VILNIUS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of students in the Lithuanian education system has shrunk by more than one fifth in six years, announced Statistics Lithuania on Monday.
At the start of the current academic year, 504,000 students were studying at the country's schools and universities, about 11,000 less than a year ago, data from Statistics Lithuania showed.
This marks the sixth consecutive year of decrease.
"Compared to the academic year of 2010 to 2011, the total number of students has dropped by 148,000, or by more than one fifth: 23 percent," noted Statistics Lithuania in a press release.
The biggest drop was registered in Lithuania's higher education system, the statistics authority said.
"In six years, the number of (higher education) students has dropped by one third, or 62,000," said Statistics Lithuania.
Lithuania, a Baltic State with a population of less than three million, currently has 14 state-governed universities and has been facing criticism from international institutions for having too many universities compared with the number of students.
Negative demographic trends and emigration are mostly blamed for the dropping number of students in Lithuania.
