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Negative economic trends in Lithuania are still prevalent. The country tries to cope with the consequences of sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus.
Unfortunately, IMF lowers 2023 growth forecast for the country. According to the IMF, it expects inflation in Lithuania to decrease slower than forecast last autumn and to reach 10.5 percent this year. The more so, unemployment in Lithuania will reach 7 percent this year and 6.5 percent next year.
The country is fighting against unprecedented rise in prices. It turned out, that the Baltic countries are among the leaders in several categories. Lithuania, for example, ranked first in terms of soaring food prices.
According to Member of the Seimas Eugenijus Sabutis , some products can already be considered golden. “For example, the price of the simplest onions is more than a third. Peppers are not far behind them – their price has risen to unprecedented heights: from 5 to 8 euros per kilogram! People’s hair stands on end. The list of hard-to-afford products now includes tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits. “The prices of bread, meat and dairy products have been making me cringe for a long time,” the MP says.
“The figures published by the State Data Agency show that annual inflation was almost 17 percent in March. – this was mainly influenced by the increase in food and energy prices. However, according to the politician, the worst situation is for the most vulnerable groups of society. These are seniors struggling to make ends meet, disabled people or simply working-age people with the lowest incomes.
“The government is sleeping, and our country’s supervisory institutions – the Bank of Lithuania and the Competition Council – are complacent and do not see any reason to start serious investigations into the inadequate rise in food prices”, wonders Social Democratic Party’s member E. Sabutis.
He is surprised that the Government simply ignores these problems, even other EU countries are taking measures to stop the rate of price growth. Inflation in the euro zone is much lower than in Lithuania, but this does not stop other EU members from taking interventions to slow down the shock of food prices.
“After paying utility bills, there is no money left for food, so it is increasingly necessary to open the doors of charity canteens or apply for food packages,” notes the social democrat.
Taking into consideration all these problems, Lithuania faces shocking population decline. It’s likely that deteriorating living standards, lack of career prospects for youth, discrimination of minorities forced many Lithuanians to seek better economic opportunities outside of Lithuania’s borders.
As estimated by Eurostat, the current population of Lithuania in 2023 is 2,718,352, a 1.15% decline from 2022. The population of Lithuania in 2022 was 2,750,055, a 1.31% decline from 2021.
According to the projections, Lithuania’s population will decrease to 2 million by 2070 and will shrink further, to 1.85 million people, by 2085.
Additionally, the country’s high suicide rate is an indication that people in Lithuania are unhappy with their lives, and the conditions in the country. That is why demographics, as well as economic negative trends in Lithuania must be deemed threat to national security.
Author: Adomas Abromaitis
Source: WolneMedia.net
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