Lithuania is a well-developed country in Europe that has one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union. Education in Lithuania does not fall behind either, with a majority of the population being literate and attending school.

Lithuania‘s literacy rate for 15 to 24-year-old males and females is 99.8 percent with the total adult literacy rate in Lithuania at 99.7 percent. The country’s enrollment rate is also high. The gross enrollment for pre-primary school is 73.6 percent for males and 72.1 percent for females. The net ratio of primary school participation is 93.6 for males and 93.5 for females. The survival rate to last primary grade in Lithuania is 96.4 percent. Finally, the net enrollment rate for secondary school is 90.6 percent for males and 90.9 percent for females.

In Lithuania, there is compulsory education for children ages six to 16. Pre-kindergarten is not compulsory but because there are so many women in the workforce, Lithuania has the highest number of working women in western society, preschools fill up fast. After preschool, children go to primary school for four years then move on to a program called basic first stage that lasts for six years, with an age range of 10 to 17 years old. At this point, students can choose to continue their education by attending vocational schools, junior colleges or university.

As for language, most schools in Lithuania teach in Lithuanian, the country’s official language, but there are also minority-oriented public schools that teach in other languages.

Higher education in Lithuania is state subsidized, so many advanced students attend college for free. Like private secondary schools, private universities are unpopular because of their high costs.

In Lithuania, the government spends 13.29 percent of its total expenditure on education. Of the amount spent on education, the government spends 28.76 percent of that on higher education.

The education rates in Lithuania are some of the highest in the European Union. In 2008, 90.6 percent of Lithuania’s population had finished secondary or higher education, which was one of the highest rates in the EU, with the average rate being around 70 percent. About 31 percent of Lithuanians have completed higher education which is more than the average of the EU, which is at 25.1 percent. In addition, the number of higher education graduates has increased by 50 percent in the last decade.

Education in Lithuania is already doing well and continues to improve.

– Téa Franco

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