Rečiausiai gyvenamų Lietuvos teritorijų gyvenviečių tinklo ypatumai

This article pays attention to the network of settlements and the territorial distribution of the residents in the most sparsely populated territories in Lithuania. Due to the population decline the sparsely populated territories are expanding. These changes influence the settlement system as the settlements are shrinking and the number of settlements without residents is growing. The survey underlines that the less inhabited ward is, the greater part of it is consisted of the smallest settlements (up to 50 inhabitants) and the greater part of residents lives in them. The objective of the article is to underline the peculiarities of the settlement network and to stress the tendencies of the settlement system change in the most sparsely territories in Lithuania. The most sparsely populated territories are defined as the wards in which the rural population density does not exceed 7.5 inhabitants per km2. The number of such wards in Lithuania in 2011 was 39. References 17. Figs 6. Table 1. In Lithuanian, summary in English.