This publication is part of a series of results from Census 2022. More thematic publications will be published throughout 2023 as outlined in the Census 2022 Publication Schedule.
Tá leagan Gaeilge den leathanch seo ar fáil. Féach Achoimre ar Thorthaí.
The town with the largest population in the State was Drogheda in Louth, with 44,135 people counted there in 2022.
In Census 2022, there were 49 towns with a population over 10,000 people.
Among the towns with a population of 1,500 to 10,000 people, Saggart in Dublin was the youngest, with an average age of 30.4 years while Ballyshannon in Donegal and Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis in Kerry were the oldest, with an average age of 44.4 years.
Of the towns with a population of 10,000 or more, Balbriggan in Dublin was the youngest, with an average age of 33.6 years and Clonmel in Tipperary was the oldest, with an average age of 40.8 years.
It is the first time in 171 years that the State's population exceeded the five million threshold. In this period, 1851 to 2022, just five counties saw an increase in their population: Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, Meath and Louth.
Nearly 60% of the 5.1 million people usually resident in the State were living in the county of their birth. Cork had the highest percentage (72%) of residents born in the county. Meath had the lowest percentage (32%) of residents that were born in the county.
In the year prior to the census, 265,098 residents moved within the State. Of these, 29% moved to a different county.
Of the 112,548 households that moved in the year prior to Census 2022, 61% moved into a rented property, 23% to a property owned with a mortgage or loan and 11% to a property purchased without a mortgage or loan.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 June 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 1 Population Distribution and Movements. This is the first in a series of eight thematic profiles which will provide detailed results on specific areas of Census 2022. Profile 1 concentrates on the distribution of the population across our towns and cities, the place of birth of the usual residents of each county, and population movements into, within, and out of each county since 2016.
Commenting on the results, Dr Tracy Clegg, Statistician in the Census Division said:
“Profile 1 expands on the information provided in the Summary Results released last month. It includes detailed data on the distribution of the population in each county, and our towns and cities, the age profile of the population in them, and on the number of people moving into, within, and from each county since Census 2016. It also provides information on the types of tenure and types of accommodation of the people who moved (i.e. whether they owned/rented, whether they moved into houses, flats or apartments). This information at local level will be invaluable to local authorities, public bodies, local and community groups and is a key part of the picture of our population that the Census 2022 results will provide. We will continue to provide more detailed data and analysis in the remaining profiles across the rest of this year.
Population Distribution
The top 10 largest towns in the State remained almost the same compared with the settlements in 2016. Naas joined the list of the top 10 largest towns, while Newbridge dropped out. In 2022, Swords was the third largest town in the State, replaced by Dundalk as the second largest.
The top five largest towns in the State were all in Leinster: Drogheda, Dundalk, Swords, Navan and Bray. They were also the only ones with populations over 30,000 people.
Ennis, with a population of 27,923 people was the largest town in Munster, Letterkenny, with a population of 22,549 people, was the largest town in Ulster (part of) and Sligo, with a population of 20,608 people was the largest town in Connacht.
There were ten towns with a population of 10,000 or more people that had an average age less than 36 in 2022. 80% of these youngest towns were either in Dublin or in nearby counties such as Meath, Kildare and Laois. The most highly populated older towns were Bray, Kilkenny, Tralee, Wexford, Sligo, Malahide and Clonmel; all these towns had an average age of 39 years or over.
Over the 181 years between 1841 and 2022, the population of Dublin increased in all but one intercensal period (1861 to 1871). Populations for the majority of the other counties have generally begun to increase only since the 1960s and 1970s.
In 2022, the population was above the 1851 total. However, some of the counties that were the largest 171 years ago have not surpassed that population figure in the 2022 census. Cork's population was 10% lower in April 2022, Galway had 14% fewer residents than in 1851, Tipperary's population was 49% lower and Mayo had 50% fewer inhabitants than 171 years previously.
Place of Birth
Nearly 60% of the 5.1 million people who were usually resident in the State were living in the county of their birth. Cork had the highest percentage of all usual residents who were born and resident in the same county (72%). In contrast, only 32% of Meath residents were born in the county.
Of the 4,067,442 residents who were born in the State, 74% lived in the county they were born in.
The oldest (aged over 65) and youngest residents (aged under 15) were the most likely to be living in the county of their birth. One in five people who were usually resident at the time of the census were born abroad; this was an increase from 17% in 2016. Dublin had the highest percentage (25%) of residents who were born in another country. The age group 25 to 44 had the highest proportion of residents (32%) who were born in another country.
Internal Migration
Information on internal migration (movements within the country) comes from a question on usual residence one year prior to the census and applies to people aged one year and over only. In the year leading to Census 2022, 265,098 people moved within the State, with 29% moving to a different county. People who were resident in Roscommon in the year prior to the census and moved were the most likely to move to a different county (46%). Residents in Cork and Dublin one year previously were the least likely to move out of their county (18% and 23% of residents, respectively, moved to a different county).
The age at which residents were most likely to move to a new home was 26, with 15% of people at this age moving in the 12 months leading to the census.
Among all households that moved in the year prior to Census 2022, 61% moved into rented accommodation, 23% to a property owned with a mortgage or loan and 11% to a home owned outright.
Households moving to a rented property were most likely to move to a flat or apartment (49%). Nearly 70% of households moving into a home owned with a mortgage or loan moved into a detached or semi-detached house. More than half (52%) of the households moving into a property owned without a mortgage or loan moved to detached houses.
Appreciation
The publication of Census 2022 results could not have been achieved without the overwhelmingly positive response from the public and we thank everyone who completed their census form on 03 April 2022. We would also like to thank everyone involved in the Census 2022 campaign culminating in today’s successful publication of the results.”