Klaipėda County () is one of ten counties in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

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

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

to the north, and Kaliningrad Oblast in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

to the south. To the west is the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

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

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

. On 1 July 2010, the county administration was abolished, and since that date, Klaipėda County remains as a territorial and statistical unit only.

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 Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, to the south via the Nemunas, which drains into the Curonian Lagoon. The Curonian Spit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 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 where the Curonian Lagoon drains into the

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

Cities

# Palanga # Kretinga # Šilutė # Gargždai # Skuodas # Neringa # Priekulė # Salantai

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

84.2% *

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

11.4% *

Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...

1.3% * Belarusians 1.0% *

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

0.3% * Other 1.8%

Gallery

Klaipeda teatr 1.jpg, Klaipėda Drama Theatre Tiškevičiai Palace at dusk, Palanga, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Tiškevičiai Palace, Palanga Kretinga dwor 1.jpg, Kretinga Museum Salantu baznycia 2013.jpg, Church of the Assumption in Salantai Mizgiris Amber Museum 01.jpg, Mizgiris Amber Museum

References

External links

Social and demographic characteristics of Klaipėda County

Economy of Klaipėda County

Environment of Klaipėda County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klaipeda County Counties of Lithuania