Facts and figures

Lithuania is a northern European country with a coastline on the Baltic sea and land borders with four nations. With a rich history back to the Middle Ages, the current Republic was established in 1992 as an independent and democratic republic.¹ The first country to declare independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania has been a member of the European Union and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 1994.²

Lithuania has 14 universities³  with more than 25,000 students enrolled in 2023.⁴  The Vilnius University founded in 1579 is the country’s oldest and largest, and one of the oldest in Central and Eastern Europe.⁵

Around 58% of young adults in Lithuania attain a tertiary education.⁶   In 2022, more than 15,000 people in Lithuania were employed in R&D work.⁷     

Gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) increased significantly between 2018 and 2022 by 62% to reach 691 million Euro, although rising only slightly as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product to 1.02%. The main sectors financing GERD in 2021 were business enterprise providing 36%, the national government 30% and inward investment 31.3%. ⁷

The European Patent Office granted 20 patents to residents of Lithuania in 2023.⁸

Life scientists in Lithuania have access to a funding from the Research Council of Lithuania.⁹  They also receive funding through Horizon 2020 projects, European Research Council grants, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions¹⁰ as well as EMBO.