Demographics of the Republic of Ireland

Demographics of the Republic of Ireland

Population	4,581,269 (2011 Census)
Population density	60.3/km² (2006)
Growth
Growth Rate	2.61% (2008)
Birth rate	18.1 births/1,000 population (2008)
Death rate	6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2008)
Net migration rate	14.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008)
Fertility rate	1.96 children born/woman (2011)
Life expectancy at birth
Total	79.59 years (2005 est.)
Male	77.32 years (2005 est.)
Female	81.79 years (2005 est.)

Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

has, throughout most of its history, had a relatively small population; until the 19th century this was comparable to other regions of similar area in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Ireland experienced a major population boom in the 18th and early 19th centuries, as did the rest of Europe as a result of the Agricultural

British Agricultural Revolution

British Agricultural Revolution describes a period of development in Britain between the 17th century and the end of the 19th century, which saw an epoch-making increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn supported unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant...

and Industrial

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

revolutions, and at the time had comparable population densities

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

to Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

and Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

.

However this changed dramatically with the Great Famine of the mid-19th century, which created conditions of mass starvation and emigration. The famine was by far the most significant turning point in the demographics of the country, as not only did Ireland's population not grow for the next century, it continued a slow decline, the result of which is that the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

has a significantly smaller population today than would be expected for a western European country of its size.

Only in the mid-20th century did the Republic's population start to grow once more, but emigration

Emigration

Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...

was still common until the 1990s. The demographics of the country changed significantly from then onwards, as a result of the Celtic Tiger

Celtic Tiger

Celtic Tiger is a term used to describe the economy of Ireland during a period of rapid economic growth between 1995 and 2007. The expansion underwent a dramatic reversal from 2008, with GDP contracting by 14% and unemployment levels rising to 14% by 2010...

Irish economic boom. After this point, immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

far outweighed emigration and many former Irish Emigrants returned home. Ireland then became an attractive destination for immigrants from a number of nations, mainly from Central Europe, but also from Africa, Asia and elsewhere. Since the 2008 onset of the Irish economic and banking crisis

2008–2011 Irish financial crisis

The 2008–2011 Irish financial crisis, which had stemmed from the financial crisis of 2008, is a major political and economic crisis in Ireland that is partly responsible for the country falling into recession for the first time since the 1980s...

, however, the country's economy has suffered, and since then Ireland has experienced net emigration once again.

The nation's population is the youngest in the European Union and its population is now predicted to grow for many decades into the future, bucking the trend of decline that is predicted for most European countries. A report in 2008 predicted that the population of the country would reach 6.7 million by 2060. Even more unique is that Ireland has been experiencing a baby boom

Baby boom

A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...

in 2008 and surrounding years, with increasing birth rates and overall fertility rates. Despite this the TFR is still below replacement. This increase is primarily fueled by non-Irish immigration - a quarter of all children born in Ireland are born to foreign mothers as of 2010.

Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

and language forms an important part of the Irish national identity.

The Irish Traveller

Irish Traveller

Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a separate language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.-Etymology:...

s are a native minority group

Minority group

A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...

.

In 2008, Ireland had the highest birth rate (18.1 per 1,000), lowest death rate (6.1 per 1,000) and highest net-migration rate (14.1 per 1,000) in the entire European Union – and the largest population growth rate (4.4%) in the 27-member bloc as a result.

Ireland is home to people from all over the globe, especially in Dublin. These countries include Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Vital statistics of the Republic of Ireland

	Population on April 1 (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1923	3 014	62 417	42 217	19 473	20.5	14.0	6.5
1924	3 005	63 402	45 180	18 222	21.1	15.0	6.1
1925	2 985	62 069	43 650	18 419	20.8	14.6	6.2
1926	2 971	61 176	41 740	19 436	20.6	14.0	6.5
1927	2 957	60 054	43 677	16 377	20.3	14.8	5.5
1928	2 944	59 176	41 792	17 384	20.1	14.2	5.9
1929	2 937	58 280	42 991	15 289	19.8	14.6	5.2
1930	2 927	58 353	41 702	16 651	19.9	14.2	5.7
1931	2 933	57 086	42 947	14 139	19.5	14.6	4.8
1932	2 949	56 240	42 984	13 256	19.1	14.6	4.5
1933	2 962	57 364	40 539	16 825	19.4	13.7	5.7
1934	2 971	57 897	39 083	18 814	19.5	13.2	6.3
1935	2 971	58 266	41 543	16 723	19.6	14.0	5.6
1936	2 967	58 115	42 586	15 529	19.6	14.4	5.2
1937	2 948	56 488	45 086	11 402	19.2	15.3	3.9
1938	2 937	56 925	40 041	16 884	19.4	13.6	5.7
1939	2 934	56 070	41 717	14 353	19.1	14.2	4.9
1940	2 958	56 594	41 885	14 709	19.1	14.2	5.0
1941	2 993	56 780	43 797	12 983	19.0	14.6	4.3
1942	2 963	66 117	41 640	24 477	22.3	14.1	8.3
1943	2 946	64 375	43 494	20 881	21.9	14.8	7.1
1944	2 944	65 425	45 128	20 297	22.2	15.3	6.9
1945	2 952	66 861	42 762	24 099	22.6	14.5	8.2
1946	2 957	67 922	41 457	26 465	23.0	14.0	8.9
1947	2 974	68 978	44 061	24 917	23.2	14.8	8.4
1948	2 985	65 930	36 357	29 573	22.1	12.2	9.9
1949	2 981	64 153	38 062	26 091	21.5	12.8	8.8
1950	2 969	63 565	37 741	25 824	21.4	12.7	8.7
1951	2 961	62 878	42 382	20 496	21.2	14.3	6.9
1952	2 953	64 631	35 105	29 526	21.9	11.9	10.0
1953	2 949	62 558	34 591	27 967	21.2	11.7	9.5
1954	2 941	62 534	35 535	26 999	21.3	12.1	9.2
1955	2 921	61 622	36 761	24 861	21.1	12.6	8.5
1956	2 898	60 740	33 910	26 830	21.0	11.7	9.3
1957	2 885	61 242	34 311	26 931	21.2	11.9	9.3
1958	2 853	59 510	34 248	25 262	20.9	12.0	8.9
1959	2 846	60 188	34 243	25 945	21.1	12.0	9.1
1960	2 832	60 735	32 660	28 075	21.4	11.5	9.9
1961	2 818	59 825	34 763	25 062	21.2	12.3	8.9
1962	2 830	61 782	33 838	27 944	21.8	12.0	9.9
1963	2 850	63 246	33 795	29 451	22.2	11.9	10.3
1964	2 864	64 072	32 630	31 442	22.4	11.4	11.0
1965	2 876	63 525	33 022	30 503	22.1	11.5	10.6
1966	2 884	62 215	35 113	27 102	21.6	12.2	9.4
1967	2 900	61 307	31 400	29 907	21.1	10.8	10.3
1968	2 913	61 004	33 157	27 847	20.9	11.4	9.6
1969	2 926	62 912	33 734	29 178	21.5	11.5	10.0
1970	2 950	64 382	33 686	30 696	21.8	11.4	10.4
1971	2 978	67 551	31 890	35 661	22.7	10.7	12.0
1972	3 024	68 527	34 381	34 146	22.7	11.4	11.3
1973	3 073	68 713	34 192	34 521	22.4	11.1	11.2
1974	3 124	68 907	34 921	33 986	22.1	11.2	10.9
1975	3 177	67 178	33 173	34 005	21.1	10.4	10.7
1976	3 228	67 718	34 043	33 675	21.0	10.5	10.4
1977	3 272	68 892	33 632	35 260	21.1	10.3	10.8
1978	3 314	70 299	33 794	36 505	21.2	10.2	11.0
1979	3 368	72 539	33 771	38 768	21.5	10.0	11.5
1980	3 401	74 064	33 472	40 592	21.8	9.8	11.9
1981	3 443	72 158	32 929	39 229	21.0	9.6	11.4
1982	3 480	70 843	32 457	38 386	20.4	9.3	11.0
1983	3 504	67 117	32 076	35 041	19.2	9.2	10.0
1984	3 529	64 062	32 154	31 908	18.2	9.1	9.0
1985	3 540	62 388	33 213	29 175	17.6	9.4	8.2
1986	3 541	61 620	33 630	27 990	17.4	9.5	7.9
1987	3 547	58 433	31 413	27 020	16.5	8.9	7.6
1988	3 531	54 600	31 580	23 020	15.5	8.9	6.5
1989	3 510	52 018	32 111	19 907	14.8	9.1	5.7
1990	3 506	52 954	31 370	21 584	15.1	8.9	6.2
1991	3 526	52 718	31 305	21 413	15.0	8.9	6.1
1992	3 555	51 089	30 931	20 158	14.4	8.7	5.7
1993	3 574	49 304	32 148	17 156	13.8	9.0	4.8
1994	3 586	48 255	30 948	17 307	13.5	8.6	4.8
1995	3 601	48 530	31 494	17 036	13.5	8.7	4.7
1996	3 626	50 390	31 514	18 876	13.9	8.7	5.2
1997	3 664	52 311	31 605	20 706	14.3	8.6	5.7
1998	3 703	53 551	31 352	22 199	14.5	8.5	6.0
1999	3 742	53 354	31 683	21 671	14.3	8.5	5.8
2000	3 790	54 239	31 115	23 124	14.3	8.2	6.1
2001	3 847	57 854	30 212	27 642	15.0	7.9	7.2
2002	3 917	60 521	29 348	31 173	15.5	7.5	8.0
2003	3 980	61 529	29 074	32 455	15.5	7.3	8.2
2004	4 045	61 972	28 665	33 307	15.3	7.1	8.2
2005	4 134	61 372	28 260	33 112	14.8	6.8	8.0
2006	4 233	64 237	27 479	36 758	15.2	6.5	8.7
2007	4 339	70 620	28 050	42 570	16.3	6.5	9.8
2008	4 422	75 065	28 192	46 873	17.0	6.4	10.6
2009	4 459	74 278	28 898	45 380	16.7	6.5	10.2
2010

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO), Eurostat

Eurostat

Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...

and the CIA World Factbook.

Population

Figures from the CSO.

4,239,848 (2006 Census)

4,339,000 (2007 est.)

4,442,100 (2008 est.)

4,459,300 (2009 est.)

4,470,700 (2010 est.)

4,581,269 (2011 Census)

Age structure

0–14 years: 20.4% (male: 448,333 female: 418,476) (2006)

15–64 years: 68.6% (male: 1,400,222 female: 1,398,194) (2006)

65 years and over: 11.0% (male: 207,095 female: 260,831) (2008)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 1 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 79.4 years (2008)

male: 77.32 years (2008)

female: 81.79 years (2008)

HIV/AIDS

– adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
- people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,800 (2008 est.)

Nationality

noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)

adjective: Irish

Nationalities in Ireland

Irish

Irish nationality law

Irish nationality law is the law of the Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. Irish nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship...

(including dual-Irish/other): 88.9%, UK

British nationality law

British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...

: 2.7%, Other EU 25

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

: 3.9%, Other Europe: 0.6%, Africa: 0.8%, Asia: 1.1%, USA

United States nationality law

Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...

: 0.3%, Other countries: 0.5%, Multiple nationality: 0.1%, No nationality: 0.0%, Not stated: 1.1% (2006)

Ethnic groups

Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

(of largely Gaelic stock, with Norse (Norwegian), Norman, English, French, Scottish, and Welsh admixture), Ulster-Scots

Ulster-Scots

The Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English from the border of those two countries, many from the "Border Reivers" culture...

and various immigrant populations – the largest immigrant groups, with over 10,000 people, are the English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

and Welsh

Welsh people

The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

, Poles

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

, Americans

Demographics of the United States

As of today's date, the United States has a total resident population of , making it the third most populous country in the world. It is a very urbanized population, with 82% residing in cities and suburbs as of 2008 . This leaves vast expanses of the country nearly uninhabited...

, Lithuanians, Scots

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

, Latvians, and Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

Ethnic backgrounds:
Irish: 96.7%, Asian: 0.3%, Black

Black people in Ireland

Since the mid-16th century there have been small numbers of black people resident in Ireland, mainly concentrated in the major towns, especially Dublin. Many of those in the 18th century were servants of wealthy families...

: 1.1%, Other/Mixed: 0.1%, Not Stated: 1.7% (2006)

Religions

Roman Catholic 86.8%, No Religion 4.4%, Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

3.0%, Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

0.8%, Presbyterian 0.6%, Orthodox

Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...

0.5%, Methodist 0.3%, Other 2.1% (2006). In an Irish Times Behaviour Attitudes social poll published on Sept 15 2010, 32% of those surveyed said they went to a religious service more than once a week.

Geographic Population Distribution

Urban population (areas with >1,500 people): 60.8% (2006)

Rural population: 39.2% (2006)

Languages

English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

is the most commonly used language, with 94% of the population calling it their mother tongue. Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

, the first official language of the state, is spoken by 10%; with 9% calling it their mother tongue. Irish is the main language of the Gaeltacht

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

regions, where 91,862 people live. Shelta and Ulster Scots are also spoken by small communities. The main sign language used is Irish Sign Language

Irish Sign Language

Irish Sign Language is the sign language of Ireland, used primarily in the Republic of Ireland. It is also used in Northern Ireland, though British Sign Language is also used. Irish Sign Language is more closely related to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language, which was first used...

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99%

male: 99%

female: 99% (2003 est.)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.