Demographics of the Republic of Ireland

Demographics of Ireland
	Population of what is now the Republic of Ireland, since 1841
Population	4,761,865 (2016 census)
Density	68 per km2
Growth rate	1.77%
Birth rate	13.7 births/1,000 population
Death rate	6.5 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy	80.19 years
• male	78 years
• female	82.6 years
Fertility rate	1.91 children born/woman
Infant mortality rate	3.85 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age structure
0–14 years	21.3%
15–64 years	67.0%
65 and over	11.7%
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male/female
At birth	1.057 male/female
Under 15	1.07 male/female
15–64 years	1.00 male/female
65 and over	0.81 male/female
Nationality
Nationality	Irish
Major ethnic	Irish 84.5%
Minor ethnic	Other White: 9.1% (total White: 94.3%), Asian: 1.9%, Black: 1.4%, Other: 0.9%, Irish Travellers 0.7%, Not Stated: 1.6% (2011)
Language
Official	English, Irish
Spoken	Irish Sign Language, Shelta, Ulster Scots

The Republic of Ireland had a population of 4,761,865 at the 2016 census.[1]

Demographic history

A graph of the populations of the island of Ireland and Europe from 1750 to the present showing Ireland's "massive" population spike in the early 19th century and subsequent collapse due to the 1845–49 famine and subsequent emigration.

The island of Ireland, throughout most of its history, had a small population, comparable to that of other regions of similar area in Europe. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Ireland experienced a major population boom as a result of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. In the 50-year period 1790-1840, the population of the island doubled from 4 million to 8 million. At its peak, Ireland's population density was similar to that of England and continental Europe.

This changed dramatically with the Great Famine of the mid-19th century, which led to mass starvation and consequent mass emigration. In the area covering the present day Republic of Ireland, the population reached about 6.5 million in the mid 1840s. Ten years later it was down to 5 million. The population continued a slow decline well into the 20th century, with the Republic recording a low of 2.8 million in the 1961 census.[2]

During the 1960s, the population started to grow once more, although slowly as emigration was still common. In the 1990s the country entered a period of rapid economic growth as a result of the Celtic Tiger Irish economic boom. The Republic started to receive Immigration from that had never previously happened. Many former Irish emigrants returned home, and the Republic of Ireland became an attractive destination for immigrants, from other member states EU such as Central Europe, but also from outside the EU such as Africa, Asia and elsewhere. With the 2008 onset of the Irish economic and banking crisis, the state's economy suffered, and the Republic of Ireland has once again been experiencing net emigration of its citizens, but immigration remains high.

In November 2013, Eurostat reported that the republic had the largest net emigration rate of any member state, at 7.6 emigrants per 1,000 population. However, it has the youngest population of any European Union member state and its population size is predicted to grow for many decades, in contrast with the declining population predicted for most European countries. A report published in 2008 predicted that the population would reach 6.7 million by 2060.[3] The Republic has also been experiencing a baby boom, with increasing birth rates and overall fertility rates.[4] Despite this, the total fertility rate is still below replacement depending on when the measurement is taken. The Irish fertility rate is still the highest of any European country.[5] This increase is significantly fuelled by non-Irish immigration – in 2009, a quarter of all children born in the Republic were born to mothers who had immigrated from other countries.[6]

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1841	6,528,799	—
1851	5,111,557	−21.7%
1861	4,402,111	−13.9%
1871	4,053,187	−7.9%
1881	3,870,020	−4.5%
1891	3,468,694	−10.4%
1901	3,221,823	−7.1%
1911	3,139,688	−2.5%
1926	2,971,992	−5.3%
1936	2,968,420	−0.1%
1946	2,955,107	−0.4%
1951	2,960,593	+0.2%
1961	2,818,341	−4.8%
1971	2,978,248	+5.7%
1981	3,443,405	+15.6%
1991	3,525,719	+2.4%
2002	3,917,203	+11.1%
2011	4,588,252	+17.1%
2019	4,921,500	+7.3%
Source: CSO[7] 2019[8]

Ethnic groups and immigration

Gaelic culture and language forms an important part of the Irish national identity.[9]

The Irish Travellers are an indigenous minority ethnic group, formally recognised by the Irish State since 1 March 2017.[10]

In 2008, Ireland had the highest birth rate (18.1 per 1,000), lowest death rate (6.1 per 1,000) and highest net-migration rate (14.1 per 1,000) in the entire European Union – and the largest population growth rate (4.4%) in the 27-member bloc as a result.[11]

Ireland contains several immigrant communities, especially in Dublin. The most common foreign nationalities include Polish, British, Lithuanian and Latvian

There is only genetic evidence for pre-Celtic migration into Ireland. The Irish people may therefore be described as strongly influenced by Celtic language and traditions.

Total fertility rate from 1850 to 1899

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[12]

Year	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860[12]
Total fertility rate in the Republic of Ireland	4.2	4.13	4.06	3.99	3.93	3.86	3.79	3.72	3.65	3.58	3.51

Year	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[12]
Total fertility rate in the Republic of Ireland	3.45	3.38	3.31	3.24	3.47	3.54	3.53	3.58	3.58	3.71

Year	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[12]
Total fertility rate in the Republic of Ireland	3.67	3.72	3.63	3.57	3.51	3.57	3.54	3.4	3.44	3.31

Year	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[12]
Total fertility rate in the Republic of Ireland	3.33	3.22	3.15	3.2	3.15	3.11	3.1	3.06	3.04	2.99

Year	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899[12]
Total fertility rate in the Republic of Ireland	3.05	3.01	3.09	3.08	3.12	3.17	3.16	3.13	3.09

Population statistics from 1900

Population statistics for the Republic of Ireland[13]
	Population on 1 April	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate[fn 1][12]
1900	3,231,000	70,435			21.8			3.04
1901	3,234,000	70,194			21.7			2.92
1902	3,205,000	71,156			22.2			3.08
1903	3,191,000	70,541			22.1			3.09
1904	3,169,000	72,261			22.8			3.16
1905	3,160,000	71,427			22.6			3.13
1906	3,164,000	72,147			22.8			3.15
1907	3,145,000	70,773			22.5			3.11
1908	3,147,000	71,439			22.7			3.12
1909	3,135,000	72,119			23.0			3.14
1910	3,132,000	71,744			22.9			3.12
1911	3,129,000	71,351			22.8			3.07
1912	3,116,000	70,734	50,489	20,245	22.7	16.2	6.5	3.1
1913	3,106,000	70,214	52,184	18,030	22.6	16.8	5.8	3.09
1914	3,098,000	69,102	49,674	19,428	22.3	16.0	6.3	3.05
1915	3,068,000	67,501	53,713	13,788	22.0	17.5	4.5	2.99
1916	3,071,000	64,814	50,627	14,187	21.1	16.5	4.6	2.87
1917	3,071,000	61,429	51,713	9,716	20.0	16.8	3.2	2.71
1918	3,069,000	61,092	53,682	7,410	19.9	17.5	2.4	2.73
1919	3,060,000	61,829	55,776	6,044	19.9	18.2	1.7	2.75
1920	3,102,000	67,015	45,521	21,494	21.6	14.7	6.9	3.2
1921	3,096,000	61,010	44,537	16,473	19.7	14.4	5.3	2.79
1922	3,070,000	58,849	44,547	14,302	18.5	14.5	4.0	2.61
1923	3,014,000	62,417	42,217	19,473	20.5	14.0	6.5	2.74
1924	3,005,000	63,402	45,180	18,222	21.1	15.0	6.1	2.83
1925	2,985,000	62,069	43,650	18,419	20.8	14.6	6.2	2.79
1926	2,971,000	61,176	41,740	19,436	20.6	14.0	6.5	2.76
1927	2,957,000	60,054	43,677	16,377	20.3	14.8	5.5	2.72
1928	2,944,000	59,176	41,792	17,384	20.1	14.2	5.9	2.69
1929	2,937,000	58,280	42,991	15,289	19.8	14.6	5.2	2.66
1930	2,927,000	58,353	41,702	16,651	19.9	14.2	5.7	2.54
1931	2,933,000	57,086	42,947	14,139	19.5	14.6	4.8	2.49
1932	2,949,000	56,240	42,984	13,256	19.1	14.6	4.5	2.43
1933	2,962,000	57,364	40,539	16,825	19.4	13.7	5.7	2.47
1934	2,971,000	57,897	39,083	18,814	19.5	13.2	6.3	2.49
1935	2,971,000	58,266	41,543	16,723	19.6	14.0	5.6	2.50
1936	2,967,000	58,115	42,586	15,529	19.6	14.4	5.2	2.50
1937	2,948,000	56,488	45,086	11,402	19.2	15.3	3.9	2.45
1938	2,937,000	56,925	40,041	16,884	19.4	13.6	5.7	2.47
1939	2,934,000	56,070	41,717	14,353	19.1	14.2	4.9	2.43
1940	2,958,000	56,594	41,885	14,709	19.1	14.2	5.0	2.43
1941	2,993,000	56,780	43,797	12,983	19.0	14.6	4.3	2.42
1942	2,963,000	66,117	41,640	24,477	22.3	14.1	8.3	2.85
1943	2,946,000	64,375	43,494	20,881	21.9	14.8	7.1	2.80
1944	2,944,000	65,425	45,128	20,297	22.2	15.3	6.9	2.84
1945	2,952,000	66,861	42,762	24,099	22.6	14.5	8.2	2.90
1946	2,957,000	67,922	41,457	26,465	23.0	14.0	8.9	2.94
1947	2,974,000	68,978	44,061	24,917	23.2	14.8	8.4	2.98
1948	2,985,000	65,930	36,357	29,573	22.1	12.2	9.9	2.80
1949	2,981,000	64,153	38,062	26,091	21.5	12.8	8.8	2.75
1950	2,969,000	63,565	37,741	25,824	21.4	12.7	8.7	2.74
1951	2,961,000	62,878	42,382	20,496	21.2	14.3	6.9	2.69
1952	2,953,000	64,631	35,105	29,526	21.9	11.9	10.0	2.97
1953	2,949,000	62,558	34,591	27,967	21.2	11.7	9.5	2.95
1954	2,941,000	62,534	35,535	26,999	21.3	12.1	9.2	3.18
1955	2,921,000	61,622	36,761	24,861	21.1	12.6	8.5	3.28
1956	2,898,000	60,740	33,910	26,830	21.0	11.7	9.3	3.41
1957	2,885,000	61,242	34,311	26,931	21.2	11.9	9.3	3.52
1958	2,853,000	59,510	34,248	25,262	20.9	12.0	8.9	3.43
1959	2,846,000	60,188	34,243	25,945	21.1	12.0	9.1	3.63
1960	2,832,000	60,735	32,660	28,075	21.4	11.5	9.9	3.78
1961	2,818,000	59,825	34,763	25,062	21.2	12.3	8.9	3.78
1962	2,830,000	61,782	33,838	27,944	21.8	12.0	9.9	3.92
1963	2,850,000	63,246	33,795	29,451	22.2	11.9	10.3	4.01
1964	2,864,000	64,072	32,630	31,442	22.4	11.4	11.0	4.07
1965	2,876,000	63,525	33,022	30,503	22.1	11.5	10.6	4.04
1966	2,884,000	62,215	35,113	27,102	21.6	12.2	9.4	3.95
1967	2,900,000	61,307	31,400	29,907	21.1	10.8	10.3	3.84
1968	2,913,000	61,004	33,157	27,847	20.9	11.4	9.6	3.77
1969	2,926,000	62,912	33,734	29,178	21.5	11.5	10.0	3.83
1970	2,950,000	64,382	33,686	30,696	21.8	11.4	10.4	3.85
1971	2,978,000	67,551	31,890	35,661	22.7	10.7	12.0	3.97
1972	3,024,000	68,527	34,381	34,146	22.7	11.4	11.3	3.93
1973	3,073,000	68,713	34,192	34,521	22.4	11.1	11.2	3.78
1974	3,124,000	68,907	34,921	33,986	22.1	11.2	10.9	3.64
1975	3,177,000	67,178	33,173	34,005	21.1	10.4	10.7	3.43
1976	3,228,000	67,718	34,043	33,675	21.0	10.5	10.4	3.35
1977	3,272,000	68,892	33,632	35,260	21.1	10.3	10.8	3.31
1978	3,314,000	70,299	33,794	36,505	21.2	10.2	11.0	3.27
1979	3,368,000	72,539	33,771	38,768	21.5	10.0	11.5	3.26
1980	3,401,000	74,064	33,472	40,592	21.8	9.8	11.9	3.25
1981	3,443,000	72,158	32,929	39,229	21.0	9.6	11.4	3.10
1982	3,480,000	70,843	32,457	38,386	20.4	9.3	11.0	2.98
1983	3,504,000	67,117	32,076	35,041	19.2	9.2	10.0	2.76
1984	3,529,000	64,062	32,154	31,908	18.2	9.1	9.0	2.57
1985	3,540,000	62,388	33,213	29,175	17.6	9.4	8.2	2.48
1986	3,541,000	61,620	33,630	27,990	17.4	9.5	7.9	2.44
1987	3,547,000	58,433	31,413	27,020	16.5	8.9	7.6	2.31
1988	3,531,000	54,600	31,580	23,020	15.5	8.9	6.5	2.17
1989	3,510,000	52,018	32,111	19,907	14.8	9.1	5.7	2.08
1990	3,506,000	52,954	31,370	21,584	15.1	8.9	6.2	2.12
1991	3,526,000	52,718	31,305	21,413	15.0	8.9	6.1	2.09
1992	3,555,000	51,089	30,931	20,158	14.4	8.7	5.7	1.99
1993	3,574,000	49,304	32,148	17,156	13.8	9.0	4.8	1.91
1994	3,586,000	48,255	30,948	17,307	13.5	8.6	4.8	1.85
1995	3,601,000	48,530	31,494	17,036	13.5	8.7	4.7	1.86
1996	3,626,000	50,390	31,514	18,876	13.9	8.7	5.2	1.89
1997	3,664,000	52,311	31,605	20,706	14.3	8.6	5.7	1.93
1998	3,703,000	53,551	31,352	22,199	14.5	8.5	6.0	1.95
1999	3,742,000	53,354	31,683	21,671	14.3	8.5	5.8	1.90
2000	3,790,000	54,789	31,391	23,398	14.5	8.3	6.2	1.89
2001	3,847,000	57,854	30,212	27,642	15.0	7.9	7.2	1.96
2002	3,917,000	60,503	29,683	30,820	15.4	7.6	7.8	1.97
2003	3,980,000	61,529	29,074	32,455	15.5	7.3	8.2	1.99
2004	4,045,000	61,972	28,665	33,307	15.3	7.1	8.2	1.96
2005	4,134,000	61,372	28,260	33,112	14.8	6.8	8.0	1.88
2006	4,233,000	65,425	28,488	36,937	15.4	6.7	8.7	1.93
2007	4,339,000	71,389	28,117	43,272	16.3	6.4	9.9	2.04
2008	4,422,000	75,173	28,274	46,899	16.8	6.3	10.5	2.09
2009	4,459,000	75,554	28,380	47,174	16.7	6.3	10.4	2.10
2010	4,470,000	75,174	27,961	47,213	16.5	6.1	10.4	2.07
2011	4,575,000	74,033	28,456	45,577	16.2	6.2	10.0	2.03
2012	4,594,000	71,674	29,186	42,488	15.6	6.4	9.2	1.98
2013	4,615,000	68,954	29,504	39,450	15.0	6.4	8.6	1.93
2014	4,645,000	67,295	29,252	38,043	14.6	6.4	8.2	1.89
2015	4,688,000	65,536	30,127	35,409	14.0	6.4	7.6	1.86
2016	4,740,000	63,841	30,390	33,451	13.5	6.5	7.2	1.82
2017	4,792,000	61,824	30,418	31,406	12.9	6.3	6.6	1.77
2018	4,857,000	61,016	31,116	29,900	12.6	6.4	6.2	1.75
2019	4,921,500	59,796	31,134	28,662	12.1	6.4	5.7	1.70

Current natural growth

[14]

Births from January–September 2018 = 46,506
Births from January–September 2019 = 45,661
Deaths from January–September 2018 = 24,013
Deaths from January–September 2019 = 23,495
Natural growth from January–September 2018 = 22,493
Natural growth from January–September 2019 = 22,166

Nationality of mothers

[15]

Of the 59,796 births in 2019, there were 46,036 babies (77.0%) born to mothers of Irish nationality compared to 47,110 (77.2%) in 2018. There were 10.4% of births to mothers of EU 16 to EU 28 nationality, 2.1% of mothers were of UK nationality, and 2.0% were of EU 15 nationality (excluding Ireland and the UK). Mothers of nationalities other than Ireland, UK and the EU accounted for 8.4% of total births registered. There were 29 mothers where the nationality was not stated.

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	66.9	1985–1990	74.2
1955–1960	69.2	1990–1995	75.3
1960–1965	70.1	1995–2000	76.0
1965–1970	70.8	2000–2005	77.8
1970–1975	71.2	2005–2010	79.7
1975–1980	72.0	2010–2015	80.9
1980–1985	73.2

Source: UN World Population Prospects[16]

Demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[17]

One birth every 8 minutes
One death every 16 minutes
One net migrant every 90 minutes
Net gain of one person every 14 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the Republic of Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO), Eurostat and the CIA World Factbook.[18]

Population[19]

A 2001 Population pyramid showing the Republic of Ireland's age and gender structure, from the CSO.

Population: 5,068,050 (July 2018 est.)[20]

Ethnic groups

Irish 82.2%, Irish travelers 0.7%, other white 9.5%, Asian 2.1%, black 1.4%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% (2016 est.)[20]

Age structure[21]

Republic of Ireland's population pyramid in 2017

0–14 years: 21.37% (male 554,110 /female 529,067)

15–24 years: 11.92% (male 306,052 /female 297,890)

25–54 years: 42.86% (male 1,091,495 /female 1,080,594)

55–64 years: 10.53% (male 267,255 /female 266,438)

65 years and over: 13.32% (male 312,694 /female 362,455) (2018 est.)

Non-national groups with populations in the Republic of Ireland of 10,000 or more in 2006. Non-European Union nationals are shown exploded.

Median age: total: 37.1 years Country comparison to the world: 70th; male: 36.8 years; female: 37.5 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate: 13.8 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 137th

Death rate: 6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 140th

Total fertility rate: 1.96 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 125th

Net migration rate: 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 28th

Population growth rate: 1.11% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 98th

Mother's mean age at first birth: 30.7 years (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 53.8 (2015 est.); youth dependency ratio: 33.4 (2015 est.); elderly dependency ratio: 20.3 (2015 est.); potential support ratio: 4.9 (2015 est.):

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 0–14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 15–24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 25–54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 55–64 years: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.); 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.); total population: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 81 years. Country comparison to the world: 35th; male: 78.7 years; female: 83.5 years (2018 est.)

Nationality

noun: Irishman (men), Irishwoman (women), Irish (collective plural)

adjective: Irish

Nationalities in the Republic of Ireland

Persons usually resident, by nationality
Nationality	Population (2016)[22]
Ireland	4,082,513
Poland	122,515
United Kingdom	103,113
Lithuania	36,552
Romania	29,186
Latvia	19,933
Nigeria	16,300
Brazil	13,640
Spain	12,112
Italy	11,732
France	11,661
Germany	11,531
India	11,465
United States	10,519
Slovakia	9,717
China	9,575
Hungary	3,328

Ethnic groups

Irish, with Norse (Scandinavian), Norman, English, French, Scottish, and Welsh, Ulster-Scots and various immigrant populations – the largest immigrant groups, with over 10,000 people, are the British, Croats, Poles, Americans, Lithuanians, Latvians, Germans, Nigerians, Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese.[23]

Ethnic backgrounds: Irish: 82.2%, Irish Traveller: 0.7%, Other White: 9.5% (total White: 92.4%), Asian: 2.1%, Black: 1.3%, Other: 1.5%, Not Stated: 2.6% (2016)[24]

Religions

Religions in the Republic of Ireland (2016)[25]

Catholicism (78.3%)

Protestantism (4.2%)

Eastern Orthodoxy (1.3%)

Other christians and other religions. (4.8%)

Islam (1.3%)

Non-religious (10.1%)

The Republic of Ireland is a predominantly Christian country. The majority are Roman Catholic. The number of people who declare themselves Catholic has been declining in recent years. Irreligion has almost doubled since 2011 with 9.8% declaring 'No Religion' in 2016, overtaking Protestantism as the second largest group in the state. The various Protestant and other Christian faiths represent 5.6. Immigration has brought other faiths, Islam at 1.3%, other religions 2.4% and 2.6% gave no answer.

Geographic Population Distribution

Urban population (areas with >1,500 people): 62.0% (2011)

Rural population: 38.0% (2011)

Languages

English is the most commonly used language, with 84%[26] of the population calling it their mother tongue. Irish is the first official language of the state, with 11%[26] calling it their mother tongue. Irish is the main language of the Gaeltacht regions, where 96,628 people live. The main sign language used is Irish Sign Language.

Languages in the Republic of Ireland
Language			Percent
Irish			11%
English			84%
Irish and English (bilingual)			1%
others			3%

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over who can read and write

total population: 99%

male: 99%

female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 19 years; male: 19 years; female: 19 years (2016)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24: total: 17.2%. Country comparison to the world: 79th; male: 19.5%; female: 14.6% (2016 est.)

gollark: Yep.

gollark: No.

gollark: It's a bad wrapper over modems.