The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (19 December 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 8 – The Irish Language and Education. This press release highlights some of the main results for Kilkenny. A full list of county press releases is available.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Deirdre Lynch, Statistician in the Census Division, said: “Profile 8 looks at two distinct aspects of the Census 2022 results, the Irish language and the education of the population in detail. The report includes details on how many of us speak Irish, how often we do so, and to what level it is spoken. The topic of Education provides insights into the levels of qualifications achieved in the population, the age full-time education is ceased, early school leavers by age and sex, as well as the relationships between level of education and employment and economic status.”
Some highlights for Kilkenny
Irish Speakers
The number of people (aged three and over) who could speak Irish in Kilkenny increased by more than 2,300 to 41,037 in Census 2022. This was 42.8% of the county’s population aged three and over, compared with 41.5% in Census 2016. Nationally, almost 1.9 million people could speak Irish, or 40% of all people aged three and over. This was up by more than 112,500 people since 2016 (+6%). There were more female than male Irish speakers in the county, with 47% of females able to speak Irish compared with 39% of males. Females nationally were also more likely to be able to speak Irish than males, accounting for 55% of all Irish speakers.
Where People Spoke Irish
The number of people speaking Irish daily (within the education system only) fell slightly, from 12,901 in Census 2016 to 12,837 in Census 2022. There were 620 people speaking Irish daily (outside the education system only) compared with 651 people in 2016. The 2,178 people speaking Irish weekly (outside the education system only) was a slight increase on the 2,162 people who did so in 2016.
Fluency in Speaking Irish
The Irish language question was expanded in Census 2022 to ask those who spoke Irish how well they spoke it. In Kilkenny, 3,475 people who could speak Irish spoke it very well (8%), while 13,258 could speak it well (32%), and 23,091 people did not speak it well (56%). In Ireland overall, 10% of Irish speakers could speak the language very well with 32% speaking it well and 55% not speaking it well.
Level of Education
The number of people with a third level qualification in the county rose from almost 24,900 in 2016 to nearly 30,600 in 2022. This was a rate of 44% which was just below the national rate of 45%. There were 403 people in the county who held a PhD, which was 1% of all PhD holders in the country.
Almost 18,400 people, or 26% of all those aged 15 and over, had completed their full-time education at upper secondary level. This was up from just over 18,400 people in 2016. Nationally, almost 867,400 people had completed their education at upper secondary level (26%).
More than 10,800 people in the county in Census 2022 (15% of all those aged 15 and over) had completed their education at lower secondary level, compared with just over 11,200 people in Census 2016 who indicated they had done so. More than 446,000 people nationally had completed their education at lower secondary level (13%).
Almost 6,700 people aged 15 and over had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (10%). This was down from more than 8,100 people in 2016. Nationally, nearly 332,500 people had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (10%).
Age Completing Education
The average age at which people completed their full-time education increased in all counties between Census 2016 and Census 2022. In Kilkenny the average age rose from 19.6 years to 20.5 years. Nationally the average age went from 19.9 years to 20.8 years.