2. Current cultural affairs
Lithuania
Last update: October, 2025
Key developments in Lithuanian cultural policy in recent years are related to the cultural funding institutions, i.e. Council for Culture, the Press, Radio and Television Support Foundation and Lithuanian Culture Institute.
In 2021, the Lithuanian parliament changed the Law on the Council for Lithuanian Culture (2012) and diminished the financial independence of the Council. Until 2021, the funding of the Council was carried out through the Culture Support Fund, which was comprised of the following: 1) 3 per cent of the income received from the excise duty levied on alcoholic beverages and processed tobacco; 2) 10 per cent of the proceeds received from the lottery and gambling tax; 3) other lawfully acquired resources. This funding regulation secured the financial independence of the Council since the amount of its finances did not depend on the will of politicians and could not be manipulated. A similar funding regulation is established for the Lithuanian National Broadcasting Company (LRT), which is calculated automatically as a fixed percentage of the state's tax revenue and cannot be revised by the government every year. The State allocates to LRT 1% of personal income tax and 1.3% of excise duties collected.
In 2020, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania asked the Constitutional Court to clarify whether these forming principles of the Culture Support Fund and the budget of LRT do not contradict its constitutional right to propose a budget to the Parliament, taking into account the current social and economic situation of the country. In the LRT case, the court stated that this legal regulation protects the institutional and editorial independence of the national broadcaster and is a way to shield it from political pressures. This argument, however, was not applied to the funding of the Lithuanian Council for Culture and in 2021, the Ministry abolished the Culture Support Fund and changed the Law on the Council for Lithuanian Culture (2021) respectively. According to the new edition of the Law, the funds of the Council consist of the appropriations of the state budget. The amount is decided by the government. Thus, the main decisions regarding the budget of the Council depend on the will of the Ministry of Culture.
In 2022, the Ministry of Culture changed the regulations of the Lithuanian Culture Institute. The new regulations give the institute a new function in the distribution of funding. From the beginning of 2023, the Institute began to operate under new regulations and allocates state funding for the dissemination of national culture abroad, controls the use of funding and accounting for it.
In 2023, the Ministry of Culture proposed to amend the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, and to abolish the Press, Radio and Television Support Fund and establish a new Media Support Fund. In January 2024, the Press, Radio and Television Support Fund was abolished, and a new Media Foundation was launched. The Fund supports projects through calls for tenders in the areas of news, investigative and educational journalism, cultural media, regional media, media of national minorities and diaspora, as well as other programmes prepared by the Foundation Council. The Foundation’s budget consists of state budget allocations and, in 2024, amounted to approximately 6.5 million Euros.
Evaluated from the standpoint of operational independence, the statutes of the new Media Support Fund (MRF) exhibit several advantages over those of its predecessor. Funding decisions are taken by the Fund’s Council, which is required to base its determinations on expert evaluations; any departure must be explicitly justified in the minutes, and both decisions and expert reports must be published. The MRF also establishes a more robust framework for expert selection and conflict-of-interest management: experts are ineligible if they are state officials, politicians, members of the LRT Council or Commission, Fund staff, or media managers; they must declare interests and sign confidentiality undertakings. The expert selection procedure is open and codified. Taken together, these provisions position the MRF to operate at greater ‘arm’s-length’ precisely where it matters most—grant decisions—through stringent conflict of interest safeguards and mandatory transparency regarding expert input.
Last update: October, 2025
Articles 25 and 44 of the Lithuanian Constitution protect the freedom of expression (see chapter 4.1.1). Article 37 of the Constitution protects the rights of national minorities: “Citizens who belong to ethnic communities shall have the right to foster their language, culture, and customs.”
In 2015, amendments to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, which decriminalised the offence of private persons and public officials, came into force. According to the Lithuanian Human Rights Monitoring Institute, this was a significant step in the field of freedom of expression, because it ensures that exercising this freedom will not lead to disproportionately applied criminal liability. After the decriminalisation of the offence, persons still have the possibility to defend their honour and dignity in civil courts.
The self-regulating authorities of journalists, public relations specialists and advertisers supervise limits of freedom of expression and other ethical issues of public communication. The self-regulatory body of media is the Association of Ethics in the Provision of Information to the Public. The stakeholders of the Association are public information producers, disseminators, journalists and other participants of the media sector, which seeks to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Code of Ethics in Providing Information to the Public foster principles of ethics in the provision of information to the public in public information activities and raise public awareness for the evaluation of public information processes and the use of public information.
The official institution of supervision of journalist ethics established by the Seimas is the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics. The functions of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics are: investigate the complaints (applications) of the persons concerned whose honour and dignity have been degraded in the media; examine the complaints (applications) of the persons concerned in relation to violation of their right to protection of privacy or processing of their personal data in the media; submit proposals to the Seimas and other state institutions for improving the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public and other laws and legal acts regulating the information policy; etc.
Despite the activity of the above-mentioned institutions related to cultural rights and ethics, some cultural events during the last years raised wide public discussions and revealed a rather narrow understanding of freedom of expression in Lithuania (see Human Rights Monitoring Institute report). For example, in 2014, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania upheld a fine imposed on the company of designer Robertas Kalinkinas for his advertisement campaign that had used the visual images of a young woman and a man who were stylised like Jesus and Mary. The fine was imposed by the State Consumer Rights Protection Service, deciding that the advertisement violated the provisions of the Law on Advertising on public morality. In the same year, a pre-trial investigation was launched against the comedian Whydotas, who posted a song on his YouTube channel called “Devil, please” which contained a verse “Devil, please take my soul, and let me bash children’s heads into the wall”. The author was suspected of inciting violence against a social group – children. Despite the song being obviously intended to be humorous and no actual aim to incite violence being present, Whydotas and other creators of the song were only acquitted on appeal, after almost 2 years of investigation and litigation. In 2018, the Parliament’s Commission of Freedom Fights appealed to the prosecutor's office to open a pre-trial investigation against writer M. Ivaškevičius regarding his public support for international crimes committed by the USSR or Nazi Germany against the Republic of Lithuania or its inhabitants. According to the applicants, the writer had committed these crimes in the novel “Greens” while assessing Lithuania’s resistance to the occupation and depicting the partisan struggle, its main leader, and other partisans.
In general, these events show that even though freedom of expression and the importance of its protection are acknowledged at the highest level in Lithuania, more extreme forms of expression received disproportionate prohibitions and punishment-based responses from the authorities. Performers, designers, advertisers, writers, and social action initiators had to defend their freedom of expression in courts, and these cases demonstrated that law enforcement authorities are not always able to distinguish permissible self-expression, criticism, or black humour from hate speech, bullying or contempt.
In 2022, with the outbreak of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, state institutions took measures to protect society from the spread of disinformation, information manipulation, and war propaganda. This led to the introduction of certain restrictions aimed at reducing the impact of disinformation on society. As a result of these measures, freedom of expression was restricted for individuals who publicly supported Russia’s unlawful actions. On 22 September 2022, the Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on Provision of Information to the Public, banning the retransmission and/or online distribution of radio and television programmes, as well as individual broadcasts, established, directly or indirectly owned, controlled or financed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. The aim of this ban was to reduce the potential spread of disinformation in the country and thus block channels and narratives inciting hostility. It should also be noted that the Government prohibited rallies and marches in support of Russia’s war in Ukraine for as long as the state of emergency remains in force. On 19 April, the Government adopted legal amendments prohibiting the public use, during the state of emergency, of symbols considered to express support for Russia’s war, such as the letters “V” and “Z”.
Last update: October, 2025
The Law on the Status of Artists and Artists’ Organisations (1996) establishes the basis and procedure for granting and abolishing the status of artist and artists’ organisations. According to the Law, the status of an artist is granted to a person who creates professional art, and 1) a person’s individual or collective creation of art has been positively evaluated as professional art in monographs, reviews or articles published by professional artistic reviewers; 2) a person’s creation of art is included in general education curricula, vocational training programmes and higher education study programmes approved in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law; 3) the creation of art by a person or a group of persons has been honoured with national or international art prize, other prizes and awards given by organisations of artists, or a laureate’s diploma of an international competition of professional art creators and/or performers (except competitions of pupils and students); 4) the person’s artworks have been acquired by national museums or galleries of Lithuania or foreign states; 5) the person has published art-assessment articles and reviews in Lithuanian or foreign publications for not less than five years; as well as the person who has been awarded the Doctor of Science degree or the Doctor of Arts degree for research activities in an appropriate art form; 6) the person who teaches subjects of the art study field and holds the position of professor or associate professor at a higher education institution which prepares professional artists according to art study programmes; or 7) the person has been, individually or with a group of artists, selected and represented Lithuania at internationally recognised events of professional art.
Article 11 of the Law determines state support for artists from the Artists Social Security Programme, approved by the government in 2011 (last edition in 2023). The Programme guarantees the state’s financial obligation to cover social and health insurance of artists, and support to self-employed artists. One of the purposes of the Programme is to allocate creative idle time payments for artists. Creative idle time means a period of time when an artist of employable age, for objective reasons, temporarily has no conditions for the creation of art and (or) dissemination of its results. Creative idle time payment is a payment in the amount of a minimal monthly wage, which is paid to the artists from the Programme's budget. The new edition of the programme of 2022 establishes the rules for payments in an emergency or quarantine.
The Law also defines the procedure of granting the status of “artists’ organisation” to an association. The status is granted if 1) not less than 25 artists have founded the association; 2) only artists or organisations holding the status of an artist and uniting not less than five members – organisations of artists – are members of the association; 3) the association promotes creation of art of high professional value, its diversity and dissemination; 4) the association sets conditions for the creation of art, creative work and professional development of its members; 5) the association arranges for art works to be accessible to the public; 6) the association represents artists of the whole country (not one of its regions).
In 2025, the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture provided information about 19 unions and associations that have the status of “artists’ organisation”. These organisations play an important role in cultural policy. According to many Laws that establish the procedure of formation of cultural policy institutions (councils, commissions, foundations), these organisations have the right to delegate their members to consulting or governing bodies. Thus, artists participate in cultural policy decision-making mainly through their unions and associations (see chapter 1.2.5 for more about the activity of artists’ organisations).
The state funding for individual artists’ creative activity and for the projects of artists’ organisations is mainly allocated through the Lithuanian Council for Culture (see chapter 7.2). The Council awards grants not only to those artists who have a status of art creators, but also to all cultural or artistic creators who are citizens of the Republic of Lithuania, other European Union countries or third countries, if their activity is related to the creation or dissemination of Lithuanian culture and art. During the period 2014–2024, the individual grant awarded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture to creators increased about twofold; however, it remains lower than the average national wage (net). In Q1 of 2024, the average wage was EUR 1 333 per month, and the grant of the Lithuanian Council for Culture amounted to EUR 800.
In 2024, the Lithuanian Council for Culture commissioned a Study on the Social and Creative Condition of artists. According to the study, in 2024, there were 16849 artists in Lithuania, of which 51.7 % were women and 48.3 were men. Only 12 % of all artists interviewed said they could make a living purely from creative activities. 32.8 % of artists had a permanent job position in state or municipal cultural institutions. Artists’ average monthly income lags behind the national average, amounting to about 78% of the country’s average monthly wage: the median income is EUR 750 per month, and the average monthly income is €1,090. Responding to questions on the artist's profession and society's attitude towards it, most of the artists agreed that “artists contribute to the formation of social values” (60% totally agree and 25% agree) and that it is “important to contribute to the development of culture and the arts” (72% totally agree and 16% agree). At the same time, artists believe that they are underestimated by society and policy makers in Lithuania – 37% do not totally agree, and 27% not agree that in Lithuanian cultural policy the importance of the artist is emphasised, and 48% do not think that the profession of an artist is regarded as prestigious in society.
This view is confirmed by the recurring public debates in the media between artists, politicians, and the public about various works of art (see chapter 2.9). These discussions are mainly provoked by patriotic and religious NGOs expressing their negative attitude or dissatisfaction with the way artists treat certain ideas, personalities, or symbols and questioning the artistic and aesthetic decisions of artists. NGOs are usually supported by populist politicians seeking to use public debate to increase their popularity and visibility. Thus, Lithuanian artists must often defend their professional autonomy and the right to make their own aesthetic and artistic decisions and to tackle the challenges of a narrow understanding of the freedom of expression and low artistic literacy of the public.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, digital cultural policy is mainly implemented in the fields of libraries, museums, archives and heritage. The beginning of the digitisation process was the project of the Lithuanian Libraries’ Integral Information System (LIBIS), which started in 1995. The project was implemented by the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. The objectives of the project were to develop a library system that would enable automation of all library and reader service processes; create a union catalogue based on shared cataloguing; adapt integrated library information resources to customer service; extend the infrastructure created by LIBIS; and develop the existing software tools. LIBIS was launched in 1998. In 2015 – 2021, the National Library implemented LIBIS modernisation project that aimed to transfer the e-services provided by the LIBIS libraries to a centrally managed cloud infrastructure and to develop the ibiblioteka.lt portal by creating new electronic services or modernising existing ones.
In 2005, the Lithuanian Government approved the Concept for the Digitisation of Lithuanian Cultural Heritage. This policy paper defined the goals and objectives of the digitisation of Lithuanian cultural heritage and established a special coordination body the Council of Digitisation of Lithuanian Cultural Heritage. According to the Strategy, the goal of the digitisation of Lithuanian cultural heritage is to transfer unique and valuable pieces of cultural heritage into digital form. The objectives are the following: to create an integrated information system of Lithuanian cultural heritage based on uniform standards and information usage agreements, ensuring long-term preservation of digitised information and access to it; facilitate the long-term preservation and use of the cultural heritage by providing its digital copy and information on it; promote the actualisation and dissemination of the Lithuanian heritage in the context of world cultural diversity; and contribute to the creation of an integrated information space on European cultural heritage.
Since 2005, the policy for the digitisation of cultural heritage in Lithuania has been coordinated by the Ministry of Culture (Memory Institutions Policy Group) together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (since September 2018) and the Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania. The Council for Digitisation of Lithuania’s Cultural Heritage provides expertise and consultations on issues in digitisation policy making, implementation, monitoring and reviewing.
Digitisation of cultural heritage activities is coordinated by the national network of 15 institutions: Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Office of the Chief Archivist of Lithuania, Lithuanian Central State Archives (they work at national level); at regional level work M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art and 5 county public libraries; on a sectorial level work Vilnius University Library (sector of academic libraries), Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences (the sector of Lithuanian research centres and institutes), public institution Lithuanian National Radio and Television (the sector of audiovisual heritage collection, preservation, and dissemination). Since the beginning of 2020, the system of statistics on digitisation of cultural heritage has been in place to consistently monitor and analyse the state and development of digitised and digital resources of cultural heritage and evaluate the impact of measures taken to achieve the strategic goals of the cultural heritage digitisation policy, and to initiate qualitative changes.
Digitised cultural heritage of cultural and scientific significance is available through several portals. E-paveldas is a virtual digital cultural heritage information system based on a database of digitised objects. At present, the portal has already accumulated more than 650 000 cultural heritage objects. Its content is created and enriched with new objects by 24 institutions: libraries, museums, archives, and others. Since 2012, the content of this portal has also been reflected in the European portal of digitised documents from libraries, archives, and museums, developed as a European Commission initiative.
LIMIS is the Lithuanian Integral Museum Information System. The Lithuanian Museums Centre for Information, Digitisation and LIMIS is a specialised department of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. Its purpose is to ensure that information on the cultural heritage accumulated in Lithuanian museums is integrated into the common digital space of the Lithuanian and European cultural heritage. The portal www.limis.lt became available for users in 2012. In 2025, the general search “Exhibits and Valuables” of LIMIS displays about 1 001 482 records (the number is continually changing as content is added).
E-Kinas is the virtual archive of Lithuanian documentary heritage. Its aim is to create conditions for the preservation and dissemination of the film heritage accumulated in the Lithuanian Central State Archives. Currently, LCVA is the only place in Lithuania digitising films in 4K resolution. 229 hours of film content stored in the archive were digitised and made available on the Internet, including important events in Lithuania's history in 1988–1992. EAIS is the Electronic Archive Information System. The system was developed in response to the constantly increasing amount of information stored in documents, registers and information systems, the cost of storing so-called “paper” documents and the need for a unified information search system of the National Document Fund (NDF). The LRT Mediateka is an audiovisual collection of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television. The Mediateka is open to the public since 2008. Videos and films converted into digital media are free of charge.
In 2023, the National Library of Lithuania started a new digitalisation project e-kultūra (eCulture). This platform will be a unified portal for digitised and digital cultural and audio-visual content, e-services and dissemination. The project is funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU), the economic recovery and resilience plan “New Generation Lithuania”. The project value is EUR 23.8 million. The aim of the project is to increase accessibility and re-use of culture by creating a common digital data platform for cultural institutions through the implementation of integrated organisational and technological solutions. The implementation date is 30 April 2026.
Last update: October, 2025
The national intercultural dialogue in Lithuania is mainly understood as a dialogue between different national communities living in Lithuania, fostering their cultural identity and citizenship. According to the State Data Agency, at the beginning of 2025, Lithuanians accounted for 82.3% of the country’s resident population, Poles 6.2%, Russians 5%, Belarusians 2.1%, Ukrainians 2.2%, and others 2.2%.
Figure 3. Proportion of the population by ethnicity, compared to the total resident population | per cent
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
The main initiator of national intercultural dialogue at the policy level is the Department of National Minorities of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, established in 2015. The Department operates in accordance with the Law on National Minorities of the Republic of Lithuania, adopted in 2024. The Law defines a national minority as “a group of persons composed of citizens of the Republic of Lithuania who reside in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, have long-standing, strong and permanent ties with the Republic of Lithuania, are smaller in number than the part of the population characterised by Lithuanian national identity, and are united by the aim of preserving their national identity”. This means that residents of Lithuania of various nationalities (immigrants, refugees) who are not Lithuanian citizens do not fall within the department’s remit. The affairs of members of national minorities living in Lithuania who are not Lithuanian citizens are handled by several institutions: the Migration Department (under the Ministry of the Interior) issues residence permits, administers temporary protection and asylum procedures, and e-permits. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour and its Reception and Integration Agency (from 2025; formerly the Refugee Reception Centre) handle accommodation, social services, state support, and integration programmes for asylum seekers, beneficiaries, resettled persons, etc. The Employment Service oversees employment rules, quotas, work permits, and employer procedures. Municipalities manage practical local integration (social services, education, housing solutions), often through municipal centres/coordinators. International organisations/NGOs—IOM Lithuania (Migration Information Centre), the Red Cross, Caritas, etc.—provide counselling, essential assistance, and integration services. The cultural integration of these people is not coordinated and, at best, occurs at the initiative of municipalities and voluntary organisations.
The Department funds cultural projects within the framework of the Integration of the National Minorities in the Society while Preserving Their Identity Programme. The programme funds three categories of project proposals: 1) the Dissemination of National Minorities Culture; 2) the Dissemination of National Minorities Culture and Cultural Cooperation in Southeast Lithuania; 3) the Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue and the Dissemination of the National Minorities’ Culture in the Mass Media.
A consultative body of the Department of National Minorities is the National Communities Board. The board represents national minorities and deals with the policy coordination issues related to Lithuanian national minorities, and involves the representatives of the national minorities in the decision-making process. The members of the Board are selected from the national communities’ representatives. The number of Board members from each national community depends upon the community’s population as presented in the Population and Housing Census 2011. If the national community’s population is above 100 thousand, then 3 Board members from the community shall be selected into the Board; if the national community’s population is from 10 thousand to 100 thousand, 2 representatives; for small national communities with a population of up to 10 thousand, there is one Board member.
National communities living in Lithuania develop cooperation and dialogue through cultural centres and non-governmental organisations. There are 4 intercultural centres in Lithuania, established by the Department of National Minorities: the House of National Communities in Vilnius (established in 1991), the Kaunas Centre of Various Nations Culture (established in 2004), the Roma Community Centre (established in 2001), and the Folklore and Ethnography Centre of the Lithuanian National Minorities (established in 2007). These and other cultural centres initiate various arts, cultural and interdisciplinary projects, organise cultural events, arts exhibitions, book presentations, and cooperate with non-governmental organisations of national communities. Approximately 180 non-governmental organisations of national minorities are engaged in cultural activity in Lithuania. The Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chechen, Estonian, Greek, Karaites, Latvian, Polish, Roma, Romanian, Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Hungarian, German, Jewish, and other national communities have established their cultural, educational, professional, and other non-governmental organisations.
Intercultural dialogue on an international level is coordinated by the Lithuanian Culture Institute. For several years, the Lithuanian Culture Institute has been organising Lithuanian culture seasons in various countries. In 2015, the Lithuanian Culture Institute represented Lithuania in Krakow; in 2016, it organised Spring and Autumn seasons in Ukraine; in 2017, Lithuania was a guest of honour at the international Leipzig book fair; in 2018, the institute realised two large-scale international events – Baltic Countries Market Focus programme at London Book Fair and the Lithuanian art festival “Flux” in Rome. In 2019, Tel Aviv became a host to the largest to date presentation of contemporary Lithuanian culture: “Lithuanian Story. Culture Festival in Tel Aviv 2019”. The festival aimed to introduce Israel’s audiences to Lithuanian artists from the fields of poetry, classical and contemporary music, performance, dance, and film. In 2021, Lithuanian Culture Institute organised the Lithuanian culture season in Bavaria Without Distance: Lithuanian Culture in Bavaria 2021. The cultural season held a varied programme of music, literature, visual arts, and performances by the most prominent Lithuanian artists and performers. The Season of Lithuania in France 2024 was a three-month cultural initiative from September 12 to December 12, 2024, aimed at showcasing contemporary Lithuanian culture to the French public. The project featured over 200 events across more than 80 French cities, including performances, exhibitions, debates, and conferences, under the overarching theme "The Other Same" (Kitas tas pats). Organized by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the French Institute, the season fostered long-term cultural cooperation between the two nations. The "Lithuanian Culture in Tampere 2025" program showcased Lithuanian contemporary art and culture through various events in the city, including the Tampere Film Festival, contemporary dance, the Tampere Guitar Festival, the Nykyaika Photography Centre, and the Tampere Theatre Festival. Key highlights included a Lithuanian film focus at the film festival, photography exhibitions by artists Tadas Kazakevičius and Ieva Maslinskaitė, a performance by the Dansema Dance Theatre, and a special piano concert. The initiative aimed to deepen the Finnish audience's knowledge of Lithuanian cinema, music, dance, theater, and photography.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, diversity in education is mainly manifested through schools with different educational approaches that are called non-traditional education schools. Their activity is regulated by the Concept of Non-Traditional Education approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports in 2010 (last edition in 2017).
The aim of the non-traditional education in Lithuania is to provide opportunities to realise the right of both the parents and children to choose the type of education that corresponds to their values, worldviews and religions. The Concept of Non-Traditional Education states that the establishment of educational institutions based on alternative education structures increases the range of choice, expands the institutional diversity of Lithuanian education, promotes modernisation of the educational process and the emergence of alternative teaching methods, as well as reflects and reinforces the democracy of the Lithuanian education system.
According to the Concept of Non-Traditional Education, non-traditional education is the type of education implemented according to the formal (primary, basic and secondary), and/or non-formal (pre-school, pre-primary and other non-formal) education curricula based on some unique pedagogical system (Maria Montessori, Waldorf, Shin'ichi Suzuki, etc.) or its separate elements. Non-traditional education is part of the education system that is consistent and equivalent to the traditional system of education and comprises formal (except for vocational training and higher education) and non-formal education of children. Non-traditional education is implemented in non-traditional schools and in traditional schools according to the curriculum of primary and/or other non-formal education. Schools of non-traditional education may operate according to their own programmes, but the total number of subjects and the total number of hours allocated for each subject in forms 1-12 can only differ from those specified in the state general education plans by not more than 25 per cent.
In 2025, a range of non-traditional education schools operated in Lithuania, for example: 1 school with special focus on ecology and environmental technologies, 4 schools with special focus on arts and humanistic culture, 3 schools based on the Ignatian pedagogical paradigm, 16 catholic schools, 1 school with classical curriculum, 2 Montessori schools, 1 Innovative entrepreneurship education school, 1 Suzuki school, 4 schools of Waldorf education, and 1 Sports and Health promotion school. In these schools, the duration of organising the education process (days, weeks, or the entire school year) may differ from the duration of organising the education process in a traditional school. Alternative schools are free to choose teaching methods and strategies to help realise their goals of education. They can create a unique learning environment, develop and use specific teaching materials and school achievement assessment systems.
Four Lithuanian secondary schools of non-traditional education in the three largest cities focus their curriculum on the education of humanistic culture and artistic abilities. Their aim is to combine a general educational curriculum with the development of artistic competencies and awareness of humanistic values, cultural heritage, and cultural diversity. In the curricula of traditional education schools, diversity is not a particular focus of education. Arts education curricula in traditional schools are more focused on creative self-expression, the development of artistic skills, and an understanding of works of art. Schoolchildren’s awareness of cultural and social diversity is mainly developed through subjects of history and citizenship that are compulsory in basic and secondary education.
In Lithuania, there are also schools of national minorities. The schools with national minorities’ language as the language of instruction operate in the areas inhabited by large national minority populations. According to the data of the Education Management Information System, in 2025, there were 99 schools of general education in Lithuania with one or several national minority/foreign languages of instruction. Of those, 38 schools have Polish as the language of instruction, 29 schools have the Russian language of instruction, and 31 schools have other languages of instruction. A total of 36 823 children attended these schools, which is 10.46% of the total number of Lithuanian schoolchildren.
National minorities schools can also work in Lithuania as Saturday or Sunday schools. Their concept is defined, and activity is regulated by the Concept of the school of national minorities on Saturdays and Sundays. This form of education is used in areas where national minorities make up only a small group.
Last update: October, 2025
Media regulations
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania prohibits censorship and monopolisation of the mass media (Article 44), guarantees freedom of expression, and lays down the limits of exercising freedom of expression (Article 25). The principal law governing the activity of public information is the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public (see chapter 4.2.1). The Ministry of Culture is one of the institutions responsible for the media policy and the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information. In implementing and coordinating national media policy, the Ministry of Culture cooperates with institutions operating in the field of public information and carrying out related supervision: the Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania and the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics (see chapter 2.2 for more about the Office).
The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania is an independent body accountable to the Seimas, which regulates and supervises the activities of radio and television broadcasters, on-demand audiovisual media service providers falling under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Lithuania, re-broadcasters carrying their activities in the territory of Lithuania and other legal bodies providing distribution services of radio and television programmes on internet for the users in the territory of Lithuania. The Commission also participates in the formation of national audiovisual policy. It is an expert body for the Seimas and the Government on audiovisual issues. When performing its functions and taking decisions on issues within its remit, the Commission acts independently. The Commission consists of 11 members: 2 members are appointed by the President of the Republic of Lithuania, three members (one of them from the opposition political groups) are appointed by the Seimas on the recommendation of the Committee on Culture, three members are appointed by the Lithuanian Association of Artists, one member – by the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, one member – by the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, and one member – by the Society of Lithuanian Journalists. The members of the Commission are appointed to serve for a period of four years and may not serve for more than two terms in succession. The chairman and deputy chairman of the Commission are appointed by the Seimas.
The Ministry of Culture monitors media ownership. Pursuant to the provisions of Article 24 of the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public, all legal entities who are publishers of local, regional or national newspapers and magazines or managers of the public information media must submit to the Ministry of Culture the data on their participants who have the right of ownership to or control at least 10 per cent of all the shares or assets (where the assets are not share-based) and inform of the revised data if they change. The data specifies the following: media stakeholders; information about property relations and/or joint activity linking them with other producers and/or disseminators of public information and/or their participants. The Ministry publishes received data on its website in the Database of Producers and Disseminators of Public Information.
The antitrust measures to prevent concentration of media and all other economic entities are set up by the Lithuanian Law on Competition (1999) (last edition in 2025). The Law defines a dominant position as the position of one or more undertakings in a relevant market directly facing no competition or enabling the exertion of a unilateral, decisive influence in a relevant market by effectively restricting competition. Unless proved otherwise, an undertaking (except retailers) with a market share of not less than 40 per cent is considered to enjoy a dominant position within the relevant market. Unless proved otherwise, each of a group of three or a smaller number of undertakings (except for retailers) with the largest shares of the relevant market, jointly holding 70 per cent or more of the relevant market, is considered to enjoy a dominant position.
Lithuania has a national broadcasting company: the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT). LRT is a public body belonging to the State by the right of ownership. The Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television regulates the procedure of establishing, managing, operating, reorganising and liquidating LRT, its rights, duties, and liability. The activities of a public broadcaster are also based on the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public. Programming diversity is declared as one of the main aims of LRT, which is realised through 7 media channels (3 TV channels, 3 radio stations and a news website). Two of them – television LRT Plus and radio LRT Klasika deliver specialised content dedicated to culture. LRT’s annual budget depends directly on the taxes collected in the year before the last. The State allocates 1% of personal income tax and 1.3% of excise duties collected. LRT is not allowed to air commercial advertising. This funding model, where the LRT’s budget is automatically calculated as a fixed share of the taxes collected by the State, has been in place since 2015 and was introduced as a guarantee of independence from government institutions, as well as commercial revenues and economic lobbying. The highest governing LRT body is the LRT Council. It is formed for a term of 6 years and consists of 12 members, public, scientific, and cultural figures. The Council forms the strategy of the LRT programming and LRT website, supervises the implementation of the LRT’s mission, approves the annual income and spending by the LRT administration, as well as deals with other issues within the Council’s capacity as envisaged by the LRT by-laws.
Radio broadcasting
According to the data of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission, in 2025, there were 38 radio broadcasters in Lithuania that broadcast 63 radio programmes. The Lithuanian public broadcasting company LRT broadcasts 3 radio programmes: “LRT radijas”, “Opus”, and “Klasika”. The last one is dedicated to cultural content. Other radio broadcasters are private companies; most of them are for-profit organisations. There are two Polish radio programmes in Lithuania: “Znad Wilii”, and “RadioWilno” (streamed online only), and one Russian programme: “Radio R”. The Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT airs information of different durations for national minorities (in Russian, Belarusian, Polish, Yiddish, and Ukrainian).
In 2024, the greatest variety of radio programmes was in the largest cities of Lithuania: in Vilnius, 31 programmes, in Kaunas, 25, in Klaipėda, 25, in Šiauliai, 23, and in Panevėžys, 19. By share of listening time, the top radio stations “Lietus” and “M-1” together accounted for 33% of listening time. During the winter 2023–spring 2024 period, the national broadcaster’s programme “LRT RADIJAS” ranked third with 12.2%.
According to the data of Lithuanian Statistics, in 2024, the share of domestic (original) radio programmes of the public broadcaster amounted to 92.5 % of the total volume and is by 0.9% smaller than in 2016. The share of domestic (original) radio programmes of private radio companies amounted to 92 % and is smaller by 4.3 % than in 2016 (see Table 2). The main part of the original content of radio programmes in 2024 was entertainment (59 %), while educational programmes made up the smallest share (0.52 %). The culture programmes made up 4.7% of total content (see Table 3).
Table 2: Volume of radio programmes, in hours, in 2016–2024
|
|
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
State broadcasting company |
Total |
27 944 |
27 883 |
27 888 |
27 845 |
28 439 |
28 311 |
28 373 |
28 382 |
26 352 |
|
Original programmes |
26 362 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 352 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
24 376 |
|
|
Foreign programmes |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
122 |
|
|
Coproduction programmes |
1 460 |
1 481 |
1 486 |
1 443 |
1 965 |
1,909 |
1 971 |
1 980 |
1 854 |
|
|
Private companies |
Total |
262 325 |
253 571 |
220 896 |
239 579 |
260 729 |
258 650 |
275 593 |
243 968 |
221 667 |
|
Original programmes |
252 640 |
245 616 |
212 282 |
231 485 |
237 195 |
241 642 |
258 368 |
228 480 |
203 997 |
|
|
Foreign programmes |
9 685 |
7 955 |
8 614 |
8 094 |
23 534 |
17 008 |
17 225 |
15 488 |
3 209 |
|
|
Coproduction programmes |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
14 461 |
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
Table 3: Structure of original radio programmes, in hours and per cent, in 2018–2024
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|||||||
|
|
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
|
Total |
238 562 |
100 |
257 765 |
100 |
263547 |
100 |
26 7922 |
100 |
284648 |
100 |
254760 |
100 |
248019 |
100 |
|
Information programmes |
25 857 |
10.8 |
26 840 |
10.4 |
26281 |
10.0 |
40 266 |
15.03 |
34946 |
12.3 |
27030 |
10.6 |
60922 |
24.56 |
|
Educational programmes |
3 001 |
1.3 |
3 350 |
1.3 |
2515 |
1.0 |
1 542 |
0.58 |
1646 |
0.58 |
1393 |
0.55 |
1293 |
0.52 |
|
Culture programmes |
10 429 |
4.4 |
12 168 |
4.7 |
13 782 |
5.2 |
13 642 |
5.09 |
14568 |
5.12 |
12651 |
4.97 |
11790 |
4.75 |
|
Religious programmes |
4 439 |
1.9 |
4 517 |
1.8 |
4 606 |
1.7 |
5 097 |
1.9 |
4376 |
1.54 |
4403 |
1.73 |
3587 |
1.45 |
|
Advertising |
11 898 |
5.0 |
16 920 |
6.6 |
24 078 |
9.1 |
18 287 |
6.83 |
23836 |
8.37 |
19971 |
7.84 |
15244 |
6.15 |
|
Entertainment programmes |
174 330 |
73.1 |
187 287 |
72.7 |
183 722 |
69.7 |
18 1387 |
67.7 |
160246 |
56.3 |
175278 |
68.8 |
146325 |
59.0 |
|
Not classified |
8 608 |
3.6 |
6683 |
2.6 |
8 563 |
3.2 |
7701 |
2.87 |
9030 |
3.17 |
14034 |
5.51 |
8858 |
3.57 |
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
TV broadcasting
According to the data of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission, in 2024, there were 26 TV broadcasting companies in Lithuania that broadcast 546 programmes. 12 of them were also engaged in re-broadcasting programmes. 46 companies were engaged in the rebroadcasting, 5 of them also take part in programme dissemination on internet. There were 2 companies which broadcast online only. Most of these organisations are private for-profit organisations, except the Lithuanian public broadcaster and 4 public local broadcasting institutions. Lithuanian public broadcasting company LRT broadcasts 3 TV programs: “LRT televizija”, “LRT Lituanica”, and “LRT Plius”. The last one is dedicated to cultural content.
According to the data of the Official Statistics Portal, in 2024, the share of domestic (original) television programmes of the public broadcaster amounted to 81.5% of the total volume, which is 4 % less than in 2016. (see Table 4). The share of domestic (original) TV programmes of private television broadcasting companies was 53.4%, which is 5% less than in 2016. The main part of the original content of TV programmes was entertainment (42%), while educational and religious programmes made up the smallest share (0.48% and 0.53 %). Culture programmes made up 8.57% of total content (see Table 5).
Table 4: Volume of television programmes, in hours, in 2016–2024
|
|
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
State broadcasting company |
Total |
27 681 |
30 447 |
31 824 |
31 703 |
30 530 |
30 685 |
31 968 |
31 135 |
26 280 |
|
Original programmes |
23 514 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 352 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
26 280 |
21 425 |
|
|
Foreign programmes |
4 167 |
4 167 |
5 544 |
5 423 |
4 178 |
4 405 |
5 688 |
4 855 |
4 855 |
|
|
Coproduction programmes |
− |
− |
− |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
– |
|
|
Private companies |
Total |
119 837 |
168 220 |
194 305 |
223 112 |
146 891 |
176 457 |
229 527 |
172 899 |
178 554 |
|
Original programmes |
70 440 |
136 891 |
136 891 |
142 891 |
99 629 |
136 675 |
150 336 |
90 535 |
95 390 |
|
|
Foreign programmes |
33 907 |
21 079 |
56 752 |
73 776 |
46 868 |
39 782 |
77 425 |
72 619 |
72 619 |
|
|
Coproduction programmes |
15 490 |
10 250 |
662 |
6 445 |
394 |
– |
1 766 |
9 745 |
10 545 |
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
Table 5: Structure of original television programmes, in hours and per cent, in 2018–2024
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|||||||
|
|
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
Hours |
% |
|
Total |
158 939 |
100 |
169 171 |
100 |
125981 |
100 |
162 955 |
100 |
176 616 |
100 |
116 815 |
100 |
121 167 |
100 |
|
Information programmes |
28 258 |
17.8 |
34 562 |
20.4 |
25 930 |
20.6 |
30446 |
18.68 |
34712 |
19.65 |
31834 |
27.25 |
27 230 |
22.47 |
|
Educational programmes |
686 |
0.4 |
374 |
0.2 |
579 |
0.5 |
571 |
0.35 |
300 |
0.17 |
164 |
0.14 |
579 |
0.48 |
|
Culture programmes |
14 869 |
9.4 |
14 575 |
8.6 |
9 011 |
7.2 |
10 881 |
6.68 |
10 408 |
5.89 |
9 696 |
8.3 |
10 383 |
8.57 |
|
Religious programmes |
423 |
0.3 |
448 |
0.3 |
475 |
0.4 |
577 |
0.35 |
559 |
0.32 |
552 |
0.47 |
640 |
0.53 |
|
Advertising |
13 239 |
8.3 |
13 829 |
8.2 |
19 201 |
15.2 |
41 342 |
25.37 |
57 962 |
32.82 |
1 6491 |
14.12 |
24 804 |
20.47 |
|
Entertainment programmes |
67 055 |
42.2 |
64 233 |
38.0 |
47 819 |
38.0 |
51157 |
31.39 |
56 196 |
31.82 |
49 798 |
42.63 |
50 987 |
42.08 |
|
Not classified |
34 409 |
21.6 |
41 150 |
24.3 |
22 966 |
18.2 |
27 981 |
17.17 |
16 479 |
9.33 |
8 280 |
7.09 |
6 544 |
5.4 |
Source: the Official Statistics Portal
Until 2023, the production and distribution of original domestic content broadcast by TV and radio companies were supported by the Press, Radio, and Television Support Foundation. Since 2024, this support has been provided by the new Media Support Fund (see chapter 1.2.2).
According to the authors of the Lithuania Report of Media Pluralism Monitor 2025, Lithuania scores low risk in Fundamental Protection (23%) and Political Independence (25%), medium-low risks in social Inclusiveness (36%), and medium-high risk in Market Plurality (58%). The report states that “Although the Market Plurality area remains the most problematic, there has been progress compared to MPM 2024, as the previously high risk has decreased to medium-high risk. A renewed system of direct media subsidies, which has inspired a certain vitality in the media field, has strengthened regional/local and cultural media. However, high concentration in media markets and the dominance of global corporations in the digital advertising market continue to have significant potential to increase risks to media pluralism” (page 9).
Last update: October, 2025
According to the data of the population census in 2021, 85.33 % of the total population of the Republic of Lithuania indicated Lithuanian language as their native language, 5.12% - Polish, 6.79 – Russian.
The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, approved in 1992, establishes Lithuanian as a state language (Article 14). Article 37 of the Constitution provides that citizens who belong to ethnic communities shall have the right to foster their language, culture, and customs.
The Law on State Language (1995) regulates the use of the state language in public life of Lithuania, protection and control of the state language, and the responsibility for violations of the Law on State Language. According to the Law, Laws of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts shall be adopted and promulgated in the state language; all institutions, establishments, enterprises and organisations which function in the Republic of Lithuania shall manage filing work, accounting, reporting, financial and technical documents in the state language; legal proceedings in the Republic of Lithuania shall be conducted in the state language; the State shall guarantee the residents of the Republic of Lithuania the right to acquire general, vocational, higher post-school and university education in the state language. The Law does not regulate unofficial communication of the population and the language of events of religious communities, as well as persons belonging to ethnic communities.
The policy of the state language is shaped by the State Language Commission. The tasks of the Commissions are to decide issues concerning the implementation of the Law on the State Language; submit to Seimas, President of the Republic and the Government proposals on language policy and implementation of the Law on State Language, submit to Seimas conclusions regarding the language of legal acts; establish the directions of regulating the Lithuanian language; decide the issues of standardisation and codification of Lithuanian language; appraise and approve the most important standardising language works (dictionaries, reference books, guidebooks and textbooks); etc.
The State Language Inspectorate is a policy implementation body whose objectives, functions, organisation and procedure of work are regulated by the Law on the State Language Inspectorate (2001). The main function of the Inspectorate is to control whether the activities of state, municipal and other institutions, companies, and organisations operating in the Republic of Lithuania comply with the Law on State Language, resolutions of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language and other legal acts establishing requirements for the use and correctness of the State language.
In 2021, the State Language Commission approved the State Language Use, Standardisation and Dissemination Programme for 2022 – 2028. The aim of the Programme is to ensure the status and functionality of the Lithuanian language as the state language in all areas of public life, to promote the development of standard Lithuanian in line with society’s needs, and to foster the public’s linguistic awareness. To achieve this aim, the Programme sets the following objectives: 1. to carry out expert activities necessary for addressing issues of the functioning of the state language and the standardisation and codification of standard Lithuanian; 2. to conduct applied research in Lithuanian linguistics, expand Lithuanian terminology, and develop the terminology management system; 3. to ensure the development and dissemination of the language of science and teaching; 4. to ensure effective public language education and awareness-raising. The Programme is financed from the appropriations of the State budget of the Republic of Lithuania allocated to the Commission. According to preliminary calculations, EUR 4.05 million will be required to implement the Programme in 2022–2028.
In 2024, the State Language Commission approved Lithuanian Language Prestige Strengthening Programme for 2025 – 2030. Programme aim – to strengthen the prestige of the Lithuanian language in Lithuania and within the Lithuanian diaspora, and to foster the public’s linguistic awareness, engagement, and confidence in the power of their language. To achieve this aim, the Programme sets the following objectives: 1. to promote interest in the Lithuanian language, shape positive public attitudes (across various target groups, including Lithuanian communities abroad) toward the Lithuanian language and its use, and to foster dialogue among the media, the academic community, and society on topical language issues; 2. to promote the creation and dissemination of resources for Lithuanian-language means of expression; 3. to strengthen the prestige of the Lithuanian language by developing public linguistic education. According to preliminary estimates, EUR 1.3 million will be required to implement the Programme in 2025–2030.
In recent years in Lithuania, including among Lithuanians in the diaspora, new ways have been sought to spark public interest in the Lithuanian language and to encourage its use, creation, and renewal: a national dictation is held; online language competitions are organised for pupils; and the State Reading Promotion Programme is being implemented. Since 2016, Lithuanian Language Days have been held in Lithuania and abroad. The State Language Inspectorate organises an annual competition for the Most Beautiful Company Name; the Commission grants awards for significant contributions to the creation of Lithuanian terminology, the cultivation of the language of science, and public language education; and the Institute of the Lithuanian Language runs the national contest “My Dictionary.” In 2017, the public joined the newly launched Word of the Year and Phrase of the Year initiative. The Commission organises online discussion forums with language users from various target groups. However, the measures implemented for public linguistic education and the initiatives to support and strengthen the Lithuanian language are fragmented. Building the prestige of the Lithuanian language requires a more systematic approach based on research into changes in linguistic behaviour and attitudes in society. There is a lack of professionally prepared educational language programmes, articles, and websites that would help foster a sense of responsibility for language as a value foundation of a modern state that nurtures European traditions. Ways should also be sought to raise the professional prestige of language specialists.
Since the events in Belarus in 2020—and especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022—the number of immigrants and war refugees in Lithuania has significantly increased. Consequently, Lithuania has recently been facing another challenge: a surge in demand for Lithuanian-as-a-foreign-language instruction among immigrants and refugees. Surveys show that the availability of language courses is the most frequently mentioned problem identified by the surveys and interview participants, who were asked to indicate the three most important challenges of adaptation in Lithuania. The Lithuanian Employment Service can finance Lithuanian language courses only once per person. There is a great lack of a complex approach to the teaching of the Lithuanian language; there are not enough methodological materials and learning tools, there is a lack of properly trained teachers and opportunities to pass the state exam in the language. These problems revealed gaps in the teaching Lithuanian language for foreigners. There is no institution that would coordinate the whole process from both methodological and organisational points of view. In most countries, Cultural Institutes are involved in teaching the national language to foreigners and organising exams, but the Lithuanian Institute of Culture does not have such a function. There is no clear system for language learning levels, exams are organised rarely, and there are not enough places in them.
Another debate in the field of language policy in recent years has dealt with the “names spelling issue”. Article 7 of the Lithuanian Law on State Language provides that personal names of the citizens of the Republic of Lithuania in official documents (e.g. ID documents, passports) shall have the forms prescribed by laws, i.e. have to be written in the Lithuanian alphabet. The Lithuanian alphabet is based on Latin and consists of 32 letters: the Latin characters with extra nasal letters (ą, ę, į, ų) and letters with diacritics (č, š, ž, ė, ū). The alphabet does not contain the Latin letters “w”, “q” and “x”, and this causes problems for the national minority group representatives willing to name their children in accordance with their culture, tradition or language. It also poses a difficulty for Lithuanian women marrying foreigners and wishing for their surnames to be written in the same way as the surnames of their husbands on documents issued in Lithuania. According to the data, this problem concerns a substantial number of people annually, as many as 16% of marriages are of a mixed character. Further, within ten years, the number of children born beyond the borders of the country has increased from 1% to 16% (2011). Such marriages and the resulting offspring want their family name to be written in its unchanged form in all documents issued within Lithuanian borders.
Discussions on the original spelling of non-Lithuanian names in documents have been taking place for decades. Politicians of the Polish community in Lithuania and their supporters in Poland have long been asking to allow Polish letters in the last names of Polish speakers, an issue that has been emerging in the bilateral Lithuanian-Polish relations. Critics say that non-Lithuanian characters would undermine the status of the Lithuanian language as the official language and, furthermore, can cause trouble in reading non-Lithuanian last names.
In January of 2022, the Parliament adopted the Law on the writing of personal names and surnames in documents. The Law has allowed Lithuanian citizens to use the letters "q", "x" and "w", which do not exist in the Lithuanian alphabet, if they assume the surnames of their non-Lithuanian spouses. This will also apply if the surname of the parent is spelt in non-Lithuanian characters, as well as if the parents, grandparents or ancestors had or have the citizenship of another country and their first and last names were spelt in non-Lithuanian characters. The original spelling of names in Latin-based characters without diacritical marks will also be allowed if a Lithuanian citizen acquired their first and last names in a foreign country, and the names are spelt in these characters in the source document.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, equal rights and opportunities for women and men are enshrined in the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (1998). The Law forbids any discrimination – direct and indirect – on the grounds of sex, harassment on the grounds of sex, sexual harassment, and an instruction to discriminate against persons directly or indirectly on the grounds of sex. The Law sets out preconditions for gender mainstreaming. All State and municipal institutions and agencies must ensure that equal rights for women and men are ensured in all the legal acts drafted and enacted by them; must draw up and implement programmes and measures aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for women and men and, in the manner prescribed by laws, must support the programmes of public establishments, associations and charitable foundations which assist in implementing equal opportunities for women and men.
In 2015, the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour approved the fourth National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men 2015–2021 and its Action Plan. In 2023, the action plan was improved and approved for a new period, till 2025. The strategic goal of the Programme was the consistent, complex, and systematic promotion of equality between women and men and the elimination of discrimination between women and men in all areas. The objectives of the programme are to promote equal opportunities for women and men in the field of employment and occupation; balance the involvement of women and men in decision-making and holding the top posts; and improve the effectiveness of institutional mechanisms for the advancement of gender equality.
All these objectives are relevant in the field of culture. However, the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture does not have any specific measures (quota schemas or mainstreaming programmes) for ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in the field of culture.
According to the data of the State Data Agency, the Lithuanian cultural sector employs more women than men, but women earn 10–12% less than men.
Table 6: Average number of employees by sex in the economic activity sector of art, entertainment and recreation, and gender pay gap in unadjusted form in the same sector in 2016–2023
|
|
Year Sex |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|
Number of employees (in persons) working in art, entertainment and recreation sector |
Females |
17 307 |
17 565 |
17 493 |
17 484 |
17 080 |
16 713 |
16 882 |
17 100 |
|
Males |
9 985 |
10 212 |
9 997 |
9 848 |
9 759 |
9 701 |
9 778 |
9 906 |
|
|
Gender pay gap in unadjusted form by NACE Rev. 2 activity: arts, entertainment and recreation |
|
13.5 |
12.2 |
14.4 |
11.5 |
9.8 |
8.4 |
6.8 |
11.4 |
Source: Official Statistic Portal
Women and men are not evenly represented in top positions of national and state cultural organisations. In 2025, women headed 30 of 63 national and state cultural institutions (museums, theatres, libraries, commission, councils etc.). Considering that almost twice as many women as men work in the cultural sector, this distribution of leadership positions indicates unequal career opportunities for men and women.
Also, women are underrepresented in the pursuit of National Award for Culture and Arts. This award is the most prestigious award in Lithuania and artists receive it for their long-term creative contribution to the Lithuanian culture and art. Despite the fact that a greater percentage of women work in the arts and culture sector, they are nominated for the award far less often than men. Since 1989, women have accounted for only 20% of all creators who received the National Award. In 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2012 and 2013, the national award in the fields of culture and arts was granted to men exceptionally. Only three times, in 2008, 2017, 2019, and 2023, more women than men received this award. In 2025, women accounted for 30% of all National Prize laureates.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been in force since 2010. The Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania is responsible for the implementation of the Convention. The Ministry also shapes the policy on the social integration of persons with disabilities and organises, coordinates, and supervises its implementation. Its subordinate institutions are: the Employment Service, the Disability and Working Capacity Assessment Office, and the Department for the Affairs of the Disabled.
The protection of the rights of people with disabilities is performed by the Agency for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania. The aim of the Agency is to ensure the implementation of the policy for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and its measures, programmes and/or projects; to promote improvements in the governance of that policy; to promote the development of new, knowledge- and evidence-based measures and services; and to carry out monitoring of the disability-rights policy. Municipalities and NGOs deliver many services for people with disabilities on the ground. The Employment Service and the Disability & Working Capacity Assessment Office handle jobs and assessments.
According to the data of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, 231 097 people with disabilities lived in Lithuania in 2024, and that accounted for 8.5% of Lithuania’s total population. In recent years, the policy of social integration of the disabled persons in Lithuania has been changing from social assistance and support to the ability of persons with disabilities to integrate themselves into social life. In 2020, the National Audit Office of Lithuania performed an audit on the Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities. The audit had shown that there is a lack of data on the services provided to persons with disabilities, insufficient focus on their needs, and integrated assistance to live independently; the integration of persons with disabilities into the open labour market is not increasing, and employment support services and measures are insufficient; monitoring of public buildings and transport, websites and mobile applications needs to be improved and ongoing measures still do not ensure equal access to them. To improve the situation and to implement the recommendations of the Audit Office, the Lithuanian Government approved the Action plan for the social integration of people with disabilities in 2021–2023. The plan included several objectives related to the equal opportunities of people with disabilities to take part in arts and culture, i.e. the development of the titration of film and TV programmes, translations in sign language, promotion of publications for people who cannot read a normal printed text, and by modernisation of buildings of cultural institutions in order to make them more accessible for disabled.
In 2022, the Ministry of Culture commissioned a study, Museums for Human Well-Being. The study had shown the main obstacles for people with disabilities to visit museums: physical access gaps in venues, entrances, routes, lifts, toilets, and wayfinding were still uneven across institutions; poor information accessibility, websites often lack clear, practical details about accessibility (what’s adapted, how to prepare a visit, contact options, easy-to-read info). Content not adapted widely enough: limited supply of captioned/sign-interpreted performances and audio description; theatres remain hard to access for Deaf audiences in practice; staff capacity/training gaps; weak, ad-hoc collaboration with disability organisations: only a minority of museums consult disabled people at the strategy stage; most collaboration happens only around specific events or tours. In order to improve the situation, the Ministry of Culture implemented the three-year programme Museums for Human Well-Being in 2022–2024. Its aim was to expand cultural accessibility for people with disabilities across the country by bringing together professionals from the museum, education, health and social services sectors, and by developing a new approach to the impact of museums and their activities on both psychosocial and spiritual well-being. Using programme funds, ten projects by national, state and municipal museums were financed. The main goal of these projects was to design and test museum services intended for persons with disabilities. In carrying out the pilot projects, the accessibility of museums’ physical and informational (content) infrastructure for persons with disabilities was increased, and, in cooperation with organisations uniting or representing these persons, training was organised for museum staff. Each project received EUR 100 000.
The cultural and artistic creation of people with disabilities is organised and coordinated by their associations. The Lithuanian Union of People with Disabilities unites 20 associations of disabled people, and 4 public institutions. Each year, the Union implements about 20 projects, many of which are related to arts and culture, such as “Tourism without barriers”, “Creative Bridges” (educational project designated to involve people with disabilities in creative activities), “The Young Film Creators” (creative project that aims to engage in dialog young people with disabilities and without them), “Creation of Social Interactions and Dissemination in Regions”, “Special Creation of Music and Education in Regions”, theatre festival “Begasas”, “Newly reborn cultural heritage - accessible to all” etc. Funding for these projects is provided by the Lithuanian Council for Culture, European Regional Development Fund, and international foundations.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, the issue of social inclusion and cohesion is mainly related in cultural policy to the equal opportunities of different social groups and inhabitants of different regions to participate in cultural life, i.e. cultural participation is considered an important factor of social inclusion and cohesion. The Lithuanian Cultural Policy Strategy 2030 argues to be a positive correlation between active participation in cultural life and a higher quality of personal and social life: people engaged in cultural and creative activities have more trust in other people, they participate more actively in elections, have stronger and more conscious civic identity, feel happier and healthier. Hence, one of the tasks of the Strategy is “to promote the equal accessibility of high quality and various forms of culture for diverse social groups”.
In 2018, in order to improve the accessibility of culture in regions and the development of diversity of local cultural expressions, the Lithuanian Council for Culture created the model of support for Even Cultural Development. The main idea of the model is to create 10 Regional Councils for Culture, which decide independently on funding of cultural projects through local calls for tenders. The Regional Councils for Culture are formed of representatives of regional municipalities, representatives of regional arts and culture organisations and one delegate of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, who does not have voting rights. Each Regional Council forms its own funding priorities reflecting the situation of local cultural communities, infrastructure and potential. The aim of the model is to decentralise cultural funding decisions, enable regions to decide independently on the implementation of cultural and artistic projects that are important for them, and involve local communities, creators and municipalities in decision-making processes. In 2020 – 2025, the Lithuanian Council for Culture granted 19.5 million euros for 3387 projects of regions.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, the idea of societal impact of art (understood as a capacity of art to engage people in common processes of creative activity, enhance their cooperation and strengthen collective identity) is widely exploited in the cultural policy at the municipal level. In recent years, there have been many initiatives and projects aimed at community building and cooperation through common artistic activities. These projects are funded by municipalities and by the Lithuanian Council for Culture under the "Creative Initiatives of Communities" programme that was initiated in 2018. In 2020-2025, the Council for Culture granted 1.4 million euros for 140 projects of this programme.
Since 2017, the Lithuanian Council for Culture have been implementing the funding programme “Art for Human Wellbeing”, which aims to promote access to culture and the arts for groups experiencing social and cultural exclusion and make a positive impact on the personal well-being and health of the individual. The programme funds projects ensuring the accessibility of professional arts and culture for groups who have limited or no access to culture for objective reasons (e. g. health); projects ensuring cooperation with all categories of health and social care institutions and making professional art and culture accessible to users and services providers of these institutions; creative projects addressing issues of personal well-being or health determined by social and cultural exclusion. In 2020-2025, the Council has allocated about 900 thousand euros to the program.
Last update: October, 2025
According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals Index, in 2025 Lithuania’s SDG Index score was 78.81, and it ranked 29th out of 167 countries. The best result Lithuania has so far achieved in SDG1 (no poverty) and SDG15 (Life on land). The biggest challenges are related to the achievement of 2nd, 12th, 13th, goals.
Figure 3. Lithuanian SDG trends in 2025
Source: Sustainable development report, country profiles
The National Development Plan of Lithuania for 2021-2030 declares sustainable development a horizontal priority and sets the target for Lithuania to be in the top 20 countries in the Sustainable Development Index by 2030. The Plan also sets ten strategic goals to be achieved over the next 10 years that are linked to UN Sustainable Development Goals: 1) to pass to the sustainable development of the economy based on scientific knowledge, advanced technologies and innovations and to increase the country's international competitiveness; 2) to increase the social well-being and inclusion of the population, to strengthen health and to improve the demographic situation in Lithuania; 3) to increase the inclusion and effectiveness of education in order to meet the needs of the individual and society; 4) to strengthen national and civic identity, increase the spread of culture and the creativity of society; 5) improving transport, energy and digital internal and external connectivity; 6) to ensure good quality of the environment and sustainability of the use of natural resources, protect biological diversity, mitigate the impact of Lithuania on climate change and increase resilience to its impact; 7) to develop the territory of Lithuania in a sustainable and balanced manner and reduce regional exclusion; 8) to increase the efficiency of the legal system and public administration; 9) to strengthen global Lithuania's influence and relations with the diaspora; 10) to strengthen national security. The National Development Plan for 2021 – 2030 also encompasses the objectives of each goal and its achievement indicators.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture is mostly involved in the realisation of the fourth goal of the Plan, which is “to strengthen national and civic identity, increase the spread of culture and the creativity of society”. This goal is linked to the 4th, 8th, 10th, and 11th SDGs of the UN and entails 7 objectives: 4.1. encourage the population to participate in cultural activities and contribute to the development of culture; 4.2. improve creation conditions in Lithuania and increase the dissemination of Lithuanian culture abroad; 4.3. promote the integration of national minorities; 4.4. aim to increase the highest achievements of Lithuanian sport; 4.5. strengthen the relevance of historical memory in society; 4.6. revive the cultural and national heritage of public significance and increase its usage for the needs of the society; 4.7. increase the relevance of the Lithuanian language in the context of globalisation and technology.
In 2021, the National Audit Office of Lithuania prepared a report on Lithuania’s preparedness to implement sustainable development goals. The report has indicated some important aspects of SDG implementation that have to be improved. First, there is a lack of an effective inter-institutional coordination mechanism that results in insufficient coordination of the implementation of the SDGs, both between state institutions (horizontal coordination) and with municipalities and other institutions (vertical coordination). Also, there is no national coordination on publicising the SDGs, and no publicity plan to ensure targeted public communication involving state institutions and other stakeholders. According to surveys (2019), only 24% of Lithuanians have heard of the SDGs or were well aware of them. Secondly, Lithuania does not have an effective mechanism to monitor data and assess progress towards SDGs. Shortcomings in the localisation of indicators and data collection make it difficult to adequately monitor progress in the implementation of the targets and to react to possible negative trends in indicators in a timely manner.
Despite these shortcomings of sustainable development policy at the governmental level, the NGO sector is aware of SDGs and participates actively in various sustainable development activities. According to the Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Lithuania, prepared by an interinstitutional workgroup in 2023, the involvement of NGOs in the 2030 Agenda is promoted in different formats. In 2023, to support NGO activities related to climate policy development and public awareness on climate change, the Ministry of Environment has granted EUR 0.5 million. The Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania regularly implements support programmes to strengthen the country's sustainability and to educate young people about the SDGs. Cultural NGO are mostly involved in the activities designed to introduce the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to the Lithuanian public. They organised documentary film festivals, photography exhibitions, interactive events, ‘brain fights’ and discussions, disseminate information on television and radio shows and social media, and look for innovative, attractive and accessible forms to present the information.
Last update: October, 2025
In Lithuania, the most fervent public discussions in the field of cultural politics in recent years have been on memory politics and art in public spaces. In cases where these two issues merge, e., the establishment of new or the demolition of old public monuments, debates have been ongoing for decades and even reach the courts.
The first wide public debates on art in public space were provoked during the programme Vilnius European Capital of Culture 2009. Within the framework of the public places humanisation programme aimed at a contemporary interpretation of the city's open space, the sculpture by Vladas Urbanavičius, “Embankment Arch,” was completed on the river Neris embankment. The sculpture imitates a surfaced architectural-communicative construction. Soon it got the name “Vilnius pipe” and split the residents of Vilnius into two groups, one demanded to eliminate the sculpture as soon as possible, as it is a blot on the landscape, while the other petitioned for its preservation and claimed that it is an excellent, ironic, and provocative work of art. Despite the criticism, the capital's authorities decided not to eliminate the "pipe", even though its exposition time had expired. In 2010, by the order of the director of Vilnius Municipality Administration, the Embankment Arch became a permanent art installation.
Debates on memory policy are constantly provoked by the decisions of the authorities of the cities to eliminate or not to eliminate sculptures and monuments of Soviet times. The most prominent story of this kind relates to the Soviet sculpture composition over the river Neris bridge "Žalias tiltas" ("Green Bridge"). The composition of four sculptural monuments, including a group of soldiers, was listed on the heritage register as a representative example of the Soviet propaganda art of the 1950s. Some Vilnius residents saw the sculptures as authentic signs of a time that needs to have a place in the city’s landscape. However, another part of the residents treated the sculptures as a symbol of communist ideology and a monument for Soviet times and argued for the removal of the sculptures. Discussions among the administration of the municipality of Vilnius, artists, heritage specialists, and the local community about the removal of sculptures lasted for several years. Finally, sculptures were removed because of the need for restoration, at the order of the Department of Cultural Heritage.
The longest story related to the establishment of a new public monument is about the monument in Lukiškės Square. The square is the largest square (about 4 ha) in Vilnius, located in the centre of the city. In Soviet times, the square was renamed Lenin Square and a statue of Lenin was built in its centre in 1953. The statue was removed in 1991, after the restoration of the independence of Lithuania. The discussions about the renovation of the square started immediately after the removal of the statue. In 1999, the Parliament of Lithuania adopted a resolution that “the Lukiškės Square in Vilnius has to be formed as the main representative square of Lithuania with memorial accents of the fights for freedom”.
Till 2019, three competitions were organised for the monument in the square. The first one was organised by the municipality of Vilnius in 2007–2009. After the first phase of the competition, the commission selected 7 works and presented them to the public. The public joined the discussion actively and voiced very different opinions. The Lithuanian Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees, some historians, and senior citizens wanted a traditional monument, while the younger people wanted an urban space adapted for recreation with a historically neutral art object. In 2009, the commission, feeling the pressure of the public and failing to reconcile the interests of the two sides, postponed the decision of the second phase of the competition, and none of the presented projects won.
The second competition was organised by the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture in 2012–2013. The artists submitted 28 projects to the Ministry of Culture, which were evaluated by 7 experts. The experts selected five projects and recommended implementing one of them – the sculpture “The Spirit of the Nation”. The competition provoked active public discussions again. 33 NGOs submitted a petition to the Minister of Culture, where they expressed a negative opinion on the winning project and on the commission that elected it. Arguing against the decision of the commission, the NGOs claimed that “the genre of abstract composition in the case of the Lukiškės Square is inappropriate in principle”, they also criticised the panel of the commission because “there were only two sculptors competent in the field of monument sculpture. Other commission members represented the so-called ‘trends of contemporary interpretive art’, unrelated to the traditional classical concept of sculpture”.
After the second competition, the patriotic NGOs started an active promotion of the idea that the “classical” monument of Vytis should be erected in the Lukiškės Square (Vytis is an old Lithuanian symbol and figure on the Coat of arms of Lithuania that depicts an armour-clad knight on a horseback holding a sword and shield). The NGO’s created a Vytis Support Fund, which announced a competition for the Vytis sculptural model. The competition took place in 2016. The sculpture that won this competition was actively proposed for the Lithuanian Parliament and the Vilnius municipality. However, the members of the Lithuanian Arts Critics Association, historians of art and scholars of the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute were against the sculpture because of its insufficient artistic quality. They also published a petition, which criticised the aesthetic value of the sculpture selected by NGOs.
In 2017, the Ministry of Culture, together with the Contemporary Arts Centre, announced the third competition for the monument in Lukiškės Square. The artists submitted 32 monument projects. The commission selected 5 of them and proposed that the public vote. Among these 5 selected projects was the statue of Vytis, which won the competition of the Vytis Support Fund previously. More than 11.000 people participated in the electronic voting. The statue of Vytis received 37.66 per cent of votes and 37.55 per cent received the project of a young artist representing a hillock with a partisan shelter. The latter project got the most votes of the commission – 7 out of 8. The votes of the public and commission amounted to 50% of the final result, so the second project was announced as the winner.
The NGOs expressed their discontent with the competition and the result of it in several public petitions and a meeting. The meeting gathered about 500 people who proclaimed a statement with a requirement that the statue of Vytis should be erected in the Lukiškės Square. The Lithuanian Parliament members joined the fight for Vytis and registered a law project, which states that a monument of Vytis, representing the historical symbol of Lithuanian fights for freedom, has to be erected in the Lukiškės Square. 41 members of Parliament supported this law project. This gave rise to the negative reaction of the cultural and academic community that spoke against the initiative of the Parliament members. 166 artists and academics signed a public appeal to Lithuanian leaders, expressing their disagreement with the intention to regulate the square monument by a law and claimed that the opinion of experts should not be ignored when dealing with issues related to art in public spaces.
The draft law had not been considered in the Parliament that year, but it was remembered again and passed in 2020. The 3rd article of this law states: The monument Vytis depicting the symbol of the state together with the memorial to the victims of the freedom of Lithuania is the main accent of the representative square of the Lithuanian state. The law created an obstacle to erecting the monument that won the competition organised by the Ministry of Culture, thus the third competition's outcome remained unfulfilled.