Analytics, Lithuania, Society

The CEI last year rose to 37 points out of 100, up from 33.4 in 2015, as people became more aware of their civic influence during last autumn's general elections, they said.

"(The results of the elections showed that) ordinary people can change the make-up of a key institution," Ieva Petronyte, the Civil Society Institute's director, said.

The other components of the index -- actual and potential civic participation and the assessment of civic activity-related risks -- did not change significantly last year.

The index has been published annually since 2007, based on representative public opinion surveys and interviews with target groups.

This year's target group were young people aged between 15 to 29 years. They scored 42.5 points on the index, above the average for the entire population

Spinter Tyrimai interviewed 1,311 respondents, including the target group, between Dec. 5 and 20 last year.