Among young adults (aged 15 to 24 years), females at 4.4% were three times as likely as males (1.4%) to report bad or very bad health in 2025.
Younger respondents reported higher rates of poor general mental health. Females aged 15 to 24 years had the highest prevalence, with one in eight (12.8%) rating their mental health as bad or very bad.
Among 15 to 24 year olds in 2025, 7.7% of males received a diagnosis of autism compared with 4.5% of females.
In 2025, the highest rate of obesity was among those aged 55 to 64 years with 30.6% of females and 29.3% of males in this age group being classified as such.
Adults aged 55 to 64 years were the most likely to drink alcohol at least once a week at 50.1%. Young adults aged 15 to 24 years were the least likely to drink alcohol weekly at 24.1%.
Males were more likely to be daily smokers of tobacco than females. Almost a quarter (24.0%) of males aged 35 to 44 years were daily smokers of tobacco in 2025, the highest rate of any age group.
One third (32.5%) of females aged 15 to 24 years who used social media reported it had a negative impact on their mental health compared with 24.9% of males the same age.
The Irish Health Survey (IHS) is an annual survey that includes more than 100 questions on various aspects of a person’s health. It is modelled on the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) and captures each respondent’s view of their health status, access to healthcare, and their health determinants (the social and environmental factors that influence people’s health).
Examples of modules in the survey include:
This release includes a small selection of results from the survey. More results, along with disaggregations by age, sex, and HSE regional health area, are available in the Data chapter.
Data collection was conducted between July and December 2025, mainly via an online questionnaire. In a selection of cases, a personal interview was conducted. This differs to the 2024 wave which was conducted entirely online during November and December 2024. Previous iterations, in 2015 and 2019, were undertaken by interviewers or by using self-completed paper forms and were collected at a different time of year. Differences in data collection methods and timings should be considered when making direct comparisons between results in 2025 and results in 2024, 2019, and 2015.
For further information, please see Background Notes.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (20 May 2026) published the Irish Health Survey – Main Results for 2025.
Commenting on today’s release, Stephen Lee, Statistician in the Health Division, said: “The statistics presented in this release are drawn from a comprehensive survey carried out in 2025 examining the health of people in Ireland. Almost 8,000 individuals aged 15 years and over were asked more than 100 questions, through a combination of online and personal interviews, about their health status, access to healthcare, and health determinants such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
The release provides a selection of key findings from the survey, with extensive additional data available on the CSO’s open data portal, data.cso.ie, or PxStat. A comprehensive list of statistics is included in the Data chapter of this release, with further breakdowns available by age, sex, and HSE regional health area.
An important feature of the survey is its value to health researchers. The Health Research Data Centre can facilitate access to the data, subject to the required procedures. An anonymised microdata file (AMF) will also be made available for educational use through the Irish Social Science Data Archive.
The CSO would like to thank all those who participated in the survey and took the time to share information about their health.
General Health Status
Some 5.4% of people had bad or very bad general health in 2025. Reporting of bad or very bad general health was typically higher among older age groups, but there were exceptions to this trend. Among females, the most likely to report bad or very bad general health were those aged 55-64, at 7.9%. Among males, those most likely to report bad or very bad health were those aged 75 years or older, at 11.2%, followed by those aged 55-64 at 8.2%.
Among the youngest adults (15 to 24 years), females were three times as likely as males to report bad or very bad health at 4.4%, compared with 1.4% for males.
General Mental Health Status
Almost 6% of people had bad or very bad general mental health in 2025. Females aged 15 to 24 years were the most likely to report bad or very bad general mental health, with 12.8% rating their general mental health as such. This compares with 8.4% of males in the same age group.
The lowest rates of bad or very bad general mental health were observed in the 65 to 74 year age group, where 2.0% of females and 1.3% of males reported their general mental health as such.
Depression
Respondents could report if they experienced depression in the last 12 months. In 2025, 10.4% people in Ireland reported having had depression in the past 12 months. Across all age groups, females were more likely than males to have experienced depression in the past 12 months, with the gap most pronounced in the younger age groups (under 44). Those aged 35 to 44 years were most likely to report having depression with 15.4% of females and 13.0% of males in this age group reporting they had it.
Autism and ADHD
Respondents could report if they had ever been diagnosed with autism or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Among 15 to 24 year olds, 7.7% of males had received a diagnosis of autism compared with 4.5% of females. Males aged 25 to 34 years were the most likely to have a diagnosis for ADHD at 6.2% compared with 2.7% for females of the same age. In the older age groups (over 35 years), females were more likely to have a diagnosis of ADHD than males.
Obesity
Respondents were asked to report their weight and height, from which their body mass index (BMI) was then calculated and classified as either underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. One in five (21.5%) people were classified as obese in 2025. The highest rate of obesity was seen among those aged 55 to 64 years with 30.6% of females and 29.3% of males in this age group being classified as such.
Alcohol
Almost four in ten (38.9%) people reported consuming alcohol at least once a week in 2025. Across every age group, men were more likely than women to report drinking alcohol at least once a week. Adults aged 55 to 64 years were the most likely to drink alcohol at least once a week with 50.1% of them saying they do. Young adults aged 15 to 24 years were the least likely to drink alcohol weekly at 24.1%.
Smoking and Vaping
One in eight (11.9%) people reported being daily smokers in 2025. Males were more likely to report being daily smokers of tobacco than females. Almost a quarter (24.0%) of males aged 35 to 44 years were daily smokers of tobacco, the highest rate of any age group and twice the rate for females of the same age (12.5%). In terms of vaping, 6.9% of people reported being daily vapers in 2025. Daily vaping was more common among younger adults. Females aged 25 to 34 years were the most likely to be vaping daily at 12.8% .
Social Media
Younger adults spent the most time on social media, with 71.1% of those aged 15 to 24 years saying they spent more than two hours per day on it. One third (32.5%) of females aged 15 to 24 years who used social media reported it had a negative impact on their mental health compared with 24.9% of males the same age."