Central and Western Lithuania Region Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas (Lithuanian) | |
|---|---|
Region | |
   | |
 Central and Western Lithuania Region (in blue) | |
| Country | Lithuania |
| Area | |
• Total | 55,556 km2 (21,450 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | |
• Total | 2,017,640 |
| • Density | 36.317/km2 (94.061/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €40.233 billion (2023) |
| • Per capita | €20,000 (2023) |
Central and Western Lithuania Region (Lithuanian:Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas) is a subdivision of Lithuania as defined by theNomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the two classifiedNUTS-2 statisticalregions of Lithuania. The region encompasses an area of 55,556 km2 (21,450 sq mi) and incorporates ninecounties of Lithuania except theVilnius County. With a population of just over two million, it is the most populated of the two regions in Lithuania.Kaunas is the largest city in the region.
The country of Lithuania is organized into tencounties for administrative purposes by the amendments of Act XXI of 1996.[4] TheNomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) organizes the country into two broader level sub-divisions.[5][6] These are classified as aNUTS-2 statisticalregions of Lithuania, and incorporate one or more counties within it.[7][8] The new delimination was announced by theParliament of Lithuania in 2016, and approved byEuropean Parliament on 21 November 2016.[9] The counties form the NUTS-3 territorial units under them.[4]
Central and Western Lithuania Region incorporates an area of 55,556 km2 (21,450 sq mi).[1] The region is located inEastern Europe, and bordered by theBaltic Sea to the west.[10] It shares international land borders with Latvia in the north, Bealrus in the south-east, Poland in the south, andKaliningrad of Russia in the south-west.[11][12] The region has about 97 km (60 mi) of coastline of which 37 km (23 mi) face theBlack Sea and the rest lies along the narrow mouth of theCuronian Lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad.[13][14] TheNemunas River enters the region from Belarus before flowing into the lagoon. The region generally consists of flat terrain except for few highlands in the west. The region consists of numerous small lakes and swamps.[13][14]
Central and Western Lithuania Region incorporates ninecounties of Lithuania except theVilnius County.[7]
| # | County (media help) | Capital | Area in km2 (rank) | Population (2023)[15] | Pop. density (per km2) | GDP (nominal) (billionEUR), 2023[16] | GDP (per capita) (EUR, 2023)[16] | Average monthly net salary (EUR), 2025-Q1[17] | HDI (2022) [18] | Municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alytus County (listen •info)  | Alytus | 5,418 | 135,367 | 25 | 1.9 | 14,300 | 1,232 | 0.846 | |
| 2 | Kaunas County (listen •info)  | Kaunas | 8,086 | 580,333 | 70 | 14.7 | 25,200 | 1,427 | 0.886 | |
| 3 | Klaipėda County (listen •info)  | Klaipėda | 5,222 | 336,104 | 61 | 7.6 | 22,500 | 1,356 | 0.880 | |
| 4 | Marijampolė County (listen •info)  | Marijampolė | 4,466 | 135,891 | 31 | 1.3 | 14,800 | 1,213 | 0.835 | |
| 5 | Panevėžys County (listen •info)  | Panevėžys | 7,878 | 211,652 | 27 | 3.8 | 18,200 | 1,250 | 0.850 | |
| 6 | Šiauliai County (listen •info)  | Šiauliai | 8,537 | 261,764 | 31 | 4.8 | 18,000 | 1,242 | 0.852 | |
| 7 | Tauragė County (listen •info)  | Tauragė | 4,349 | 90,652 | 21 | 1.3 | 14,800 | 1,252 | 0.825 | |
| 8 | Telšiai County (listen •info)  | Telšiai | 4,350 | 131,431 | 30 | 2.3 | 17,700 | 1,291 | 0.850 | |
| 9 | Utena County (listen •info)  | Utena | 7,191 | 125,462 | 18 | 1.8 | 14,200 | 1,220 | 0.837 |
Thegross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €40.2 billion in 2023, accounting for 56% of the Lithuanian economic output.[3]
55°22′36″N23°30′15″E / 55.37667°N 23.50417°E /55.37667; 23.50417