In 2025, the population of the Republic of Ireland was approximately 5.46 million, with approximately 1.57 million people living in County Dublin, the region with the highest population.

In 2025, there were 435,500 people aged between 40 and 44 in the Republic of Ireland, the most common age group among those provided in this year.

The total population in Ireland was estimated at 5.4 million people in 2025, according to the latest census figures and projections from Trading Economics. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Ireland Population - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Ireland (POPTOTIEA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2024 about Ireland and population.

Ireland IE: Population: Growth data was reported at 1.218 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.129 % for 2016. Ireland IE: Population: Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 0.813 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.891 % in 2007 and a record low of -0.428 % in 1988. Ireland IE: Population: Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage . Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.; ; Derived from total population. Population source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

The total population of Ireland was 5.42 million people in 2024. Between 1980 and 2024, the total population rose by 1.99 million people, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend. The total population will steadily rise by 290,000 people over the period from 2024 to 2030, reflecting a clear upward trend.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

Ireland - Population as a % of EU population was 1.20% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Ireland - Population as a % of EU population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on December of 2025. Historically, Ireland - Population as a % of EU population reached a record high of 1.20% in December of 2024 and a record low of 1.00% in December of 2014.

Population, female (% of total population) in Ireland was reported at 50.5 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Ireland - Population, female (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Ireland (SPPOPGROWIRL) from 1961 to 2024 about Ireland, population, and rate.

Ireland IE: Population: Total data was reported at 4,813,608.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 4,755,335.000 Person for 2016. Ireland IE: Population: Total data is updated yearly, averaging 3,536,158.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,813,608.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 2,824,400.000 Person in 1961. Ireland IE: Population: Total data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Sum; Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Ireland - Population was 5351681.00 in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Ireland - Population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on November of 2025. Historically, Ireland - Population reached a record high of 5351681.00 in December of 2024 and a record low of 2821700.00 in December of 1961.

Ireland IE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 15.917 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 15.822 % for 2010. Ireland IE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 11.569 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.917 % in 2015 and a record low of 6.224 % in 1995. Ireland IE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Historical dataset showing total population for Ireland by year from 1950 to 2025.

About this dataset

Context

This list ranks the 55 counties in the California by Irish population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in each county over the past five years.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, including:

• 2019-2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2014-2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
• 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Variables / Data Columns

• Rank by Irish Population: This column displays the rank of county in the California by their Irish population, using the most recent ACS data available.
• County: The County for which the rank is shown in the previous column.
• Irish Population: The Irish population of the county is shown in this column.
• % of Total County Population: This shows what percentage of the total county population identifies as Irish. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• % of Total California Irish Population: This tells us how much of the entire California Irish population lives in that county. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.
• 5 Year Rank Trend: This column displays the rank trend across the last 5 years.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

In 2024, the urban population of the Republic of Ireland was approximately 3.48 million, while the rural population was around 1.89 million. Although the urban population of Ireland is currently bigger than the rural population, this was not the case in 1960 when there were approximately 272,450 more people living in rural areas than urban ones.

Actual value and historical data chart for Ireland Population Growth Annual Percent

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Working-Age Population Total: From 15 to 64 Years for Ireland (LFWA64TTIEQ647S) from Q2 1999 to Q2 2025 about Ireland, working-age, 15 to 64 years, and population.

Ireland: Population growth, percent: The latest value from 2023 is 2.6 percent, an increase from 1.85 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 1.15 percent, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 1961 to 2023 is 0.99 percent. The minimum value, -0.43 percent, was reached in 1988 while the maximum of 2.89 percent was recorded in 2007.

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system. The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

The 2021 Northern Ireland Census marked the first time since records began where the Catholic share of the population was larger than the combined Protestant share. In 2021, over 42 percent of the population classified themselves as Catholic or from a Catholic background, in comparison with 37 percent classified as Protestant or from a Protestant background. Additionally, the share of the population with no religion (or those who did not answer) was 19 percent; larger than any individual Protestant denomination. This marks a significant shift in demographic and societal trends over the past century, as Protestants outnumbered Catholics by roughly 2:1 when Northern Ireland was established in the 1920s. Given the Catholic community's historic tendency to be in favor of a united Ireland, many look to the changing religious composition of the population when assessing the potential for Irish reunification. Religion's historical influence A major development in the history of British rule in ireland was the Plantation of Ulster in the 1600s, where much of the land in the north (historically the most rebellious region) was seized from Irish Catholics and given to Protestant settlers from Britain (predominantly Scots). This helped establish Protestant dominance in the north, created a large section of the population loyal to the British crown, and saw a distinct Ulster-Scots identity develop over time. In the 1920s, the republican movement won independence for 26 of Ireland's 32 counties, however, the six counties in Ulster with the largest Protestant populations remained part of the UK, as Northern Ireland. Following partition, structural inequalities between Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities meant that the Protestant population was generally wealthier, better educated, more politically empowered, and had better access to housing, among other advantages. In the 1960s, a civil rights movement then emerged for equal rights and status for both sides of the population, but this quickly turned violent and escalated into a the three-decade long conflict now known as the Troubles.

The Troubles was largely fought between nationalist/republican paramilitaries (mostly Catholic), unionist/loyalist paramilitaries (mostly Protestant), and British security forces (including the police). This is often described as a religious conflict, however it is more accurately described as an ethnic and political conflict, where the Catholic community generally favored Northern Ireland's reunification with the rest of the island, while the Protestant community wished to remain in the UK. Paramilitaries had a large amount of support from their respective communities in the early years of the Troubles, but this waned as the conflict progressed into the 1980s and 1990s. Demographic and societal trends influenced the religious composition of Northern Ireland's population in these decades, as the Catholic community had higher fertility rates than Protestant communities, while the growing secularism has coincided with a decline in those identifying as Protestant - the dip in those identifying as Catholic in the 1970s and 1980s was due to a protest and boycott of the Census. The Troubles came to an end in 1998, and divisions between both sides of the community have drastically fallen, although they have not disappeared completely.