Lithuanians

Lithuanians are a Baltic ethnic group, associated with Lithuania and the Lithuanian language. Most of them live in Lithuania - nearly 3 million according to the 2001 census. About another million make up the Lithuanian diaspora. The Lithuanian ethnos has been influenced by Slavic and Germanic peoples in the past. Most Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church, with significant minorities of Protestants and members of the Eastern Orthodox church. The Lithuanian language is part of the Indo-European linguistic family.

Divisions

The Lithuanian nation is usually divided into 5 groups: Samogitians, Sudovians, Auk?taitians, Dz?kians and Lietuvininks, the last of which is extinct. City dwellers are usually considered just Lithuanians, especially ones from large cities such as Vilnius or Kaunas.

Related Topics:
Samogitians - Sudovians - Auk?taitians - Dz?kians - Lietuvininks - Vilnius - Kaunas

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The five groups are determinated according to certain region-specific traditions, dialects, historical divisions and such. There are also some stereotypes used in jokes about these subgroups, e.g. that Sudovians are supposedly greedy while Samogitians are stubborn.

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