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 Meath. 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 |
-- ENDS --
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 Meath
Irish Speakers in Gaeltacht areas
The population of the Meath Gaeltacht increased from just over 1,850 to 2,093. This included 1,989 people aged three and over, and of these 1,179 could speak Irish. This was an increase of 117 people who could speak Irish (11%), the second highest rate of increase in Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas.
The number of people speaking Irish daily within and outside the education system decreased from 92 to 71. There were 205 people who spoke Irish daily (outside the education system only) which was up from 191 in 2016. The number of people who spoke Irish weekly (outside the education system only) increased slightly to 123 from 111.
The Irish language question was expanded in Census 2022 to ask those who spoke Irish how well they spoke it. There were 425 people who spoke Irish very well while 344 spoke it well and 394 did not speak it well.
Irish Speakers Overall
The number of people (aged three and over) who could speak Irish in Meath increased by almost 9,100 to 80,822 in Census 2022. This was 39.8% of the county’s population aged three and over, compared with 39.4% 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 44% of females able to speak Irish compared with 36% 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) went up slightly, from 26,819 in Census 2016 to 27,566 in Census 2022. There were 1,696 people speaking Irish daily (outside the education system only), compared with 1,514 people in 2016. The 4,435 people speaking Irish weekly (outside the education system only) was a slight increase on the 4,018 people who did so in 2016.
Fluency in Speaking Irish
In Meath, 8,002 people who could speak Irish spoke it very well (10%) while 26,279 could speak it well (33%) and 44,483 people did not speak it well (55%). 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 47,200 in 2016 to almost 62,600 in 2022. This was 45% of the population aged 15 and over in Census 2022, up from 39% in 2016. Meath’s percentage of people with a third level qualification was the same as the national rate of 45%. There were 1,003 people in the county who held a PhD, which was 3% of all PhD holders in the country.
Slightly more than 38,700 people, or 28% of all those aged 15 and over, had completed their full-time education at upper secondary level. This was up from almost 36,100 people in 2016. Nationally, almost 867,400 people had completed their education at upper secondary level (26%).
Nearly 18,800 people in the county in Census 2022 (14% of all those aged 15 and over) had completed their education at lower secondary level, compared with almost 18,300 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%).
Just over 12,300 people aged 15 and over had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (9%). This was down from almost 13,300 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 Meath the average age rose from 19.6 years to 20.4 years. Nationally the average age went from 19.9 years to 20.8 years.