The population of the Republic of Ireland grew by 7.6% between 2016 and 2022 to 5.1 million people, preliminary results from the 2022 census show.
All counties in the Republic of Ireland saw their population increase, with Longford showing the highest percentage increase.
The number of people living in the state rose to 5,123,536 on census night April 3, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics.
This is the highest population recorded in a census since 1841 and the first time the population has exceeded 5 million since 1851.
All counties show population growth since 2016.
Longford saw the biggest percentage increase (+14.1%), followed by Meath (+12.9%).
In the six years between the 2016 census and the 2022 census, there was net in-migration of over 190,000 people.
The country’s housing stock rose to 2.1 million (+6%)
Vacant homes (excluding second homes) fell to 166,752 (-9%)
Commenting on the post, Census Division senior statistician Cormac Halpin said: “Preliminary results show a census night population of 5,123,536. This is a 7.6% increase since 2016. It is also the highest population recorded in a census since 1841.
“There were 2,593,600 women and 2,529,936 men registered, representing an increase of 7.7% and 7.5% respectively. natural increase) of 190,333.
“The counties with the strongest population growth were in Leinster. Longford grew by more than 14%, with Meath, Kildare and Fingal also growing strongly. Unlike the 2016 census, when three counties (Mayo, Sligo and Donegal) had declines in their population, preliminary results show that each county’s population has increased since 2016. In Leinster, 10 out of 12 counties showed a percentage increase above the national average, with Offaly (+6.0%) and Kilkenny (+4.5%), being lower.
“In Munster, Waterford (+9.4%) recorded a higher percentage increase than the state as a whole. Leitrim (+9.5%) and Roscommon (+8.4%) posted a percentage increase higher than the national rate, while Cavan, Donegal, or Monaghan did not,” he said.
Halpin said the preliminary results also provide initial numbers on the country’s housing stock. “Preliminary results show that the total housing stock as of April 3, 2022 was 2,124,590, an increase of 6.0% compared to the 2016 figure. There were 16,560 fewer vacant dwellings (-9.0 %) in 2022 compared to 2016. This does not include second homes, which numbered 66,135, compared to 62,148 in 2016.
Mr Halpin added: “The release of these preliminary results, less than 12 weeks after census night, is only possible thanks to the commitment and dedication of our census field staff and permanent census staff. in Swords, as well as the continued support of the census to the public.
“The CSO would like to thank both the staff involved in the census for their hard work and the public for their overwhelmingly positive response and commitment to our national census.
“The results provide valuable initial information on how our population and housing has changed and developed since the 2016 census. We are busy working on the completed census forms and can’t wait to start sharing the full set. detailed results from April next year,” Mr Halpin said.