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 Westmeath. 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 Westmeath
Irish Speakers
The number of people (aged three and over) who could speak Irish in Westmeath increased by almost 1,400 to 33,598 in Census 2022. This was 39.1% of the county’s population aged three and over, compared with 38.9% 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 43% of females able to speak Irish compared with 35% 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 10,516 in Census 2016 to 10,357 in Census 2022. There were 436 people speaking Irish daily (outside the education system only) compared with 512 people in 2016. The 1,691 people speaking Irish weekly (outside the education system only) was a slight decrease on the 1,700 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 Westmeath, 2,544 people who could speak Irish spoke it very well (8%), while 10,844 could speak it well (32%), and 19,111 people did not speak it well (57%). 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 20,600 in 2016 to just over 26,200 in 2022. This was a rate of 42% compared with 45% nationally. There were 437 people in the county who held a PhD, which was 1.1% of all PhD holders in the country.
Almost 16,900 people, or 27% of all those aged 15 and over, had completed their full-time education at upper secondary level. This was up from just over 16,400 people in 2016. Nationally, almost 867,400 people had completed their education at upper secondary level (26%).
Just over 8,800 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 8,700 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 6,400 people aged 15 and over had completed their education at primary level or had no formal education (10%). This was down from 7,400 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 Westmeath the average age rose from 19.7 years to 20.5 years. Nationally the average age went from 19.9 years to 20.8 years.