Apparent population growth in Šiauliai turns out to be a statistical illusion
The Lithuanian city of Šiauliai has lost around 6,000 registered residents in six months as authorities cancel foreigners' residence declarations. The move has exposed a demographic decline previously masked by inflated figures.
Šiauliai, Lithuania's fourth-largest city, has seen around 6,000 people removed from its population register over the past six months. Authorities began cancelling the residence declarations of thousands of third-country nationals who had registered at a Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy dormitory. The step reveals a population decline that inflated figures had hidden. According to official data, the city had a little over 111,000 residents last July.
How the figures became inflated
Last spring, around 17,000 people had declared the dormitory as their place of residence. A businessman who rented the premises from the university had allowed them to register at the address. When university management learned of the arrangement, it demanded that people who did not actually live there be deregistered.
Renata Bilbokaitė, head of the academy, said only students who live in the dormitory and study at the academy are registered. More than 6,000 declarations have been cancelled, and roughly 2,000 more are expected to follow in the coming months.
Diana Grigienė, head of the municipal administration's customer service department, said the process is slow because of limited capacity. Only two employees handle residence declarations, and they decide on about 100 residents a day.
Births and deaths
The mass registration made it look as if the population was rising, while the real trend was downward. In the first half of this year, Šiauliai recorded just 321 births and nearly 700 deaths.
City councillor Zakiras Medžidovas said the incorrect data had stopped the municipality from properly addressing demographic problems. In his words, residents were told the city was growing, when it is in fact shrinking or holding roughly steady.
City authorities say the decline will not threaten Šiauliai's status as one of Lithuania's major cities. Deputy Mayor Justinas Švėgžda stressed that foreign residents contribute economically: if they and their workplaces are registered in the city, they pay personal income tax that funds public services.
The practice of registering hundreds or even thousands of foreigners at a single address is becoming more common across Lithuania. In Šiauliai and the surrounding district, foreigners continue to declare residence at other addresses.
