Central and Western Lithuania Region () is a subdivision of Lithuania as defined by the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). It is one of the two classified NUTS-2 statistical regions of Lithuania. The region encompasses an area of and incorporates nine counties of Lithuania except the Vilnius County. With a population of just over two million, it is the most populated of the two regions in Lithuania. Kaunas is the largest city in the region.
Classification The country of Lithuania is organized into ten counties for administrative purposes by the amendments of Act XXI of 1996. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) organizes the country into two broader level sub-divisions. These are classified as a NUTS-2 statistical regions of Lithuania, and incorporate one or more counties within it. The new delimination was announced by the Parliament of Lithuania in 2016, and approved by European Parliament on 21 November 2016. The counties form the NUTS-3 territorial units under them.
Geography Central and Western Lithuania Region incorporates an area of . The region is located in Eastern Europe, and bordered by the Baltic Sea to the west. It shares international land borders with Latvia in the north, Belarus in the south-east, Poland in the south, and Kaliningrad of Russia in the south-west. The region has about of coastline of which face the Baltic Sea and the rest lies along the narrow mouth of the Curonian Lagoon extending south to Kaliningrad. The Nemunas River enters the region from Belarus before flowing into the lagoon. The region generally consists of flat terrain except for few highlands in the west. The region consists of numerous small lakes and swamps.
Sub-regions Central and Western Lithuania Region incorporates nine counties of Lithuania except the Vilnius County.
# County(media help) Capital Areain km2 (rank) Population (2023)Pop. density(per km2) GDP (nominal)(billion EUR), 2023 GDP (per capita)(EUR, 2023) Average monthly net salary(EUR), 2025-Q1 HDI(2022) Municipalities 1 Alytus County(listen • info) Alytus 5,418 135,367 25 1.9 14,300 1,232 0.846 Alytus Alytus (District) Druskininkai Lazdijai Varėna 2 Kaunas County(listen • info) Kaunas 8,086 580,333 70 14.7 25,200 1,427 0.886 Birštonas Jonava Kaišiadorys Kaunas Kaunas (District) Kėdainiai Prienai Raseiniai 3 Klaipėda County(listen • info) Klaipėda 5,222 336,104 61 7.6 22,500 1,356 0.880 Klaipėda Klaipėda (District) Kretinga Neringa Palanga Skuodas Šilutė 4 Marijampolė County(listen • info) Marijampolė 4,466 135,891 31 1.3 14,800 1,213 0.835 Kalvarija Kazlų Rūda Marijampolė Šakiai Vilkaviškis 5 Panevėžys County(listen • info) Panevėžys 7,878 211,652 27 3.8 18,200 1,250 0.850 Biržai Kupiškis Panevėžys Panevėžys (District) Pasvalys Rokiškis 6 Šiauliai County(listen • info) Šiauliai 8,537 261,764 31 4.8 18,000 1,242 0.852 Akmenė Joniškis Kelmė Pakruojis Radviliškis Šiauliai Šiauliai (District) 7 Tauragė County(listen • info) Tauragė 4,349 90,652 21 1.3 14,800 1,252 0.825 Jurbarkas Pagėgiai Šilalė Tauragė 8 Telšiai County(listen • info) Telšiai 4,350 131,431 30 2.3 17,700 1,291 0.850 Mažeikiai Plungė Rietavas Telšiai 9 Utena County(listen • info) Utena 7,191 125,462 18 1.8 14,200 1,220 0.837 Anykščiai Ignalina Molėtai Utena Visaginas Zarasai
Economy The gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was €40.2 billion in 2023, accounting for 56% of the Lithuanian economic output.
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