Demographics of the Republic of Ireland

Demographics of the Republic of Ireland
Population of the Republic of Ireland from 1841
Population:	4,658,825 (2011 census)
Density:	65 per km²
Growth rate:	0.39%
Birth rate:	16.1 births/1,000 population
Death rate:	6.34 deaths/1,000 population
Life expectancy:	80.19 years
–male:	77.96 years
–female:	82.55 years
Fertility rate:	2.02 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-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-over:	0.81 male/female
Nationality
Nationality:	Irish
Major ethnic:	Irish 87.4%
Minor ethnic:	Other white 7.5%, Asian 1.3%, black 1.1%, mixed 1.1%, unspecified 1.6% (2006)
Language
Official:	English, Irish
Spoken:	Irish Sign Language, Shelta, Ulster Scots

A graph of the populations of the island of Ireland and Europe indexed against 1750 showing the disastrous consequence of the 1845—49 famine.

Ireland, throughout most of its history, had a small population size, comparable to that of other regions of similar area in Europe. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, along with the rest of Europe, Ireland experienced a major population boom as a result of the Agricultural and Industrial revolutions. Its population densities remained comparable to that of Britain and the other countries of Europe.

However this changed dramatically with the Great Famine of the mid-19th century, which led to mass starvation and consequent mass emigration. This famine was by far the most significant turning point in the demographics of the country: during the hundred years that followed, Ireland's population continued a slow decline, with the result that the Republic of Ireland today has a significantly smaller population than other European countries of comparable size.

In the mid-20th century, the Republic's population started to grow once more, although emigration was still common. However, in the 1990s, the demographics of the country began to change as a result of the Celtic Tiger Irish economic boom. Immigration began to far outweigh emigration. Many former Irish emigrants returned home, and Ireland became an attractive destination for immigrants, mainly from Central Europe, but also from Africa, Asia and elsewhere. With the 2008 onset of the Irish economic and banking crisis, however, the country's economy suffered, and since then Ireland has once again been experiencing net emigration.

However, Ireland's population is the youngest of any country in the European Union^{[citation needed]} and its population size is predicted to grow for many decades into the future, bucking the trend of declining population predicted for most European countries. A report published in 2008 predicted that the country's population would reach 6.7 million by 2060. Ireland has been experiencing a baby boom, with increasing birth rates and overall fertility rates. Despite this the total fertility rate is still below replacement. This increase is primarily fueled by non-Irish immigration - in 2009, a quarter of all children born in Ireland were born to mothers who had immigrated from other countries.

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

The Irish Travellers are a native minority group.

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.

Ireland is home to people from all over the globe, especially in Dublin. These countries include Poland, United Kingdom, China, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Philippines, Lithuania, Latvia and Russia.

Vital statistics of the Republic of Ireland

	Population on April 1 (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Fertility rates
1923	3 014	62 417	42 217	19 473	20.5	14.0	6.5
1924	3 005	63 402	45 180	18 222	21.1	15.0	6.1
1925	2 985	62 069	43 650	18 419	20.8	14.6	6.2
1926	2 971	61 176	41 740	19 436	20.6	14.0	6.5
1927	2 957	60 054	43 677	16 377	20.3	14.8	5.5
1928	2 944	59 176	41 792	17 384	20.1	14.2	5.9
1929	2 937	58 280	42 991	15 289	19.8	14.6	5.2
1930	2 927	58 353	41 702	16 651	19.9	14.2	5.7	2.54
1931	2 933	57 086	42 947	14 139	19.5	14.6	4.8	2.49
1932	2 949	56 240	42 984	13 256	19.1	14.6	4.5	2.43
1933	2 962	57 364	40 539	16 825	19.4	13.7	5.7	2.47
1934	2 971	57 897	39 083	18 814	19.5	13.2	6.3	2.49
1935	2 971	58 266	41 543	16 723	19.6	14.0	5.6	2.50
1936	2 967	58 115	42 586	15 529	19.6	14.4	5.2	2.50
1937	2 948	56 488	45 086	11 402	19.2	15.3	3.9	2.45
1938	2 937	56 925	40 041	16 884	19.4	13.6	5.7	2.47
1939	2 934	56 070	41 717	14 353	19.1	14.2	4.9	2.43
1940	2 958	56 594	41 885	14 709	19.1	14.2	5.0	2.43
1941	2 993	56 780	43 797	12 983	19.0	14.6	4.3	2.42
1942	2 963	66 117	41 640	24 477	22.3	14.1	8.3	2.85
1943	2 946	64 375	43 494	20 881	21.9	14.8	7.1	2.80
1944	2 944	65 425	45 128	20 297	22.2	15.3	6.9	2.84
1945	2 952	66 861	42 762	24 099	22.6	14.5	8.2	2.90
1946	2 957	67 922	41 457	26 465	23.0	14.0	8.9	2.94
1947	2 974	68 978	44 061	24 917	23.2	14.8	8.4	2.98
1948	2 985	65 930	36 357	29 573	22.1	12.2	9.9	2.80
1949	2 981	64 153	38 062	26 091	21.5	12.8	8.8	2.75
1950	2 969	63 565	37 741	25 824	21.4	12.7	8.7	2.74
1951	2 961	62 878	42 382	20 496	21.2	14.3	6.9	2.69
1952	2 953	64 631	35 105	29 526	21.9	11.9	10.0	2.97
1953	2 949	62 558	34 591	27 967	21.2	11.7	9.5	2.95
1954	2 941	62 534	35 535	26 999	21.3	12.1	9.2	3.18
1955	2 921	61 622	36 761	24 861	21.1	12.6	8.5	3.28
1956	2 898	60 740	33 910	26 830	21.0	11.7	9.3	3.41
1957	2 885	61 242	34 311	26 931	21.2	11.9	9.3	3.52
1958	2 853	59 510	34 248	25 262	20.9	12.0	8.9	3.43
1959	2 846	60 188	34 243	25 945	21.1	12.0	9.1	3.63
1960	2 832	60 735	32 660	28 075	21.4	11.5	9.9	3.78
1961	2 818	59 825	34 763	25 062	21.2	12.3	8.9	3.78
1962	2 830	61 782	33 838	27 944	21.8	12.0	9.9	3.92
1963	2 850	63 246	33 795	29 451	22.2	11.9	10.3	4.01
1964	2 864	64 072	32 630	31 442	22.4	11.4	11.0	4.07
1965	2 876	63 525	33 022	30 503	22.1	11.5	10.6	4.04
1966	2 884	62 215	35 113	27 102	21.6	12.2	9.4	3.95
1967	2 900	61 307	31 400	29 907	21.1	10.8	10.3	3.84
1968	2 913	61 004	33 157	27 847	20.9	11.4	9.6	3.77
1969	2 926	62 912	33 734	29 178	21.5	11.5	10.0	3.83
1970	2 950	64 382	33 686	30 696	21.8	11.4	10.4	3.85
1971	2 978	67 551	31 890	35 661	22.7	10.7	12.0	3.97
1972	3 024	68 527	34 381	34 146	22.7	11.4	11.3	3.93
1973	3 073	68 713	34 192	34 521	22.4	11.1	11.2	3.78
1974	3 124	68 907	34 921	33 986	22.1	11.2	10.9	3.64
1975	3 177	67 178	33 173	34 005	21.1	10.4	10.7	3.43
1976	3 228	67 718	34 043	33 675	21.0	10.5	10.4	3.35
1977	3 272	68 892	33 632	35 260	21.1	10.3	10.8	3.31
1978	3 314	70 299	33 794	36 505	21.2	10.2	11.0	3.27
1979	3 368	72 539	33 771	38 768	21.5	10.0	11.5	3.26
1980	3 401	74 064	33 472	40 592	21.8	9.8	11.9	3.25
1981	3 443	72 158	32 929	39 229	21.0	9.6	11.4	3.10
1982	3 480	70 843	32 457	38 386	20.4	9.3	11.0	2.98
1983	3 504	67 117	32 076	35 041	19.2	9.2	10.0	2.76
1984	3 529	64 062	32 154	31 908	18.2	9.1	9.0	2.57
1985	3 540	62 388	33 213	29 175	17.6	9.4	8.2	2.48
1986	3 541	61 620	33 630	27 990	17.4	9.5	7.9	2.44
1987	3 547	58 433	31 413	27 020	16.5	8.9	7.6	2.31
1988	3 531	54 600	31 580	23 020	15.5	8.9	6.5	2.17
1989	3 510	52 018	32 111	19 907	14.8	9.1	5.7	2.08
1990	3 506	52 954	31 370	21 584	15.1	8.9	6.2	2.12
1991	3 526	52 718	31 305	21 413	15.0	8.9	6.1	2.09
1992	3 555	51 089	30 931	20 158	14.4	8.7	5.7	1.99
1993	3 574	49 304	32 148	17 156	13.8	9.0	4.8	1.91
1994	3 586	48 255	30 948	17 307	13.5	8.6	4.8	1.85
1995	3 601	48 530	31 494	17 036	13.5	8.7	4.7	1.86
1996	3 626	50 390	31 514	18 876	13.9	8.7	5.2	1.89
1997	3 664	52 311	31 605	20 706	14.3	8.6	5.7	1.93
1998	3 703	53 551	31 352	22 199	14.5	8.5	6.0	1.95
1999	3 742	53 354	31 683	21 671	14.3	8.5	5.8	1.90
2000	3 790	54 239	31 115	23 124	14.3	8.2	6.1	1.89
2001	3 847	57 854	30 212	27 642	15.0	7.9	7.2	1.96
2002	3 917	60 521	29 348	31 173	15.5	7.5	8.0	1.97
2003	3 980	61 529	29 074	32 455	15.5	7.3	8.2	1.99
2004	4 045	61 972	28 665	33 307	15.3	7.1	8.2	1.96
2005	4 134	61 372	28 260	33 112	14.8	6.8	8.0	1.88
2006	4 233	64 237	27 479	36 758	15.2	6.5	8.7	1.93
2007	4 339	71 389	28 050	42 570	16.4	6.5	9.9	2.04
2008	4 422	75 173	28 192	46 873	17.0	6.3	10.7	2.14
2009	4 459	75 554	28 898	45 380	16.9	6.3	10.6	2.10
2010	4 470	73 724	27 122	46 602	16.5	6.1	10.4	2.07
2011	4 588	74 650	28 995	45 655	16.3	6.3	10.0	2.04

Demographic statistics

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

Population

Figures from the CSO.

4,581,269 (2011)

4,585,400 (2012 preliminary estimate)

Age structure

0–14 years: 21.3% (male: 501,189; female: 478,401) (2011)

15–64 years: 67.0% (male: 1,558,196; female: 1,545,073) (2011)

65 years and over: 11.7% (male: 243,314; female: 292,079) (2011)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008)

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

Infant mortality rate

total:

3.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2011)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 80.19 years (2011)

male: 77.96 years (2011)

female: 82.55 years (2011)

Total fertility rate

2.1 children born/woman (2008)

HIV/AIDS

– adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.) - people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,800 (2008 est.)

Nationality

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

adjective: Irish

Nationalities in Ireland

Irish (including dual-Irish/other): 86.9%, UK: 2.5%, Other EU 27: 6.1%, Other Europe: 0.7%, Asia: 1.5%, Africa: 0.9%, USA: 0.2%, Other countries: 0.5%, Multiple nationality: 0.1%, Not stated: 1.2% (2011)

Ethnic groups

Irish & Irish Travellers (of largely Gaelic stock, with Norse (Norwegian), Norman, English, French, Scottish, and Welsh admixture), Ulster-Scots and various immigrant populations – the largest immigrant groups, with over 10,000 people, are the British (English and Welsh), Poles, Americans, Lithuanians, Scots, Latvians, Germans, Nigerians, and Chinese

Ethnic backgrounds: White Irish: 84.5%, Irish Travellers: 0.7%, Other White: 9.1% (total White: 94.3%), Asian: 1.9%, Black: 1.4%, Other: 0.9%, Not Stated: 1.6% (2011)

Religions

Roman Catholic 84.16%, No Religion 7.63%, Church of Ireland 2.81%, Islam 1.07%, Presbyterian 0.54%, Orthodox 0.99%, Methodist 0.15% (2011). In an Irish Times Behaviour Attitudes social poll published on Sept 15 2010, 32% of those surveyed said they went to a religious service more than once a week.^{[citation needed]}

Geographic Population Distribution

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

Rural population: 38.0% (2011)

Population pyramid of Ireland, 2001

Languages

English is the most commonly used language, with 94% of the population calling it their mother tongue. Irish, is the first official language of the state with 11% calling it their mother tongue. Irish is the main language of the Gaeltacht regions, where 96,628 people live. Shelta and Ulster Scots are also spoken by small communities. The main sign language used is Irish Sign Language.

Languages in republic of Ireland
Language			Percent
Irish			2%
English			94%
Irish and English(bilingual)			1%
others			3%

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99%

male: 99%

female: 99% (2003 est.)

See also

• Republic of Ireland Census 2011
• Ireland
• Irish diaspora
• Irish population analysis
• Republic of Ireland
• Stamp 4

Groups:

• Black people in Ireland
• Lithuanians in Ireland
• Turks in Ireland
• Polish minority in Ireland
• Roma in Ireland

External links

• Irish Central Statistics Office
• Historical Census Data
• Marketing Ireland