Lithuania 2025 Summary (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Lithuania))

Summary

• Consumer-oriented activities represented the largest share of Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) at 51.5% in 2025.p.2
• Business services increased to 23%, while the transforming sector fell to 22.3% and the extractive sector recovered to 3.2%.p.2
• Societal attitudes remain strong, with 75.6% of adults viewing entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice and 68.2% linking it to high status.p.2
• Starting a business is perceived as increasingly difficult, with a record 64.6% of adults disagreeing that starting a business is easy.p.2
• Lithuania ranked first in Europe on the NECI index in 2025, despite its score easing slightly from 6.42 in 2024 to 6.36 in 2025.p.3
• Lithuania has participated in GEM research since 2011, returning to the programme in 2022 after a break.p.5

Key insights

1. Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity reached its highest level ever recorded in Lithuania during the monitoring period in 2025.p.1
2. The dominant reason for business discontinuation shifted from unprofitability in 2024 to an opportunity to sell the business in 2025.p.1
3. Consumer services continue to form the primary gateway for new businesses, taking 51.5% of early-stage entrepreneurial activity.p.2
4. Research and development transfer remains one of Lithuania's weakest entrepreneurial ecosystem conditions, constraining original high-value innovation.p.2
5. Perceptions of difficulty in starting a business hit a record high in 2025, with 64.6% of adults disagreeing that starting a business is easy.p.2
6. Women-led businesses in Lithuania reported higher international market ambition and stronger focus on world-novel innovations than those led by men.p.3
7. Lithuania evaluated above the EU average across all AI readiness dimensions, though post-school education models for AI remain a key area for growth.p.3
8. Lithuania maintained its position as Europe's top-ranked entrepreneurial ecosystem on the NECI index in 2025.p.3