There should be around four million Lithuanian citizens and people of Lithuanian origin in total, sociologist Vladas Gaidys said in an interview with Delfi.lt.
Referring to the latest known results from the population census, he said the counted 3.05 million people are residing in Lithuania on a permanent basis, but those who live abroad should also not be forgotten.
"I trust the population census results but one has to remember the meaning of 3.045 million. That is the permanent Lithuanian population; if a person spends more than a year abroad she/he are excluded from this number," Gaidys said.
He also noted that in one of opinion polls some 30 percent of Lithuanian families admitted that one of more of their relatives live abroad.
"They are as dear and as important to me like those living in Lithuania," Gaidys added.
Referring to the hit song Three Million written by Marijonas Mikutavicius, the sociologist said "please note that Marijonas Mikutavicius did not sing about the permanent residents who could be imported labour force in Lithuania, he sang about a broader circle of people, possibly about the Lithuanian citizens who currently live and work in England, Ireland, etc. Therefore, the number of Lithuanian citizens working and living abroad and persons of Lithuanian origin could total at about 4 million people,” Gaidys said.
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