Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people.
Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland.
Their native language is Lithuanian, one of only two surviving members of the Baltic language family.
According to the census conducted in 2001, 83.45 % of the population of Lithuania proper identified themselves as Lithuanians, 6.74 % as Poles, 6.31 % as Russians, 1.23 % as Belarusians, and 2.27 % as members of other ethnic groups.
Most Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church, while the Lietuvininkai who lived in the northern part of East Prussia prior to World War II, were mostly Evangelical Lutherans.
