Ireland’s population was estimated at 5.1 million in 2022. Between 2012 and 2022 Ireland had the third highest percentage increase (10.3%) in population in the European Union (EU27), after Malta (24.8%) and Luxembourg (23.0%).
The proportion of Ireland’s population aged 45 or over increased from 34.9% to 40.2% between 2012 and 2022, while the proportion aged under 45 decreased from 65.0% to 59.8%.
Ireland had a fertility rate of 1.8 in 2021, which tied with France, Czechia and Romania as the highest rate in the EU27. All countries in the EU27 were below the theoretical replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
Ireland had the highest price levels for consumer goods and services in the EU27 in 2021 at 43.8% above the EU27 average.
Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions per capita were 11.6 tonnes per capita in 2020, which was the second highest in the EU27 after Luxembourg.
The amount of municipal waste generated in Ireland rose from 2.8 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes between 2010 and 2020, while the proportion of that waste recovered rose from 38.1% to 83.0% over the same period.
The number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in Ireland was 39.9 per 1,000 persons aged 20-29 in 2020, the highest rate in the EU27.
Male life expectancy at birth was 80.8 years in Ireland in 2020, the highest in the EU27. Female life expectancy at birth in Ireland was 84.4 years, which was 1.2 years above the EU27 average.
Measuring Ireland's Progress 2021 contains 62 indicators highlighting key trends in Irish society, drawing comparisons over time and in a European context. The report is divided into five main chapters: Society, Economy, Environment, Education and Health. This report is the nineteenth in the Measuring Ireland's Progress series and this edition includes two new indicators in the Environment chapter: Annual Daily Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption and Domestic Building Energy Ratings.
Data is sourced mainly from the CSO and Eurostat, with additional sources as indicated including government departments, state agencies and international organisations.
Most indicators are presented in both a national and an international context. The EU27 is referenced throughout the report as the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union. The national context is generally in a time series format, while the international context compares Ireland with other EU27 countries, and, where available, with European Free Trade Association countries: Iceland, Switzerland and Norway; and with EU candidate countries: Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. UK data is no longer being updated in Eurostat from 2020 onwards, but is included where comparable data is available from another source such as the Office for National Statistics (UK). Graphs and maps are provided with many indicators.
The latest available data is presented for most indicators, which means that the latest reference year for different indicators can vary. It is usually 2020, 2021 or 2022 and this is clearly shown in each case. It should be noted that data is often subject to subsequent updates or revisions, and this can affect the relative ratings of countries in international comparisons.
The Background Notes describe the indicator definitions and data sources in greater detail. Where a graph and/or map is available for an indicator, this will be shown below the text for that indicator.
The following symbol is used:
: Data is unavailable.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (14 April 2023) released Measuring Ireland's Progress 2021, the nineteenth annual report in the series. The report contains data on 62 indicators, divided over five chapters: Society; Economy; Environment, Education and Health.
Commenting on the report, Aideen Sheehan, Statistician in the Statistical Systems Coordination Unit, said: "The progress indicators used in this report are chosen to provide an overall view of the social, economic, environment, education and health situation in Ireland, and how Ireland compares in these areas to other European countries.
The report shows how Ireland's population has grown at the third fastest rate in the European Union in the last 10 years, up by 10.3% compared to an EU27 average of 1.4%. It also shows that the proportion of the population aged 65 years or over increased from 12.0% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2022.
Further findings highlighted in the report include:
Society
Ireland had the second lowest divorce rate in the EU27 in 2020, at 0.6 divorces per 1,000 persons, below the EU27 average of 1.6 divorces per 1,000 persons.
Ireland had a fertility rate of 1.8 in 2021, which tied with France, Czechia, and Romania as the highest rate in the EU27. However all countries in the EU27 were below the theoretical replacement fertility rate of 2.1.
Economy
Ireland had the highest consumer prices in the EU27 in 2021 at 43.8% above the EU27 average, followed by Denmark where prices were 43.1% above the EU27 average.
The number of new dwellings completed in Ireland rose by 508% between 2012 and 2022 from 4,911 to 29,851 respectively. Over the same time period, the number of new apartments completed rose by 1,955%, scheme houses by 1,473%, and single houses by 58%.
Environment
Building Energy Rating (BER) audits were carried out on over a million dwellings between 2009 and 2022. Of these 11% received an A rating, 13% a B rating, and 35% a C rating, while the remaining 41% received a D, E, F or G rating. For properties constructed between 2020 and 2022, 99% received an A rating compared with just 1% of properties built before 2005.
Ireland had 456 passenger cars per 1,000 people in 2021, the fifth lowest ratio in the EU27, and below the EU27 average of 567.
Education
Ireland had the highest rate of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates in the EU27 in 2020 at 39.9 per 1,000 persons, while its primary school student to teacher ratio of 15.0 in 2020 was above the EU27 average of 13.6.
Health
Healthy life expectancy (the number of years a person can expect to live in a healthy state) for males at birth in Ireland in 2020 was 65.3 years, the fifth highest rate in the EU27 and 1.8 years higher than the EU27 average. Healthy life expectancy at birth for females in Ireland was 67.1 years in 2020, also the fifth highest rate in the EU27 and 2.6 years above the EU27 average."