Klaipėda County ( lt, Klaipėdos apskritis) is one of ten counties in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

, bordering

Tauragė County Tauragė County (Lithuanian: ''Tauragės apskritis'') is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is in the west of the country, and its capital is Tauragė Tauragė (; see other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of ...

to the southeast, Telšiai County to the northeast, Kurzeme in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

to the north, and

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and admin ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

to the south. To the west is the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. It lies in the west of the country and is the only county to have a coastline and not landlocked. Its

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Klaipėda County remains as the territorial and statistical unit. Palanga, Baltic Sea 2007 - panoramio

Geography

The topography of Klaipėda County is divided into three regions, the highest in the east and lowest in the west: the Western Zemaičiai Plateau in the east, the Western Zemaičiai Plain in the center, and the Pajurys Lowland in the west and on the Baltic coast. Klaipėda County borders

, Russia, to the south via the Nemunas, which drains into the

Curonian Lagoon The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; russian: Куршский залив, lt, Kuršių marios, pl, Zalew Kuroński, german: Kurisches Haff, lv, Kuršu joma) is a freshwater lagoon separated from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit. Its surfac ...

. The Curonian Spit, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

, is split between Klaipėda County, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. The Lithuanian side of the spit is separated from mainland Lithuania via a small opening between

and

Smiltynė Smiltynė (german: Sandkrug) is a part of Klaipėda city municipality in Lithuania. It is located on the northern tip of the Curonian Spit, next to a narrow strait which connects the Curonian Lagoon to the Baltic Sea. Across the strait, on the Lit ...

where the Curonian Lagoon drains into the

. Skuodas district is the source of the Šventoji, which flows north into

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

, Latvia, back down into Klaipeda County before draining into the Baltic Sea at the coastal settlement of Šventoji.

Climate

Being the only county on Lithuania's Baltic coast, Klaipėda County is distinguished by its maritime climate. There is little variation in mean daily temperature. On average, winters are relatively warmer and summers are relatively cooler than the rest of Lithuania. Storms and foggy spells are frequent in winter. In locations throughout the county, annual precipitation rates can reach as high as 876 mm per year.

Municipalities

Municipalities are:

Demographics

As of 2020, Klaipėda County's population was 319,958. Approximately 69% is urban, while the remaining 30% are rural. It is the third most populous county in Lithuania.

Gender

As of 2020, approximately 52% of people are female and 47% are male.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition in 2001 was: *

Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Unite ...

84.2% *

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

11.4% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

1.3% *

Belarusians , native_name_lang = be , pop = 9.5–10 million , image = , caption = , popplace = 7.99 million , region1 = , pop1 = 600,000–768,000 , region2 = , pop2 ...

1.0% *

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...

0.3% * Other 1.8%

References

External links

Social and demographic characteristics of Klaipėda CountyEconomy of Klaipėda CountyEnvironment of Klaipėda County
Counties of Lithuania {{KlaipėdaCounty-geo-stub