level, % 56.1 55.2 54.6 52.6 53.5 53.2 51.2
Unemployment level, %,
Labour force survey data 17.4 17.1 16.4 14.1 13.5 14.1 15.4
Labour Exchange data 3.8 6.1 7.1 5.9 6.4 8.4 11.5
Youth, %, labour force survey data 25.2 22.2 26.5 29.0
Average monthly gross wage, LTL 325.4 480.9 618.2 778.1 929.8 987.4* 1,007.9**
Minimum wage, LTL 56.5 134.6 240 374.2 417.5 430.0 430.0
* Corrected data
**Preliminary data

105

Average state insurance pension, LTL
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Old age pension 108.31 147.04 188.97 239.86 286.15 309.06 312.54
Disability pension 104.31 139.34 176.82 221.86 260.91 278.94 279.63
Widower’s/widow’s - 91.96 92.56 71.25 58.10 60.49 60.20
Of which for those who lost spouse before 1 January 1995* - - - 31.10 34.43 35.13 34.57
Loss of breadwinner 96.02 102.62 122.66 149.96 174.60 183.11 183.32
Seniority 111.88 125.81 149.93 179.67 208.27 216.24 212.72
* Paid since 1 July 1997

Education
1994/95 1995/96 1996/97 1997/98 1998/99 1999/00 2000/01
Total enrolment 644 665 688 717 746 774 787
Drop-outs, % of total enrolment 1.2 1.3 1.2 0.9 0.9 0.9 -

Crime
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Registered crime 58,634 60,819 68,053 75,816 78,149 77,108 82,370
Juvenile crime 3,036 3,385 3,408 3,313 3,322 3,339 3,578
Solved cime, % 41 40 41 43 40,3 41 40

Gender profile

Average gross monthly wage, LTL
All employed Workers Employees
Women Men Women Men Women Men
1996 04 534 709 339 560 628 915
1997 04 685 920 546 765 782 1,197
1998 04 886 1,152 643 902 1,044 1,587
1999 04 968 1,182 660 909 1,152 1,615
2000 1 quarter 930 1,143 654 861 1,092 1,551
2001 1 quarter 964.3 1,180.8 671.7 891.4 1,135.7 1,617.5

Results of Parliamentary (Seimas) elections
Women % Men %
VII Seimas, 1992 10 7.1 131 92.9
VIII Seimas, 1996 25 18.0 114 82.0
IX Seimas,2000 15 10.6 126 89.4

Members of municipal councils
Women % Men %
1995 289 19.4 1,199 80.6
1997 326 22.0 1,158 78.0
2000 275 17.6 1,287 82.4

106

Cabinet of Ministers
Total Women Men
VI Cabinet of Ministers 20 - 20
VII Cabinet of Ministers 20 1 19
VIII Cabinet of Ministers 18 2 16
VIII Cabinet of Ministers 15 1 14
IX Cabinet of Ministers 15 1 14
X Cabinet of Ministers 15 1 14
XI Cabinet of Ministers 13 1 12
XII Cabinet of Ministers 13 3 10

Enrolment, %, beginning of academic year
Specialised secondary education Higher education
Females Males Females Males
1990/91 50.8 49.2 51.9 48.1
1995/96 64.3 35.7 56.2 43.8
1999/00 64.6 35.4 57.9 42.1
2000/01 64.0 36.0 58.1 41.9

Scientists, 2000
Women Men
Scientists 1,822 3,511
Habilitated doctors 110 685
Professors 62 547
Docents 20 67
Doctors 1,664 2,683
Professors 6 37
Docents 741 1,493

107

Lithuanian
Human Development Report
2001

Publisher:
Social Policy Unit (SPG)
Vivulskio str. 10-26, LT-2009, Vilnius, Lithuania

No. of copies printed 1000
Publishing House „Homo liber”, Laisvës av. 81-20, LT-2022, Vilnius, Lithuania
Printer AB „Vilspa”, Virðuliðkiø str. 80, LT-2056, Vilnius, Lithuania

“Human Development Report Lithuania: Opportunities for Youth and Human Development” (UNDP) 2001

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