Market report Lithuania

Market Report Lithuania – The Lithuanian Study Abroad Market

In this market report on Lithuania we cover socio-economic, educational, and student mobility trends shaping outbound recruitment. Lithuania, the southernmost Baltic country bordering Latvia, Poland, and Belarus, is a high-income advanced economy with a very high Human Development Index. It has the largest economy in the Baltics and a modern, globally oriented business environment, with many international companies operating locally.

Figures from UNESCO indicate that around 11,000 Lithuanian students are pursuing tertiary education abroad, with the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands consistently among the most popular destinations. Approximately 8% of all university students study abroad at some stage, and many extend their stays for career opportunities, contributing to ongoing brain drain challenges for the domestic economy.

Lithuania’s higher education system now enrolls nearly 130,000 students, reflecting a transition to mass higher education over the past 15 years, with some of the highest participation and graduation rates in Europe. Yet a persistent skills mismatch remains: almost 47% of students study social sciences, business, and law (EU average: 34%), while STEM fields like math and computing attract only 5–10%.

Looking toward 2026 and beyond, Lithuanian students are expected to remain highly mobile and internationally oriented, seeking English-medium programmes, career-aligned degrees, and pathways to global employment. For recruiters, Lithuania represents a small but academically ambitious outbound market, with strong demand for programs that combine academic quality, employability, and clear progression to international opportunities. (source: ec.europa.eu). All this and more in the Market Report on Lithuania.

Lithuanian Education System

The education system of Lithuania is state run. The education system comprises of formal and non-formal education. Formal education encompasses primary, basic/lower secondary and upper secondary education, formal vocational education and training, and tertiary education. Non-formal education encompasses pre-school education, pre-primary education, and other non-formal education for adults.

Secondary education

Secondary school system covers eight years, divided into 6 years’ lower secondary education, followed by 2 years upper secondary school.

Lower Secondary education

This educational level lasts for 6 years and is for children aged 10 to 17. This educational level is compulsory and comprises of 2 parts:

• Part 1: a 4-year program carried out in the 5th to 8th forms
• Part 2: a 2-year program executed in the 9th-10th forms or 1st-2nd forms of the gymnasium.

Upper Secondary Education
This stage prepares students for higher education. Upper secondary education in Lithuania is not mandatory. It covers 11th-12th forms of the secondary education or forms 3 and 4 of the gymnasium. This educational level is offered in secondary schools, gymnasiums, and vocational education and training schools.
(source: ec.europa.eu)

Admission Higher Education

Admission to higher education is decentralized, and organized at institutional level. The results of the national final examination for secondary education is basis for admission. An upper secondary diploma is required to be admitted to higher education.

Higher Education

In Lithuania, higher education is provided by state-run and private, university and non-university, higher education establishments.

There two types of higher education institutions:

• universities (called universitetas (university), akademija (academy), or seminarija (seminary)) representing university sector of higher edcuation;
• colleges of higher education (called kolegija (higher education college) or aukštoji mokykla (higher education institution)) representing non-university higher education sector.

Following are the degrees offered by the higher education institutions in Lithuania:

• Bachelor’s degree: This degree lasts for 3-4 years
• Master’s degree: This qualification lasts for 1-2 years
• Doctorate degree: The duration of this qualification varies depending upon the study area.

(source: center for quality assessment in higher education)

Latest Lithuanian Higher Education study abroad stats

At this point a total number of 10,463 Lithuanian students are studying abroad (source: UNESCO). These are the most popular study abroad destinations among students from Lithuania:

IB schools in Lithuania

• American International School of Vilnius – Vilnius – https://www.aisv.lt/
• British School of Vilnius – Vilnius – https://www.britishschool.lt/
• Vilnius International School – Vilnius – https://www.vischool.lt/
• Vilnius Lyceum – Vilnius – https://licejus.lt/
• L’ Ecole Francaise – Vilnius – https://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/lituanie-vilnius-lycee-international-francais-de