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Demographic Profile of Farm Holders

Demographic Profile of Farm Holders

CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Sex of Farm Holder

In 2023, there were 115,655 (86.8%) male farm holders and 17,519 (13.2%) female farm holders.

Over the ten-year period from 2013 to 2023, there was an increase in the percentage of female farm holders. In 2023, the percentage of female farm holders was 13.2%, compared to 11.9% in 2013.

X-axis labelFemaleMale
201311.988.1
201611.788.3
202013.404474329257986.6
202313.286.8
Table 3.1 Sex of Farm Holder (2013-2023)

In 2023, the West region had the highest proportion of female farm holders (13.9%). The Midlands region had the lowest proportion with 11.6%.

The county with the highest proportion of male farm holders was Monaghan (89.8%), while Mayo reported the highest proportion of female farm holders (15.5%).

Map 3.1 Percentage of Female Holders by Region, 2023
Table 3.2 Sex of the Holder by Region and County, 2023

In general, larger farms were more likely to have a male holder, approximately 90% of the farm holders for farms larger than 50 ha were male. 

17.4% of farm holders on farms less than 10 ha were female, compared to 13.2% for all farm sizes.

X-axis labelFemaleMale
Less than 10ha17.482.6
10 - 20ha14.385.7
20 - 30ha12.287.8
30 - 50ha10.489.6
50 - 100ha9.190.9
100ha +10.789.3
Table 3.3 Sex of the Holder by Farm Size, 2023

Specialist Dairying farms had the highest proportion of male holders (92.8%) while Mixed Field Crops farms had the highest proportion of female farm holders (23.6%).

X-axis labelFemaleMale
Mixed Field Crops22.977.1
Other18.981.1
Specialist Sheep17.882.2
Specialist Beef Production 12.387.7
Specialist Tillage11.588.5
Mixed Grazing Livestock10.889.2
Mixed Crops and Livestock8.791.3
Specialist Dairying7.292.8
Table 3.4 Sex of the Holder by Farm Type, 2023

Age of Farm Holder

The average (mean) age of farm holders in 2023 was 59.4 years. 

Just over 50 thousand, or more than one third (37.8%) of farm holders were aged 65 and over, while around six thousand, or less than one in twenty (4.3%) were aged under 35 years. 

The number of farm holders in each of the age categories <35 years, 35-44 years, 45-54 years, and 55-64 has decreased over the period from 2013 to 2023. The number of holders aged <35 years decreased by 2,425 (-29.5%), the number aged 35-44 decreased by 7,897 (-34.6%), the number aged 45-54 decreased by 8,393 (-23.8%), while the number aged 55-64 fell by 393 (-1.1%). 

Over this 10 year period between 2013 and 2023, the number of farm holders aged 65 and over has increased sharply from 37,705 to 50,392 (+33.6%).

X-axis label<3535 - 4445 - 5455 - 6465+
20135.916.425.325.527
20165.415.623.725.330
20206.913.821.924.632.7
20234.311.220.226.437.8
Table 3.5 Age of the Farm Holder (2013-2023)

Table 3.6 Average Age of Farm Holder by Region and County, 2023

In general, farm holders were younger on larger farms than on smaller farms. The mean age of the holder on farms sized 30-50 ha, 50-100 ha and 100 ha was 59.0, 58.3 and 58.4 years respectively. Comparatively, the mean age of the holder on farms sized <10 ha, 10-20 ha and 20-30 ha was 59.7, 60.3 and 59.9 years respectively. 

Holders were youngest on farms sized 50-100 ha, with a mean age of 58.3 years. The oldest holders were found on farms sized 10-20 ha with a mean age of 60.3 years.

X-axis labelMean Age of Holder
Less than 10ha59.7
10 - 20ha60.3
20 - 30ha59.9
30 - 50ha59
50 - 100ha58.3
100ha +58.4
Table 3.7 Average Age of Farm Holder by Farm Size, 2023

Farm holders were oldest on Mixed Field Crops farms and Specialist Beef Production farms with mean ages of 61.9 and 60.1 years respectively.

The lowest average age was recorded on Specialist Sheep farms with a mean age of 57.3 years.

X-axis labelAverage Age of Holder
Specialist Tillage58.8
Specialist Dairying57.7
Specialist Beef Production60.1
Specialist Sheep57.3
Mixed Grazing Livestock58.6
Mixed Crops and Livestock59.5
Mixed Field Crops61.9
Other59.4
Table 3.8 Average Age of Farm Holder by Farm Type, 2023

The number of male holders under 65 years has decreased by 18,701 (-20.4%) since 2013. 

The number of male and female holders who are aged 65 or more has increased by 10,923 (+34.4%) and 1,764 (+29.5%) respectively.

In the same time period, the number of male holders ages less than 35 years has decreased by 2,496 (-32.8%) while the number of female holders in this category has increased by 71 (+11.9%).

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X-axis labelMaleFemale
<35 years5121670
35 - 44 years131991741
45 - 54 years237823082
55 - 64 years309074280
65+ years426467746
Table 3.9 Farm Holders by Age and Sex (2013-2023)