Towns in Lithuania (Lithuanian: miestelis) retain their historical distinctiveness even though for statistical purposes they are counted together with villages. At the time of the census in 2001, there were 103 cities, 244 towns, and some 21,000 villages in Lithuania. Since then three cities (Juodupė, Kulautuva, and Tyruliai) and two villages (Salakas and ) became towns. Therefore, during the , there were 249 towns in Lithuania.