Editing Demographics of Lithuania (section)

==Education==
{{Main article|Education in Lithuania}}
According to the 2011 census, only around 0.2% of the Lithuanian population aged 10 and over were illiterate, the majority of them in rural areas. The proportion is similar for males and females.<ref name="EducationStats">Statistics Lithuania, 2011 Census, [http://www.osp.stat.gov.lt/en/web/guest/pranesimai-spaudai?eventId=1699 Population by educational attainment and command of languages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102051002/http://www.osp.stat.gov.lt/en/web/guest/pranesimai-spaudai?eventId=1699 |date=2013-11-02 }}</ref>

The general education system in Lithuania consists of primary, basic, secondary and tertiary education. Primary, basic and secondary (or high school) education is free of charge to all residents and is compulsory for pupils under 16 years of age.<ref name="LowerSecondary">Ministry of Education and Science, Education, [http://www.smm.lt/web/en/education_1/lower-secondary-education Lower secondary education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105141325/http://www.smm.lt/web/en/education_1/lower-secondary-education |date=2013-11-05 }}</ref> Pre-primary education is also available free of charge to 5- and 6-year-old children but is not compulsory. Pre-primary schooling is attended by about 90% of pre-school age children in Lithuania.<ref>Ministry of Education and Science, Education, [http://www.smm.lt/web/en/education_1/pre_school Pre-school education] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105141329/http://www.smm.lt/web/en/education_1/pre_school |date=2013-11-05 }}</ref> Primary, basic and secondary education in Lithuania is available to some ethnic minorities in their native languages, including Polish, Russian and Belarusian.

Primary schooling ({{langx|lt|pradinis ugdymas}}) is available to children who have reached age 7 (or younger, should the parents so desire) and lasts four years. Primary school students are not assessed through a grade system, instead using oral or written feedback. Students begin studying their first foreign language in their second year of primary school.<ref name="EducationSystem">Government of the Republic of Lithuania, The Official Gateway of Lithuania, [http://www.lietuva.lt/en/education_sience/education/education_system Education System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105151251/http://www.lietuva.lt/en/education_sience/education/education_system |date=2013-11-05 }}</ref> Data from the 2011 census showed that 99.1% of the population aged 20 and older have attained at least primary education, while around 27,000 pupils started the first grade in 2012.<ref name="EducCensus">Statistics Lithuania, 2011 Census, [http://www.osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Population_educ_att_age_group_municipality.xls Population by educational attainment, age group and municipality] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105164403/http://www.osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/217110/Population_educ_att_age_group_municipality.xls |date=2013-11-05 }}</ref>

Basic education ({{langx|lt|pagrindinis ugdymas}}) covers grades 5 to 10. It is provided by basic, secondary, youth, vocational schools and gymnasiums. After completing the 10th grade, the students must take the basic education achievement test in the Lithuanian language, mathematics, and an elective basic education achievement test in their mother tongue (Belarusian, Polish, Russian or German).<ref name="LowerSecondary" /> In 2011, 90.9% of the population of Lithuania aged 20 or older had attained the basic level of education.<ref name="EducCensus" />

Secondary education ({{langx|lt|vidurinis ugdymas}}) in Lithuania is optional and available to students who have attained basic education. It covers two years (11th–12th grades in secondary schools and 3rd–4th grades in gymnasiums). At this level, students have the opportunity to adapt their study plans (subjects and study level) to their individual preferences.<ref name="EducationSystem" /> Secondary education is completed upon passing national ''[[matura]]'' examinations. These consist of as many as six separate examinations of which two (Lithuanian Language and Literature and one elective subject) are required to attain the diploma. As of 2011, 78.2% of the population of Lithuania aged 20 or older had attained the secondary level of education, including secondary education provided by vocational schools.<ref name="EducCensus" />

More than 60% of the graduates from secondary school every year choose to continue education at colleges and universities of the Lithuanian higher education system. As of 2013, there were 23 universities (including academies and business schools recognized as such) and 24 colleges operating in Lithuania. Vilnius University, founded in 1579, is the oldest and largest university in Lithuania. More than 48,000 students enrolled in all higher education programmes in Lithuania in 2011, including level I (professional bachelor and bachelor), level II (masters) and level III (doctorate) studies.<ref>Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, [http://www.smm.lt/uploads/documents/Teises_aktai/Lietuvos%20svietimas%20skaiciais%202012.%20Studijos.pdf Lietuvos švietimas skaičiais, 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908180052/http://www.smm.lt/uploads/documents/Teises_aktai/Lietuvos%20svietimas%20skaiciais%202012.%20Studijos.pdf |date=2014-09-08 }}</ref> Higher education in Lithuania is partly state-funded, with free-of-charge access to higher education constitutionally guaranteed to students deemed "good". There are also scholarships available to the best students.