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20 October 2021
Go to release: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 1 People and Society
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Due to a computational error, bullet point 2 has been revised on 03 November 2021 from "Smoking is more prevalent in the non-Irish national community than for Irish nationals, with 17% of non-Irish nationals reporting daily smoking compared to 9% of Irish nationals". |
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (20 October 2021) published The Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 1 People & Society, to mark today, European Statistics Day.
This year the CSO has split the Yearbook into three parts to make it easier for people to find the information they are looking for. These three parts are: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 1 People & Society published today; Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 2 Business & Economy (21 October 2021); and Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 3 Travel, Agriculture, Environment, COVID-19 and NISRA (22 October 2021).
Today’s Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2021: Part 1 People & Society presents a comprehensive picture of how we live in Ireland based on statistics published by the CSO throughout the year. Many of these statistics are based on information provided by the thousands of people around the country who have completed our surveys and we thank them for their input and look forward to the continued support of all our Household and Business Surveys. The CSO can compile such comprehensive reports…Because You Told Us.
Highlights
CSO surveys and analysis tells us that Ireland's Population breached the five million mark for the first time since the 1851 Census. Our population was estimated to be 5.01 million in April 2021, while the comparable population in 1851 was 5.11 million. The total population on the island of Ireland in 1851 was 6.6 million.
Dublin’s population increased by 8,300 in the year to April 2021, bringing the population of Dublin to almost 1.43 million, amounting to 28.5% of the State total. The Midlands, with just over 307,000 persons (6.1%), was the region with the smallest population in April 2021.
When it comes to Life Events, births to teenage mothers continues to decrease with 830 births to women under 20 recorded in 2020, compared to 1,199 in 2015. Grace pipped Fiadh to the most popular baby name spot for girls in 2020. Jack retained the top spot as the most popular boy’s name, while the top three surnames for babies were Murphy at 602 (1.1%), Kelly at 523 (0.9%) and O’Brien at 467 (0.8%).
There were 1,672 registered deaths where COVID-19 was assigned as the underlying cause of death in 2020. There were a further 167 mortality records where there was a mention of COVID-19 in the narrative of the death certificate and where the underlying cause of death was not COVID-19.
Marriage rates more than halved in 2020 most likely as a result of the pandemic, with December proving the most popular month for opposite-sex couples to tie the knot as restrictions eased. February was the most popular month for same-sex couples.
In the Labour Market, a similar ripple effect from COVID-19 can been seen in 184,100 persons who were classified as Unemployed in 2021 – a surge of 53,200 or 40.6% from 2019. The unemployment rate increased from 5.4% to 7.3% over the same period.
When it comes to our Health, in 2019 CSO surveys found that the South-West reports the highest levels of some form of depression (Mild to severe) at 18% of persons aged 15 years and over. The West region reports the lowest levels of some form of depression at 10%, a full 8 percentage points lower than the South-West region.
These surveys in 2019 provided data to back up the belief that men are more reluctant to visit their doctor, as 82% of females reported they visited a GP in the 12 months prior to survey, compared to 68% of men, and 63% of females visited a dentist compared to 52% of men.
Alcohol consumption and smoking is highest in the age group 25-34-years (84% of this age group consuming alcohol and 19% reporting they smoke daily), while the age group 75 years and over reporting the lowest levels of alcohol consumption (53%) and smoking (6% daily).
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Due to a computational error, this highlight has been revised on 03 November 2021 from "Alcohol consumption and smoking is highest in the age group 25-34-years (87% of this age group consuming alcohol and 14% reporting they smoke daily), while the age group 75 years and over reporting the lowest levels of alcohol consumption (56%) and smoking (4% daily)." |
Around a quarter (26%) of persons with disabilities in 2019 report having unmet health care needs in the 12 months prior to interview due to waiting times, compared to a State average of 14% of persons aged 15 years and over.
When it comes to Carers and Social Supports, CSO surveys in 2019 found that more females (14%) than males (11%) are carers, and 19% of carers report some form of depression (with mild depression accounting for 13 percentage points of this), compared to 13% of non-carers (with mild depression accounting for 8% of this).
The pandemic also had an impact on Crime, as the total number of recorded crimes in 2020 fell sharply in the categories of Burglary & Related Offences (down by 5,810, or 34.7%) and Theft & Related Offences (down by 16,684, or 24.5%).
CSO surveys also show that in terms of Education in 2021, 45% of those aged 15 to 64 years (excluding Other/Not Stated) had a third level qualification while almost 82% of all persons aged between 15 and 64 years attained education levels of higher secondary level or above. Less than 5% (4.6%) of persons aged 15 to 64 years had not progressed beyond primary level education.
Looking at Social Inclusion, our research found that the education level of parents is associated with the education of their children. Respondents were more likely to attain a third level education if either parent had also gone to college with almost 78% attaining a third level education in 2019 if at least one of their parents had done so compared with just over 27% of those whose parents had a lower secondary education or below.
It also emerged that respondents who as teenagers lived in households with no working parents were more likely to be at risk of poverty as adults in 2019 (almost 21%), compared with those that lived in households with two working parents (7.1%).
Looking at results from our first CSO Pulse Survey 2021, Life at Home, respondents living with a(n opposite sex) partner were more likely to report disagreements with their partner about household chores than about financial decisions and female respondents were slightly more likely to report having disagreements than men.
Of those who live on their own 92% said they feel safe and secure in their home while 39% of those living alone aged 46-55 and 56-65 often feel under financial pressure compared to 22% of those aged over 65 years.
Respondents (87%) felt that their pet has a positive impact on their mental health and well-being, 28% of respondents had a dog only, 12% a cat only and 7% had both. In terms of Internet Usage, CSO surveys found that in 2020 almost all households with dependent children have internet access. This compares with just 79% of households comprised of one adult with no dependent children.
Following the introduction in mid-March 2020 of the COVID-19 emergency measures, more people chose to shop online. Almost seven in ten (69%) internet users purchased goods and/or services online in 2020, an increase of six percentage points on 2019. The number of females purchasing online (in the previous three months) was substantially higher than males. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of females purchased online, compared with 64% of males. In the three months prior to the survey, more than half (52%) of persons aged 60 to 74 years purchased online from 39% over the same period in 2019.
One third (33%) of internet users made online purchases of Ready-made food delivered (from restaurants, fast food chains or catering delivery services) in the three months prior to the survey, while 17% of internet users bought Food/Beverages from Stores or Meal-Kit Providers.
People also chose Social Networking (includes creating user profiles, posting messages or other contributions to Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, etc.) to communicate with friends, family, work and school groups, etc in 2020 with 69% of internet users engaged in such communication channels, an increase of one percentage point on 2019.
In relation to home automation solutions, nearly one in five (19%) people in 2020 use a virtual assistant in their home (in the form of a smart speaker or app, such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa/Echo/computer, Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana, Bixby, etc.). One in seven of internet users (15%) use Internet-Connected Home Energy Systems such as internet-connected thermostat, utility meters, lights, plug-ins or other internet-connected solutions for energy management in the home, while 14% use Internet-Connected Home Security Systems such as internet-connected home alarm system, smoke detector, security cameras, door locks or other such security/safety solutions for the home. Internet-Connected Home Appliances such as robot vacuums, fridges, ovens, coffee machines, etc. are used by 4% of internet users.
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