Analytics, Financial Services, Legislation, Lithuania, Pensioners, Wages

During the Census, residents were asked to indicate up to three sources of livelihood that they had over 12 months prior to the Census (1 March 2011) and rank them according to importance. Almost all residents indicated one source of livelihood; two sources of livelihood were indicated by 13.4, three – by 1.6% of the population.

A wage or salary was indicated as the main source of livelihood by 35.9% (in 2001, 28.6%), pension or benefit – 30.6% (in 2001, 25.9%) of the population. Almost a third (27.5%) of the population indicated that they were supported by the family and/or other persons (in 2001, 33.3%).

Compared to the 2001 Population and Housing Census data, the proportion of men and women who indicated a wage or salary, pension, benefit, grant as the main source of livelihood or were supported by the State increased, while the proportion of those supported by the family and/or other persons, having another source of livelihood (savings, income from lotteries and games of chance, etc.) or income from agricultural activity decreased.

The comparison of the most abundant ethnic groups and the sources of livelihood of residents of those ethnicities shows that a wage or salary was most frequently indicated as the source of livelihood by the residents of the Russian (38%), Polish (37.8%), and Lithuanian (35.5%) ethnic background. 38.4% of Russians, 33.6% of Poles, and 29.8% of Lithuanians indicated a pension or benefit as the main source of livelihood. 28.4% of Lithuanians, 23.4% of Poles, and 18.7% of Russians were supported by the family and/or other persons.

Residents having higher education mainly indicated wage or salary (36.5%), income from own or family business (37.1%) and income from property or investment (47.5%) as the source of livelihood. 44.5% of the residents who indicated income from agricultural activity, 43.2% of those who indicated benefit, and almost half of those who indicated another source of livelihood (savings, income from lotteries and games of chance, etc.) as the main source of livelihood had secondary education.

Out of those who indicated two sources of livelihood, 20.8% indicated that they were supported by the family and/or other persons, 20% indicated benefit, 11.8% – wage or salary as the second source of livelihood. The residents of urban areas indicated more diverse second sources of livelihood, while rural residents usually indicated income from agricultural activity.

Out of those who indicated the third source of livelihood, 23.1% indicated that they were supported by the family and/or other persons, 21.5% – had another source of livelihood. Men indicated income from property or investment (61.3%), income from own or family business (53.2%) or another source of livelihood (52.7%) as the third source of livelihood more often than women, while women indicated benefit (61.2%), State support (59%), grant (58.1%), support of the family and/or other persons (56.4%), or wage or salary (53.2%) as the third source of livelihood more often than men.

More detailed information on source of livelihood by county and municipality is available on the Official Statistics Portal, Population and housing census section.