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 26th census since 1841 was carried out on the night of Sunday, 03 April 2022 in accordance with the Statistics (Census of Population) Order 2020 and in order to facilitate the EU requirements arising from the implementing legislation associated with Regulation (EC) No. 763/2008 on population and housing censuses.
The census population figures in this report relate to the de facto population meaning persons who were present in the State on the night of Sunday, 03 April 2022. The de facto population includes persons who do not usually live in Ireland but who were in the State on Census Night. It excludes persons who usually live in Ireland but who were temporarily absent, outside of the State, on Census Night. Persons who were present in the State were enumerated and are reported at the location where they spent Census Night. This may not have been the location where they usually live.
The 26th census was originally scheduled to take place on the night of Sunday, 08 April 2021. Following advice from the CSO, the government decided in September 2020 to postpone the census for approximately one year owing to the ongoing difficulties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the purposes of census enumeration, the State was divided into 6 Census Liaison Areas, 46 Regions, 466 Field Districts and 5,100 Enumeration Areas. Census Enumerators were assigned to these Enumeration Areas and, during the five weeks before Census Night, delivered census questionnaires to all dwellings that were expected to be occupied on Sunday, 03 April 2022. Each address within an Enumeration Area was recorded as either occupied, unoccupied or not suitable for habitation.
The collection of completed questionnaires took place between Monday, 04 April and Friday, 06 May 2022.
The data in this report is based on the information handwritten on the census forms. After collection, the census forms were returned to CSO where they were scanned to capture and digitize the handwritten information. This digitized information was then processed to prepare it for publication.
The date of the census was chosen to coincide with a period when as many people as possible were at their home address and consequently the figures closely approximate the normally resident population.
The de facto measure of the population represents all persons who were present in the State on Census Night, irrespective of whether they were usually resident in the State at the time of the census.
The usually resident and present measure of the population refers to all persons who usually live in Ireland and who were present in the State on Census Night. It excludes persons who were not usually resident in the State on Census Night but who were present and persons who were usually resident in the State but were outside the State on Census Night.
The usually resident and present measure is used when analysing topics such as country of citizenship and households and families.
The reference person in each private household is the first person in the household identified as a parent, spouse, cohabiting partner or head of a non-family household containing related persons. Where no person in the household satisfied these criteria, the first usually resident person was used as the reference person. In this publication, the reference person is referred to as the ‘head of household’.
A private household comprises either one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address with common housekeeping arrangements - that is, sharing at least one meal a day or sharing a living room or sitting room. In order to be included in the household, a person had to be a usual resident at the time of the census. Therefore, visitors to the household on Census Night were excluded, while usual residents temporarily absent (for less than 12 months) were included. A permanent private household is a private household occupying a permanent dwelling such as a house, flat or bed-sit. A temporary private household is a private household occupying a caravan, mobile home or other temporary dwelling.
A private dwelling is the room or set of rooms occupied by a private household in a permanent housing unit. There is thus a one to one correspondence between such private households and private dwellings and the numbers of these entities are the same in all instances.
For census purposes, an adult living with their parents is defined as a person aged 18 years or over who usually lived with their parents at the time of the census, meaning they were either a son or a daughter of the head of the household. The relationship questions on the census form captured links between household members for private dwellings only. The definition omits adults who may be living with their parents but who themselves are head of a second or third family unit within the same dwelling. For example, an adult daughter living with her parents, but also with her own partner and child in the same home is not included in this category.
A family unit or nucleus is defined as:
1. a married or cohabiting couple; or
2. a married or a cohabiting couple together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age); or
3. one parent together with one or more usually resident never-married children (of any age).
Family members have to be usual residents of the relevant household. The determination of household and family composition is based on responses to the question on the census form dealing with relationships within the household.
The classification below is used for family units.
Younger couple: Family nucleus of married or cohabiting couple without children where the female partner is under 45 years, or in the case of a same-sex couple, where the partner of the head of household is under 45 years. In previous censuses, this category was referred to as 'Pre-family'.
Older couple: Family nucleus of married or cohabiting couple without children where the female partner is aged between 45 and 64 years, or in the case of a same-sex couple, where the partner of the head of household is between 45 and 64 years. In previous censuses, this category was referred to as 'Empty nest'.
Retired: Family nucleus of married or cohabiting couple without children where the female partner is aged 65 years and over, or in the case of a same-sex couple, where the partner of the head of household is aged 65 years or over.
Pre-school: Family nucleus where the oldest child is aged 0 to 4 years.
Early-school: Family nucleus where the oldest child is aged 5 to 9 years.
Pre-adolescent: Family nucleus where the oldest child is aged 10 to 14 years.
Adolescent: Family nucleus where the oldest child is aged 15 to 19 years.
Adult: Family nucleus where the oldest child is aged 20 years and over.
The entire population was classified to one of ten specific socio-economic groups (introduced in 1996). In addition, a residual group entitled 'All others gainfully occupied and unknown' was used where sufficient details were not provided. The classification aims to bring together persons with similar social and economic statuses on the basis of the level of skill or educational attainment required. In defining socio-economic group no attempt is made to rank groups in order of socio-economic importance.
The socio-economic group of persons aged 15 years and over who are at work is determined by their occupation and employment status. A break in the time series has occurred for socio-economic group between Census 2022 and previous census results. In 2022, the socio-economic group framework was rebased to incorporate the SOC2010 classification unlike previous census results published. It was possible to rebase socio-economic group using a derivation matrix developed by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER)1 in conjunction with the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Although the categories remain the same, it is important to note the break in time series when comparing historical tables to Census 2022 results.
Unemployed or retired persons aged 15 years and over are classified according to their former occupation and employment status.
Persons looking after the home/family or at school/college, who are members of a family unit, were classified to the socio-economic group of another person in the family unit using a priority table based on the relationships within the family.
Thus, if the reference person of a family was at work, unemployed or retired, other persons were assigned to his/her socio-economic group. If the reference person was neither at work, unemployed nor retired (e.g. never worked, permanently disabled, etc), they were assigned to the socio-economic group of the other parent, spouse or cohabiting partner in the family unit. If there was no such spouse or partner or if the spouse, in turn, was neither at work, unemployed or retired, they were assigned to the socio-economic group of a working son/daughter. If there were no persons in the family unit with a socio-economic group, then they were assigned to the unknown socio-economic group. Other persons looking after the home/family or at school/college who were not members of a family unit, such as relatives of the reference person (e.g. widowed grandparents, etc), were assigned a socio-economic group using the above method. Unrelated persons or persons living alone who are looking after the home/family or at school/college were assigned to the unknown group.
The socio-economic groups used in the census are as follows:
| Socio-economic Groups | |
| A | Employers and managers |
| B | Higher professional |
| C | Lower professional |
| D | Non-manual |
| E | Manual skilled |
| F | Semi-skilled |
| G | Unskilled |
| H | Own account workers |
| I | Farmers |
| J | Agricultural workers |
| Z | All others gainfully occupied and unknown |
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