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Lithuanian people

Lithuanians
Lietuviai
Total population
c. 3.7–4.1 million
Regions with significant populations
 Lithuania 2,561,300 (2011)
 United States 652,790 (2014)
 Brazil 200,000 (2002)
 United Kingdom 100,000 (2011)
 Canada 49,130 (2011)
 Germany 39,000 (2014)
 Ireland 36,683 (2011)
 Russia 31,377 (2010)
 Norway 30,540 (2013)
 Latvia 24,426 (2011)
 Argentina 20,000
 Australia 12,317
 Spain 12,128
 Denmark 10,215
 Poland 8,000 (2011)
 Ukraine 7,207 (2001)
 Belarus 5,087 (2009)
 Italy 4,524
 France 4,000
 Estonia 1,813 (2012)
 Iceland 1,300
 Colombia 300
 Mexico 80 (2015)
Languages
Lithuanian
Religion
Majority Roman Catholic
Lutheran, Reformed, Romuva and Irreligious minority
Related ethnic groups
Latvians, Prussian Lithuanians, Old Prussians


Lithuanians (Lithuanian: lietuviai, singular lietuvis/lietuvė) are a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,561,300 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language is Lithuanian, one of only two surviving members of the Baltic language family. According to the census conducted in 2001, 83.45% of the population of Lithuania identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.74% as Poles, 6.31% as Russians, 1.23% as Belarusians, and 2.27% as members of other ethnic groups. Most Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church, while the Lietuvininkai who lived in the northern part of East Prussia prior to World War II, were mostly Evangelical Lutherans.

The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was once inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities (Aukštaitians, Sudovians, Old Lithuanians, Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians, Samogitians, Skalvians, Old Prussians (Nadruvians)), as attested by ancient sources and dating from prehistoric times. Over the centuries, and especially under the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, some of these tribes consolidated into the Lithuanian nation, mainly as a defence against the marauding Teutonic Order and Eastern Slavs. The last Pagan peoples in Europe, they were eventually converted to Christianity in 1387.


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