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 number of families with no children saw an increase of 11% since 2016 and of 14% when compared with 2011.
There were 20% more one-parent father families with children who were renting than in Census 2016.
The number of same-sex couples increased by 157% when compared with 2011 and stood at 10,393 in Census 2022.
Since 2016, the number of cohabiting couples without children living in private households went up by 17%, more than twice the growth rate of married couples without children living in private households.
In Census 2022, 8% of all persons in private households lived alone, including 44% of those aged 85 years and over.
Of the 522,486 adults living with their parents, over half were in employment with 54% of males and 50% of females being at work.
There were 50% more adult unpaid carers living with their parents in 2022 than 2016.
Of the 331,783 children aged under 15 who were in childcare, 3% or 9,789 reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent or a lot.
*The percentage of heads of households in families who declared non-Irish citizenship was corrected from 14% to 12% on 31 August 2023 at 12pm.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (31 August 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 3 Households, Families and Childcare. This is the third in a series of eight thematic profiles which will provide detailed results on specific areas of Census 2022. This profile looks at a variety of topics, including the number and type of families in the country, the composition and average size of private households, the number of children per family, adults living with their parents and their principal economic status, people living alone, and childcare arrangements for children aged under 15 years.
Commenting on the release, Deirdre Lynch, Statistician in the Census Division, said:
“This profile reports on Households and Families in Ireland from Census 2022. The results show that the number of family units increased by more than 5% to 1,279,951 between 2016 and 2022 and was 59% higher when compared with census 1996. The number of families with no children grew by 11% since 2016 to 394,052 and the average number of children per family decreased to 1.34 in 2022 from 1.38 in 2016.
There was a 157% increase in the number of same-sex couples since 2011, with 10,393 same-sex couples recorded in Census 2022. Looking at the data on couples without children living in private households, the number of cohabiting couples without children increased at more than twice the rate of married couples without children between 2016 and 2022 (up 17% compared with an 8% increase since 2016 respectively).
The number of adults aged 18 years and over living with their parents increased by 14% since 2016 with 522,846 adults living with their parents recorded in Census 2022.
Almost one-third (331,783) of children under the age of 15 in the State were in some form of childcare. A crèche or a similar facility was the most common form of childcare (42%), followed by childcare provided by an unpaid relative or family member (28%).
Families
There were 1,279,951 families in the State on Census Night in 2022, an increase of 5% since 2016 and of 59% since Census 1996. While the number of families grew in the 1996 to 2022 period, the average number of children per family fell between 1996 and 2006 from 1.82 to 1.41 before levelling off in 2016 (1.38) and 2022 (1.34).
There were over five times more one-parent mother families (186,487) than one-parent father families (33,509) in Census 2022, a ratio of 5.6 to 1. This ratio was higher in both 2011 and 2016 when there were more than six times as many one-parent mother than one-parent father family units.
The number of families renting their accommodation rose by 3% since Census 2016 and stood at 317,896. The largest increase in the number of family units in rental accommodation was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, up 10% (+1,324 more families renting) compared with 2016.
Just over 87% of heads of households in families stated they were Irish citizens while 12%* declared non-Irish citizenship. There was a higher proportion of non-Irish families with no children (32%) compared with Irish family units (31%). The average number of children in families headed by an Irish citizen was 1.36 compared with an average of 1.22 where the head of household was non-Irish.
The number of same-sex couples has increased by 157% since 2011 and by 72% when compared with 2016. Of the 10,393 same-sex couples recorded in Census 2022, 5,930 were male couples with the remaining 43% female. The largest increases in the number of same-sex couples since 2016 were in Meath, 152% (+194 couples) and in Roscommon, 143% (+40 couples).
Private Households and Living Alone
The total number of households in 2022 was just over 1.8 million, while the number of persons counted in private households was 5,046,681. The average household size decreased slightly to 2.74 from 2.75 in 2016 but declined markedly from 3.34 in 1991.
Among all family types, single parents were most likely to share their home with unrelated people, with 19% of one-parent fathers and 14% of one-parent mothers living in private households with other people.
In Census 2022, there were 425,974 people living alone, or 8% of all persons in private households. This represented a rise of 7% since 2016. Nearly half (48%) of the people who lived alone were female. Looking at age profile, more than 25% of those aged 65 and over lived alone. This increased to 44% among those aged over 85. Out of all people living alone, just over 16% were renting their accommodation from a private landlord.
Adults Living with Their Parents
The number of adults aged 18 years and over living with their parents went up by 14% since 2016 and stood at 522,486. More than 61% of 20-to-24-year-olds lived with their parents in 2022, up from 54% in 2011 and from 59% in 2016. However, the largest percentage increase was among adults aged 50 years and older living with their parents: up 26% (+3,796) since 2016 and 56% (+6,730) since 2011.
Nearly 25,000 adults living with their parents were unpaid carers in 2022. This represented 5% of all people aged 18 years and over living with their parents and a 50% increase when compared with Census 2016.
There were more adult males than females living with their parents, particularly among the older age groups. Approximately 4% of all females living with their parents were unemployed having lost or given up their previous job; the proportion among males was higher at 8%.
South Dublin and Louth continued to have among the highest proportions of adults living with their parents: in South Dublin it was 16% in 2022, up from 15% in 2016, and in Louth it was 15% in 2022, up from 14% in 2016. Galway City had the lowest proportion of adults living with their parents, at 9% up from 8% in 2016.
Childcare
Out of the 1,012,287 children aged under 15 in the State, almost one-third (331,783) were in some form of childcare during term time. A crèche or a similar facility along with an unpaid relative or family member were the most common forms of childcare.
The majority of children in childcare were cared for either up to 10 hours per week or for 11 to 20 hours per week, 33% and 30%, respectively. Only 5% were in childcare for 41 hours or more per week.
Of the 331,783 children, those at primary school age (5 to 12 years) were the most likely to be in some type of childcare. A crèche or similar facility was the most common form of childcare used among 0-to-4-year-olds (56%). A third of children aged 5 to 12 were minded by an unpaid relative or family member with a further third being in a crèche/Montessori/playgroup or afterschool. Children at secondary school age (13 to 14 years) were most likely to be minded by an unpaid relative (64%).
The most common three parental socio-economic groups with children in childcare were Employers & Managers, Lower Professionals and Non-Manual. Higher Professional parents mainly used a crèche or similar facility for their children while Farmers and Lower Professional groups were more likely to avail of a childminder (in the childminder’s home) than other groups.
Children of cohabiting couples and single mothers were most likely to be in a crèche or similar facility (47%). Nearly one in five married couples used a childminder (in the childminder's home) compared with 13% of cohabiting couples. An au pair/nanny/childminder (in the child's home) was more than twice as common among married couples (7%) than among cohabiting couples (3%).
A total of 9,789 children in childcare reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent or a lot, accounting for 3% of children in childcare. Of these, 2,826 (29%) were aged 0 to 4 years, 62% were aged 5 to 12 years, and 9% were aged 13 to 14 years.
Appreciation
The publication of Census 2022 results could not have been achieved without the overwhelmingly positive response from the public and we thank everyone who completed their census form on 03 April 2022. We would also like to thank everyone involved in the Census 2022 campaign culminating in today’s successful publication of the results.”
For more commentary on the Census 2022 Profile 3 Households, Families and Childcare results, please see the Press Release.