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.
The census collects data on people aged one year and over who have moved to live in the State in the year leading up to the census. This data gives a breakdown of immigration patterns and characteristics of the people who arrived. Most of the statistics in this publication are reported on a usually resident and present basis and, unless stated otherwise, exclude visitors and people absent abroad on the night of the census.
There were 89,512 people who immigrated into the State in the year leading up to the 2022 census, up 9% from the equivalent period in Census 2016.
Approximately one in four immigrants were Irish citizens and three in four were citizens of countries other than Ireland.
The number of Irish citizens coming to live in the State in the year before the census fell by 21% to 22,137 compared with the same period leading up to Census 2016.
Irish immigrants were most likely to come from the UK, with nearly 6,000 Irish citizens moving from England and Wales, a further 2,006 people moving from Northern Ireland and nearly 500 from Scotland.
Australia was the next most common country of origin for Irish citizens with more than 2,500 arrivals in the year before Census 2022.
Other common countries of origin for Irish citizens were USA, Canada and the United Arab Emirates as well as European Union countries including Spain, Germany and France.
India was by far the most common country of origin of non-Irish citizens who came to live in the State in the year before the census with almost 10,000 arrivals.
Brazil was the second most common country of origin with 5,175 arrivals.
There were five European Union countries in the top 10, including Spain, Romania, France, Italy and Poland.
There were 4,247 non-Irish citizens who were living in Ukraine in the year prior to Census 2022 reflecting the impact of the Ukrainian crisis. This number may appear lower than expected because many Ukrainians did not identify as usual residents of the State and would therefore be excluded from this figure.
The age profile of recent migrants varied by country of citizenship.
UK citizens who came to live in the State were generally older, with 21% aged 55 years or over.
Irish citizens who immigrated in the year before the census were also older, with 23% aged 45 or older.
Nearly two-thirds of French citizens who came to live in the State in the year before Census 2022 were in their twenties.
Spanish immigrants were mostly aged between 20 and 29 years as well.
This section looks at home ownership status and average rent in households headed by migrants who arrived in the State in the year prior to the census.
Home ownership was 46% for households headed by Irish citizens who immigrated and 9% for non-Irish households.
In total, over 13,000 (80%) of households headed by a non-Irish citizen who migrated in the year leading to the census rented their home from a private landlord with an average weekly rent of €372.
In contrast, there were fewer than 2,800 (42%) private rentals with an average weekly rent of €360 where the head of the household was a recent Irish immigrant.
In both cases, the average weekly rent was much higher than the national average of €273.
The census asked if people had ever lived outside the Republic of Ireland for a period of one year or more. The question also asked the year of arrival in the State and the country of previous residence. This data can be broken down by place of birth to differentiate between people who left the State previously and have since returned and people who were born abroad and have come to live in the State.
People who moved to the Republic of Ireland in the 1960s through to the 1990s were mostly born in the State whereas since 2000, people who were born abroad make up a larger share of incoming migrants.
Changing migration trends show that up until 2000, people returning to the State from abroad were mostly coming back after a period living in the UK, with the USA the second most common country of origin.
More recent arrivals were people returning from a wider range of countries, with Australia featuring prominently since 2000.
About three-quarters of people who moved to the State up until 1990 and were born abroad moved here from the UK. In comparison, just one-quarter of people born abroad who moved to the State between 2001 and 2011 were coming from the UK and half were coming from other European countries.
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