Immigration exceeds emigration in Lithuania in May – statistics

More people came to Lithuania in May than left, which is the first such month since 2004 when Lithuania joined the European Union, figures from the Statistics Lithuania have shown.

3,084 people left Lithuania in May, and 3,627 arrived.

"May was the first month since 2004 when we had a positive balance, i.e., the number of incomers exceeded those who left Lithuania. Will it be a sustainable tendency, it’s hard to say, but it definitely provides some optimism," Deividas Matulionis, the first deputy of the government chancellor, told journalists on Thursday.

Over a year, the number of immigrants in May more then doubled, and the number of emigrants rose only slightly.

The Statistics Lithuania estimates that 17,398 permanent residents have left Lithuania in the first five months of this year, and 15,683 people immigrated, with two thirds (65.9 percent) being returning Lithuanian citizens.