housing developments in european countries - Department of ...

Section 2
Context
Context Section 2
2.17 Lithuania
Table
2.17.1
Characteristics of the Housing Stock
in Lithuania, 2002
Table
2.17.2
Economic Trends in Lithuania, 1996-2002
2.17.1 Policy Making and
Implementation
In 1992 the government of Lithuania approved a new
housing programme entitled Dwelling. The key
strategic objectives of this programme are as follows:
■ to encourage private initiative, including joint
public/private initiative, in the fields of housing
construction and apartment supervision;
■ to develop the housing market and create
conditions for freedom of choice while maintaining
a socially indispensable level of non-commercial
housing;
■ to support rational (in the sense of energy and
functionality) dwelling design, while prioritising the
family dwelling and its appropriate environment,
and
■ to encourage the insulation and physical renewal of
the existing housing stock.
Since 1992 central government has introduced housing
initiatives in the following areas: the development of
the mortgage market and the privatisation of State
banks; the abolition of regulation of the housing
market; the transfer of formerly rented properties into
home ownership; the maintenance of social housing;
housing subsidies for low-income people; private
property rights; renovation and modernisation of
multi-family houses in order to reduce energy costs.
The Ministry of Environment holds responsibility for
housing policy in Lithuania.
2.17.2 Stock
At the end of 2002, the size of the Lithuanian housing
stock totalled 1,291,700 dwellings. The number of
households stood at 1,356,826 in the same year, and
consequently the number of dwellings per 1,000
population in Lithuania is relatively low in European
terms – 367 per 1,000 population. It is estimated that
Category %
Dwellings by period
of construction < 1945 27
1945-1960 19
1960-1970 15
1970-1980 17
1980-1990 15
>1990 7
Dwellings by number
of rooms per dwelling 1 17
2 37
3 30
4 10
5+ 6
Dwellings by availability of utilities
Piped water 78.9
Sewerage 76.3
Central heating 72.0
Hot water 67.4
Bathing facilities 71.8
Gas 79.3
the current housing stock in Lithuania is around 5%
below that required by the population. As a result of
migration from rural to urban areas this shortage is
most acute in the larger cities, especially in Vilnius and
Klaipeda regions. In 2001, 87.2% of this housing
stock was owner-occupied, 8% was private rented, 3%
was social rented and 1.8% was provided by other
sources.
TABLE 2.17.1 reveals that the Lithuanian housing stock
is relatively old compared to many other countries
examined in this review – only 7% of dwellings were
built since 1990. In addition, dwellings are not
typically generous in proportion. Relatively few
dwellings contain 4 or more rooms – only 16% of the
housing stock fell into this category in 2002. The vast
majority of dwellings in the country have access to
piped water, sewerage, central heating and bathing
facilities, although the availability of these amenities is
below the average for the 28 countries that are the
focus of this review. These services are generally less
commonly available in rural areas. In 2002, 91.9% of
dwellings in urban areas were fitted with piped water,
as compared with only 50.6% of rural dwellings;
Category 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
% % % % % % %
Change in GDP 4.7 7.0 7.3 –1.8 4.0 6.5 6.8
Annual inflation (December to December) 13.1 8.4 2.4 0.3 1.4 2.0 –1.0
Unemployment rate – as measured by the labour force survey Nav Nav Nav Nav 16.4 17.4 13.8
90.7% of urban dwellings were fitted to a sewage
system, as compared to 45.1% of rural dwellings;
83.8% of urban dwellings had hot water as compared
to 31.8% of rural dwellings; while 87% of urban
dwellings had bathing facilities as compared to 38.9%
of rural dwellings.
2.17.3 Economy
Table
2.17.3
TABLE 2.17.2 provides details of the key economic
trends in Lithuania in recent years. It reveals that the
annual rate of increase in GDP in the country has
increased significantly in recent years from –1.8% in
1999 to 6.8% in 2002. Inflation has also fallen rapidly,
from 13.1% in 1993 to –1.0% in 2001.
Although the rate of unemployment fell between 2001
and 2002, it remains high in comparison with most
other European countries. Data from the labour force
survey indicate that in 2002, the Lithuanian
unemployment rate was 13.8%. The unemployment
rate among younger people is even higher than this. In
2002, 41.8 of Lithuanian men aged between 15 and 19
years were unemployed, as were 38.4% of their female
counterparts.
Demographic Trends in Lithuania, 1992-2000
2.17.4 Demography
In January 2003 the population of Lithuania stood at
3,462,553 persons and the average household size was
2.55 persons. At the end of 2002, the number of
households stood at 1,356, 826.
The population of Lithuania has decreased in recent
years. In 1992, 2,643,000 people lived in the country.
TABLE 2.17.3 reveals that this declining population is
due to both a falling birth rate – deaths have exceeded
births in Lithuania since 1994 – and negative net
migration.
Throughout the last decade the number of emigrants
exceeded immigrants by over 6% on average.
These demographic trends have also impacted on the
age structure of the population. As TABLE 2.17.3
demonstrates, the proportion of the population aged
65 years and over has increased, while the proportion
aged under 25 years has fallen.
Category 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
% % % % %
Population by age group (%) 0-14 years 22.5 22.2 21.6 20.8 19.8
15-24 years 13.6 13.5 13.4 13.5 14.3
25-49 years 34.8 34.8 35.4 36.2 36.7
50-64 years 16.7 16.8 16.4 16.1 15.9
65-79 years 8.3 8.8 9.4 10.1 10.9
> 80 years 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.5
Population change (per 1,000 population) Net migration -6.6 -6.6 -6.5 -6.2 -5.8
Natural population change 3.3 -1.1 -1.1 -1.1 -1.4
56 European Union Report
Regular National Report on Housing Developments in European Countries
57