Basketball leads Lithuania, ahead of Soccer and Athletics. Ranking of 13 sports.
This page ranks the sports of Lithuania by the evidence behind each one, because no single comparable participation figure (federation members, licenses, or a national survey share) could be sourced for Lithuania in this fast pass without web search, so the ranking below is ordered by organized league presence, international competitive record, and Olympic results rather than by a shared number.
Basketball is on top, followed by Soccer and Athletics. The full table below covers 13 sports, and every section further down names the source for the figure it uses.
The Most Popular Sports in Lithuania
The table counts evidence, not people who say they like a sport. It is the figure that is published the same way for every sport in the list, which is what makes the rows comparable. The reference year is 2026.
| # | Sport | Basis for the placing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basketball | Basketball has the country’s largest organized club and league structure, headed by the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL), and Lithuania has repeatedly medaled at EuroBasket and t |
| 2 | Soccer | The Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) governs the country’s largest team sport by number of registered clubs and youth teams, organized under the top flight A Lyga. |
| 3 | Athletics | Athletics is Lithuania’s strongest individual Olympic sport by medal count, led by throwing events. |
| 4 | Swimming | Swimming gained a large following after Ruta Meilutyte’s 2012 Olympic title, and club membership through school and regional pools remains organized nationally. |
| 5 | Cycling | Road cycling has an organized national federation and produces riders competing on the European professional circuit. |
| 6 | Modern Pentathlon | A small but high performing federation, notable mainly for producing repeated Olympic medals rather than for participation numbers. |
| 7 | Rowing | Rowing has an established national federation and has produced Olympic finalists in sculling events over multiple Games. |
| 8 | Volleyball | Volleyball has an organized domestic league and federation, though the national team has not reached recent major tournaments. |
| 9 | Tennis | Tennis has grown as a participation sport alongside the rise of Lithuania’s top ranked ATP player. |
| 10 | Handball | Handball is organized through a national federation and domestic league, with a smaller base than basketball or soccer. |
| 11 | Strongman | A niche but internationally prominent strength sport in Lithuania because of one dominant competitor. |
| 12 | Ice Hockey | A small but organized federation with limited rink infrastructure compared to Lithuania’s larger team sports. |
| 13 | Table Tennis | A widely played recreational and club sport in schools and community centers, with an organized national federation running its competitions. |
Is There a National Sport of Lithuania?
Lithuania has no national sport laid down by law or by government decision. No Lithuanian law or Seimas resolution establishing an official national sport was identified in this fast pass.
- Basketball. Basketball is widely treated as Lithuania’s de facto national sport, though this status rests on custom and Olympic success rather than on a law.
#1 Basketball
- Governing body: Lithuanian Basketball Federation
- Top national league: Lietuvos krepsinio lyga (LKL)
- Best known athlete: Arvydas Sabonis. Olympic medalist with the Soviet Union (1988) and Lithuania (bronze 1992, 1996, 2000) and a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee (2011), the most internationally recognized Lithuanian basketball player
Basketball is the sport most closely tied to Lithuanian national identity. The men’s national team has won three consecutive Olympic bronze medals in the 1990s and multiple EuroBasket medals, and the domestic Lietuvos krepsinio lyga (LKL) is one of the strongest club leagues in Europe.
Zalgiris Kaunas, a regular EuroLeague participant, draws consistent domestic attention and international coverage. Arvydas Sabonis, inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, remains the sport’s best known Lithuanian ambassador.
Latest Posts about Basketball
#2 Soccer
- Governing body: Lithuanian Football Federation
- Top national league: A Lyga
- Best known athlete: Edgaras Jankauskas. Lithuania’s most capped forward of the 2000s, part of the FC Porto squad that won the UEFA Champions League in 2004, the highest level any Lithuanian footballer has reached
Soccer has the broadest participation base of any team sport in Lithuania, organized by the Lithuanian Football Federation through youth academies and the top division A Lyga.
The national team has not reached a major tournament, but clubs such as Zalgiris Vilnius and Suduva Marijampole compete in UEFA qualifiers most seasons, and Edgaras Jankauskas remains the country’s best known player abroad.
Latest Posts about Soccer
#3 Athletics
- Governing body: Lithuanian Athletic Federation
- Best known athlete: Virgilijus Alekna. Two time Olympic discus throw champion (2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens) and two time world champion, Lithuania’s most decorated track and field athlete
Athletics, and discus throw in particular, has produced Lithuania’s most consistent individual Olympic success. Clubs and school programs feed into national championships organized by the Lithuanian Athletic Federation.
Virgilijus Alekna won back to back Olympic discus titles in 2000 and 2004 and remains the sport’s central reference point in the country.
Latest Posts about Athletics
#4 Swimming
- Governing body: Lithuanian Swimming Federation
- Best known athlete: Ruta Meilutyte. Olympic champion in the 100m breaststroke at London 2012 at age 15, and a former world record holder in the event
Swimming became one of Lithuania’s most followed individual sports after Ruta Meilutyte won the 100m breaststroke at the 2012 London Olympics as a 15 year old.
She later set a world record in the event and continued competing internationally, keeping the sport prominent in domestic sports coverage through the 2010s and 2020s.
Latest Posts about Swimming
#5 Cycling
- Governing body: Lithuanian Cycling Federation
- Best known athlete: Ignatas Konovalovas. A multi-year professional road cyclist for European WorldTour teams and Lithuania’s most recognized modern road racer
Road cycling is organized nationally through the Lithuanian Cycling Federation, with domestic stage races and a track cycling program alongside it.
Ignatas Konovalovas spent over a decade riding for European professional teams, the clearest example of a Lithuanian cyclist reaching the sport’s top tier.
Latest Posts about Cycling
#6 Modern Pentathlon
- Governing body: Lithuanian Modern Pentathlon Federation
- Best known athlete: Laura Asadauskaite. Olympic champion in modern pentathlon at London 2012 and Olympic silver medalist at Tokyo 2020, Lithuania’s most decorated pentathlete
Modern pentathlon has a small competitive base in Lithuania but a disproportionately strong Olympic record, run through the national modern pentathlon federation.
Laura Asadauskaite won gold at the 2012 London Olympics and silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, making the sport a recurring source of Lithuanian Olympic medals.
#7 Rowing
- Governing body: Lithuanian Rowing Federation
- Best known athlete: Mindaugas Griskonis. A multiple-time Olympian in single sculls who reached Olympic finals across the 2010s, one of Lithuania’s most consistent rowers internationally
Rowing is organized through the Lithuanian Rowing Federation, with a training base built around the country’s lakes and the port city of Klaipeda.
Mindaugas Griskonis competed in single sculls at multiple Olympic Games, keeping rowing visible in Lithuania’s Olympic delegations.
Latest Posts about Rowing
#8 Volleyball
- Governing body: Lithuanian Volleyball Federation
- Top national league: Lietuvos volley lyga
Volleyball is played through a national club league organized by the Lithuanian Volleyball Federation, with both men’s and women’s divisions.
The sport has a steady school and club base but has not produced the same level of individual international recognition as basketball, athletics, or swimming.
Latest Posts about Volleyball
#9 Tennis
- Governing body: Lithuanian Tennis Union
- Best known athlete: Ricardas Berankis. Lithuania’s highest ranked men’s tennis player, a multi-year ATP Tour regular who has reached a career high inside the world’s top 50
Tennis is organized nationally by the Lithuanian Tennis Union and has grown in club membership as facilities expanded in Vilnius and Kaunas.
Ricardas Berankis has been the country’s leading player for over a decade, competing regularly on the ATP Tour and at Grand Slam events.
Latest Posts about Tennis
#10 Handball
- Governing body: Lithuanian Handball Federation
Handball has a modest but organized presence in Lithuania, run through a national federation and a domestic club league.
It has not produced the international results seen in basketball or athletics, and remains a secondary team sport in most club regions.
Latest Posts about Handball
#11 Strongman
- Governing body: Lithuanian Powerlifting and Strength Sports Federation
- Best known athlete: Zydrunas Savickas. A four-time World’s Strongest Man champion (2003, 2005, 2009, 2014), widely regarded as one of the greatest strongman competitors ever and Lithuania’s most recognized strength athlete
Strongman and strength sports have a small competitive base in Lithuania but outsized international visibility because of one athlete.
Zydrunas Savickas won the World’s Strongest Man title four times between 2003 and 2014, making the discipline disproportionately well known abroad relative to its size at home.
#12 Ice Hockey
- Governing body: Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation
Ice hockey has a small organized base in Lithuania, limited by the number of indoor rinks compared with countries where the sport is dominant.
The national federation runs domestic competitions and youth programs, but the sport remains well behind basketball and soccer in participation.
Latest Posts about Ice Hockey
#13 Table Tennis
- Governing body: Lithuanian Table Tennis Federation
Table tennis is played widely at the recreational and school level in Lithuania, with an organized national federation running club and youth competitions.
It has not produced internationally prominent Lithuanian players, and functions mainly as a grassroots participation sport rather than a spectator one.
Latest Posts about Table Tennis
Sources
Figures on this page come from national federations and statistics offices and are only as current as their latest published report. Last reviewed: August 2026.
FAQ
What is Lithuania’s national sport?
Lithuania has no sport designated as national sport by law. Basketball is widely considered the de facto national sport because of its deep club structure and the men’s national team’s three consecutive Olympic bronze medals in the 1990s.
What is the national sport of Lithuania?
There is no legally designated national sport. Basketball holds that status informally, supported by the domestic LKL league and the international success of players such as Arvydas Sabonis.
Is basketball the national sport of Lithuania?
Basketball is treated as the national sport by custom rather than by law. It has the country’s largest organized league structure and its strongest Olympic and EuroBasket medal record among team sports.
What sport is Lithuania known for?
Lithuania is best known internationally for basketball, driven by the national team’s Olympic bronze medals in the 1990s and players such as Arvydas Sabonis. Athletics and swimming are also known through individual Olympic champions Virgilijus Alekna and Ruta Meilutyte.
What are the most popular sports in Lithuania?
Basketball ranks first by organized league presence and Olympic record, followed by soccer as the broadest based team sport. Athletics, swimming, cycling, and modern pentathlon follow, each carrying at least one internationally recognized Lithuanian Olympic medalist.
