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Press Statement

Census of Population 2022 Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movements

CSO press statement,

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (29 June 2023) published Census of Population 2022 Profile 1- Population Distribution and Movements.

Tá leagan Gaeilge den leathanch seo ar fáil. Féach Preasráiteas - Daonáireamh 2022- Próifíl 1 - Dáileadh agus Gluaiseachtaí Daonra.

Census 2022 results shows that Cork has the highest proportion of residents (72%) born in the county while Meath has the lowest (32%)

  • Drogheda was the largest town in Ireland with a population of 44,135.

  • There were 49 towns in the country with a population above 10,000 in 2022.

  • Among the smaller towns with a population of 1,500 – 10,000,  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, both with an average age of 44.4 years.

  • In the bigger towns, those with a population of 10,000 or more people, 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.

  • Cork had the highest percentage (72%) of residents born in the county while Meath had the lowest percentage (32%) of residents who were born in the county.

  • In the year prior to the census, 265,098 people moved residence within Ireland. Of these, 29% moved to a different county.

  • Of the 112,548 households that moved to another home in the year prior to 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.

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 (ie 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.”

Some of the Highlights of Profile 1

Population Distribution

In April 2022, Louth, Ireland’s smallest county in size, had the two largest towns in the State, Drogheda (44,135 people) and Dundalk (43,112 people).
The five towns with the highest populations nationally were in Leinster, with Swords (40,776), Navan (33,886), and Bray (33,512) completing the list.
Ennis was the next largest town with 27,923 people. Sligo (20,608 people) and Letterkenny (22,549 people) had the highest populations in Connacht and Ulster (part of) respectively. 

Age Profile of Towns

There were 49 towns in the country with a population of 10,000 or more. The majority of these (33) were in Leinster, 11 were in Munster, three in Connacht and two in Ulster (part of). Balbriggan was the youngest large town with an average age of 33.6 years. Clonmel, with an average age of 40.8 years, was the oldest large town.

There were 164 towns with a population of 1,500 to 10,000 people. Just 12 of these towns had an average age under 33 years. Saggart in Dublin was the youngest town in this category, with an average age of 30.4 years in 2022. There were 12 towns in this category where the average age was above 42 years. Ballyshannon in Donegal, and Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis in Kerry, both with an average age of 44.4 years were the oldest in 2022. The majority of the oldest towns in this category were in the west, including towns in Kerry, Roscommon, Donegal, Cork and Clare.

Place of Birth

There were 5,084,879 usual residents (this means people who normally live in the country and were present in the state on Census Night) in Ireland on 03 April 2022. Of these, 59% (3,014,287) lived in the county in which they were born. A further 21% (1,053,155) were born elsewhere in the State. The remaining 20% of those living in Ireland in April 2022 (1,017,437 people) were born outside the State, which was up from 17% in 2016.

At 72%, Cork had the highest percentage of people born and resident in the same county. In contrast, only 32% of Meath residents were born in the county followed by 34% in Kildare and 35% in Wicklow. One in four of those living in Dublin were born in another country while 23% of those living in Monaghan and 22% in Donegal were born outside the State.

Recent Movers

Between April 2021 and April 2022, one in twenty residents, aged one year and over – 265,098 people – moved to a different home within Ireland. This was an increase of 0.6% (1,547 people) compared to 2016. Of those who moved in the 12 months to April 2022, 29% (76,683 people) were living in a different county prior to their move. Dublin county accounted for 35% of movers.

There was a 2% increase in the number of households moving in the year prior to the census compared with those who moved in the year prior to Census 2016.

Movers by Age

People aged 26 were most likely to move with 15% of those at this age moving in the year before Census 2022. The proportion moving after age 26 gradually decreased, with fewer than 2% of people aged 65 moving in the year before the census.

Movers by Destination

Movers in Roscommon and Leitrim were most likely to move to a different county, with 46% and 45% respectively, of movers doing so. One in four Dublin movers left the county. In Cork, 18% of movers left the county, which was the lowest rate for people moving to another county. 

Household Movers by Ownership Status and Accommodation Type

The majority of households that moved in the year to 2022 moved into a rented property (61%). Some 26,443 (23%) moved to a new home owned with a mortgage or loan. This was a 36% increase compared with 2016. Dublin households were most likely to move to a rented home (69%). Almost one in four movers by household in Roscommon moved to a home owned without a mortgage or loan. Movers by household in Donegal and Leitrim were proportionally more likely to move to a rent-free property, at 6% in each county.

Just over one in three households which moved in the year prior to Census 2022 moved to a flat or apartment. 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 those who moved to a property owned without a mortgage or loan moved to a detached house. 

Editor's Note

  • The census took place on Sunday, 03 April 2022. The census population figures relate to the de facto population which means everyone who was present in the State on the night of Sunday, 03 April 2022. The de facto population includes those who do not usually live in the State but were in the State on Census night.  It excludes those who do usually live in the State but who were temporarily absent outside of the State on Census night.
  • For Census 2022, the Central Statistics Office has introduced a new way of defining urban areas. These new urban areas, or Built-Up Areas (BUAs), were developed in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Ordnance Survey Ireland (now Tailte Éireann). The new BUA boundaries were created using a different approach to the Settlements used in Census 2016 so there is no direct comparison of the data for urban areas between the two censuses in this publication. Where the word ‘town’ is used in this release, it is referring to the BUAs. There is more detailed information on the BUAs available on the CSO website.
  • For census purposes, a person's place of birth is recorded as the place where their mother lived at the time of their birth. On the census form, people born in Ireland and Northern Ireland were asked to write in their county of birth, while people born abroad were asked to name their country of birth.
  • Profile 1 is the first in a series of thematic reports on Census 2022 following on from the Summary Report published on May 30 last. Further thematic reports will be published across the rest of the year, including profiles on housing, disability, health and carers, and employment. The remaining reports are as follows:
    • Profile 2 - Housing in Ireland
    • Profile 3 - Households, Families and Childcare
    • Profile 4 - Disability, Health and Carers
    • Profile 5 - Diversity, Migration, Ethnicity, Irish Travellers, and Religion
    • Profile 6 - Homelessness
    • Profile 7 - Employment, Occupations and Commuting
    • Profile 8 - The Irish Language and Education
  • Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS), which are statistics produced for a range of geographical levels from State to small areas, will be published in September. You can view the full Census 2022 Publication Schedule.
  • An infographic has been published for Census 2022 Profile 1 Population Distribution and Movements. Contact pressoffice@cso.ie if you require the infographic in a particular format.

Contacts

Kathleen Goulding (+353) 1 895 1413
Tony Downes (+353) 1 895 1319
Email censuspublicity@cso.ie
Emailpressoffice@cso.ie

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