In the 12 months to the end of April 2024:
The population in Ireland rose by 98,700 people which was the largest 12-month increase since 2008.
There were 149,200 immigrants which was a 17-year high. This was the third successive 12-month period where over 100,000 people immigrated to Ireland.
Of those immigrants, 30,000 were returning Irish citizens, 27,000 were other EU citizens, and 5,400 were UK citizens. The remaining 86,800 immigrants were citizens of other countries.
Over 69,000 people departed the State in the 12 months to April 2024, compared with 64,000 in the same period of 2023. This is the highest emigration figure since 2015.
There was a natural increase of 19,400 people in the State comprised of 54,200 births and 34,800 deaths.
Please note that these annual estimates are based on a usual residence population concept whereas the Census of Population is based on a de facto population concept which means that results are not directly comparable. There is a revisions process carried out after each Census on the estimates for that preceding intercensal period, this process was carried out in the Population and Migrations Estimates April 2023 release. (See Background Notes for more information)
The table below summarises the components of population change for the years ending April 2023 and 2024.
| Table 1.1 Population and Migration Estimates | ||
| Components of population change | Year ending April 2023 | Year ending April 2024 |
| Immigration | 141,600 | 149,200 |
| Emigration | 64,000 | 69,900 |
| Net migration1 | 77,600 | 79,300 |
| (of which Irish citizens) | (-900) | (-4,700) |
| Births | 55,500 | 54,200 |
| Deaths | 35,500 | 34,800 |
| Natural increase | 20,000 | 19,400 |
| Population change | 97,600 | 98,700 |
| Population | 5,281,600 | 5,380,300 |
| 1 Net migration = Immigration less Emigration | ||
The combination of natural increase and positive net migration led to a population increase of 98,700 (+1.9%) in the year to April 2024. This was the largest population gain since 2008 when the population increased by 109,200. The usually resident population now stands at 5,380,300 people (See Figure 1 and Table 1.2).
The trend in population change closely coincides with the trend in net migration between the years 1988 and 2024 as shown in Figure 2.
There was net migration of 79,300 in the year to April 2024 - up from net migration of 77,600 in 2023 and 51,700 in 2022. There is a slight increase in net migration when compared to last year and this increase in net migration has contributed to a 1% rise in population change, climbing to 98,700 in 2024 from 97,600 in 2023. Since 1951, net migration was only higher in 2007 when it was over 100,000 people.
There were 54,200 births and 34,800 deaths in the year to April 2024, giving a natural increase (births less deaths) in the population of 19,400. This represents a drop of 600 (-3%) from the level of natural increase in 2023, and a fall of 6,700 (-26%) on the level of natural increase in 2022 (See Figure 2 and Table 1.2).
Please note: A footnote has been included for additional clarity.
The number of immigrants to the State in the year to April 2024 is estimated to have grown by just over 5% to 149,200 from 141,600 when compared with 2023.
The number of emigrants also rose over the same period to 69,900 from 64,000. These combined flows gave positive net migration, (i.e. more people arrived than left) of 79,300 in the year to April 2024, compared with 77,600 in the previous year, a 2% increase (See Figure 3 and Table 1.2).
There were 86,800 immigrants who were Rest of World citizens in the year to April 2024, the inflow of Ukrainian citizens contributed significantly to this inflow in 2024.
Inflows of Irish citizens rose to 30,000 in the year to April 2024, from 29,600 the previous year, an increase of 400 (+1%). (See Figure 4 and Table 1.3).
Of the 69,900 emigrants, 34,700 were Irish citizens in the year to April 2024. With a total of 30,000 returning Irish citizens, there is a net outward migration of Irish citizens (-4,700 people) in the 12 months to April 2024.
There were also 21,500 emigrants who were Rest of World citizens in the year to April 2024. This is an increase of 49% when compared to the 14,400 emigrants who were Rest of World citizens in the year to April 2023.
In 2024, outflows from the EU citizenship groups have decreased on the total from 2023, "EU15 to EU27" decreased from 7,300 in 2023 to 4,500 in 2024 and the "EU14 excl Irl" fell from 6,900 to 6,100 (See Figure 5 and Table 1.3).
In the 12 months to April 2024, there was a strong outward flow to Australia. Estimates have shown that 10,600 people left Ireland to live in Australia, up from 4,700 last year (+126%). This is the highest level of emigration to Australia since 2013. Additionally, 6,400 people moved to Ireland from Australia, down from 7,700 in 2023 (-17%) (See Figure 6 and Table 1.4).
The UK also experienced strong migration flows in the year to April 2024. Estimates have shown that 15,200 people left Ireland to live in the UK, up from 14,600 in 2023 (+4%) and 20,500 people moved to Ireland from the UK, up from 18,400 in 2023 (+11%) (See Table 1.4).
In the year to April 2024:
More than half (52% or 77,200 people) of the total immigrants and just under half (48% or 33,500 people) of the total emigrants were aged between 25-44 years.
The lowest proportion of migrants were in the 65 years and over age group, with 3% of immigrants and fewer than 2% of emigrants in the oldest age group.
There was a higher proportion of immigrants when compared with emigrants in the youngest age group (0-14 years) in the year to April 2024. Of the emigrants, 7% were aged 0-14 compared with 16% of the immigrants.
A lower proportion of the 15-24 years age group were immigrants (17%) compared with emigrants (35%) (See Figure 7 and Table 1.5).
There were 833,300 people living in Ireland aged 65 and over in April 2024. Those aged 65 and over had an increase in population share between 2018 and 2024, rising from 13.8% to 15.5% of the total, a volume increase of 156,800 people.
There were 1,376,300 people living in Ireland aged between 45 and 64 years in April 2024. This age grouping also had a rise in population share between 2018 and 2024, growing from 24.2% to 25.6% of the total, a volume increase of 194,300 people.
The volume of people living in Ireland in both the 15 to 24 year age group and those aged between 25 and 44 years has increased between 2018 and 2024, by 71,900 and 76,700 respectively. The proportional share of the 15 - 24 year age group in the overall population slightly increased from 12.5% in 2018 to 12.7% in 2024. However, the proportional share has decreased for the 25 - 44 year age group, from 28.7% to 27.5% between 2018 and 2024.
Lastly, the 0 - 14 year age group is the only group that sees a fall in population size between 2018 and 2024. There are 1,010,300 people living in Ireland aged between 0 and 14 in 2024, this is a slight decrease of 4,100 from the 2018 figure of 1,014,400. The population share of this age group has decreased from 20.8% in 2018 to 18.8% in 2024. (See Figure 8 and Table 1.6).
A downward trend in births since 2010 has driven declines in those aged between 0-4 years since 2012. This also leads to a decline in those aged between 5-9 years from 2017 onwards.
There were 55,500 people under the age of 1 year in the country in April 2024, this is a volume decrease of 19,400 (-26%) from the 2010 figure of 74,900 people. There were 293,200 people aged between 0 and 4 years in the country in April 2024, this is a decrease of 65,000 (-18%) from the 2012 figure of 358,200 people. Lastly, there were 335,300 people aged between 5 and 9 years in the country in April 2024, this is a decrease of 25,400 (-7%) from the 2017 figure of 360,700 people. (See Figure 9 and Table 1.6).
The proportion of the population residing in Dublin has risen from 27.6% of the total in 2011 to 28.5% of the total in 2024 and is now at 1,534,900 people, an increase of 33,400 since April 2023.
The Mid-East and South-West had the second and third highest population by region with 785,000 and 773,500 people respectively, or a 14.6% and 14.4% share of total population in April 2024. Counties of the Mid-East, South-West, and Dublin NUTS 3 regions (Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow, Louth, Cork and Kerry) together had a 57.5% share of the total population in April 2024, with just above three million people.
In April 2024, the region with the lowest contribution to the total population was the Midland region with 330,900 people (6.2%) followed by the Border (439,800 or 8.2%), South-East (474,800 or 8.8%), West (509,000 or 9.5%) and Mid-West (532,400 or 9.9%) regions (See Figure 10 and Table 1.7).
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (27 August 2024) released the Population and Migration Estimates, April 2024.
Commenting on the data, Eva Leahy, Statistician in Population Estimates and Projections, said: "Ireland's population was estimated to be 5.38 million, rising by 98,700 people in the year to April 2024. This was the largest 12-month population increase in 16 years since 2008 when the population rose by 109,200.
The number of immigrants, or those entering the State, in the year to April 2024 was estimated to be 149,200, while the number of emigrants, or those leaving the State, over the same period was estimated at 69,900. These combined flows gave positive net migration (more people having arrived than left), of 79,300 in the year to April 2024, compared with 77,600 in the previous year.
Immigration
The number of immigrants in the 12 months to April 2024 was the highest since the year to April 2007 and consisted of 30,000 returning Irish citizens, 27,000 other EU citizens, 5,400 UK citizens, and 86,800 other citizens including Ukrainians.
Emigration
The number of emigrants in the 12 months to April 2024 was the highest since the year to April 2015 and consisted of 34,700 Irish citizens, 10,600 other EU citizens, 3,000 UK citizens, and 21,500 other citizens including Ukrainians.
Population Trends
There were 833,300 people living in Ireland aged 65 and over in April 2024. Those aged 65 and over showed an increase in population share between 2018 and 2024 (increasing from 13.8% to 15.5% of the total), a volume increase of 156,800 people.
There were more than a million (1,010,300) people living in Ireland aged 0-14 in April 2024. This age group had a fall in population share between 2018 and 2024, falling from 20.8% to 18.8% of the total population, a volume decrease of 4,100.
Looking at where people reside, the proportion of the population living in Dublin has risen from 28.1% of the total in 2018 to 28.5% of the total in 2024 and now stands at 1,534,900 people."