Between 1820 and 1957, over 4.6 million people emigrated from the island of Ireland to the United States. The period with the highest levels of migration came between 1845 and 1855 , as the Great Famine devastated Ireland's population, causing the deaths of roughly one million people and leading to the migration of one million more, most of which was to the United States. The period with the lowest levels of migration came in the 1930s and 40s, as the Great Depression and Second World War created an environment where migration to the US was difficult or impractical.

The main dataset ("ESB Mobility Database") contains occupational data on 1,200 Irish immigrants who arrived in the U.S. in the Famine years and could be tracked for at least a decade. We also present the most up-to-date version of our Emigrant Savings Bank Depositor Database, which contains data on all 15,000 people who opened accounts at the bank from 1850 to 1858. Also provided are data from the 1855 New York State census documenting the occupations of New York's entire Irish-born population as well as datasets documenting the occupations held by New York's Irish immigrants one year and ten years after their arrival in America,

This graph shows the distribution of nationalities among documented immigrants who arrived in the United States between 1820 and 1870. As we can see, over seven million people arrived in the US in this 50 year period, with the majority coming from Ireland, Germany and Britain. The largest groups, by far, were Irish and German, who together made up roughly two thirds of all immigrants to the US during this time. The reasons for this were because of the Irish Potato famine from 1845 to 1849, which resulted in the death or emigration of twenty to twenty five percent of the total Irish population, and a number of internal factors in Germany such as economic migration for farmers affected by industrialization, political/religious asylum, and in order to avoid conscription. One noteworthy exclusion from the information is of those transported to US as slaves, whose information was not recorded in this statistic (although the slave trade was abolished in 1808, the practice continued in the decades that followed).

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In the past four centuries, the population of the Thirteen Colonies and United States of America has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 346 million in 2025. While the fertility rate has now dropped well below replacement level, and the population is on track to go into a natural decline in the 2040s, projected high net immigration rates mean the population will continue growing well into the next century, crossing the 400 million mark in the 2070s. Indigenous population Early population figures for the Thirteen Colonies and United States come with certain caveats. Official records excluded the indigenous population, and they generally remained excluded until the late 1800s. In 1500, in the first decade of European colonization of the Americas, the native population living within the modern U.S. borders was believed to be around 1.9 million people. The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to biologically defenseless populations in the New World then wreaked havoc across the continent, often wiping out large portions of the population in areas that had not yet made contact with Europeans. By the time of Jamestown's founding in 1607, it is believed the native population within current U.S. borders had dropped by almost 60 percent. As the U.S. expanded, indigenous populations were largely still excluded from population figures as they were driven westward, however taxpaying Natives were included in the census from 1870 to 1890, before all were included thereafter. It should be noted that estimates for indigenous populations in the Americas vary significantly by source and time period. Migration and expansion fuels population growth The arrival of European settlers and African slaves was the key driver of population growth in North America in the 17th century. Settlers from Britain were the dominant group in the Thirteen Colonies, before settlers from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany and Ireland, made a large impact in the mid-19th century. By the end of the 19th century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. It is also estimated that almost 400,000 African slaves were transported directly across the Atlantic to mainland North America between 1500 and 1866 (although the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808). Blacks made up a much larger share of the population before slavery's abolition. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily since 1900, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. Since WWII, the U.S. has established itself as the world's foremost superpower, with the world's largest economy, and most powerful military. This growth in prosperity has been accompanied by increases in living standards, particularly through medical advances, infrastructure improvements, clean water accessibility. These have all contributed to higher infant and child survival rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy (doubling from roughly 40 to 80 years in the past 150 years), which have also played a large part in population growth. As fertility rates decline and increases in life expectancy slows, migration remains the largest factor in population growth. Since the 1960s, Latin America has now become the most common origin for migrants in the U.S., while immigration rates from Asia have also increased significantly. It remains to be seen how immigration restrictions of the current administration affect long-term population projections for the United States.

Ireland IE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 9.000 Person in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 10.000 Person for 2014. Ireland IE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 7.000 Person from Dec 1994 (Median) to 2015, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21.000 Person in 2005 and a record low of 1.000 Person in 1997. Ireland IE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin 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. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.; ; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Statistics Database, Statistical Yearbook and data files, complemented by statistics on Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the UNRWA as published on its website. Data from UNHCR are available online at: www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html.; Sum;

Supporting documentation on code lists, subject definitions, data accuracy, and statistical testing can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Data and Documentation section...Sample size and data quality measures (including coverage rates, allocation rates, and response rates) can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Methodology section..Although the American Community Survey (ACS) produces population, demographic and housing unit estimates, for 2010, the 2010 Census provides the official counts of the population and housing units for the nation, states, counties, cities and towns..Explanation of Symbols:.An ''**'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate..An ''-'' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''-'' following a median estimate means the median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''+'' following a median estimate means the median falls in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''***'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the median falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate..An ''*****'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate. .An ''N'' entry in the estimate and margin of error columns indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small..An ''(X)'' means that the estimate is not applicable or not available..Estimates of urban and rural population, housing units, and characteristics reflect boundaries of urban areas defined based on Census 2000 data. Boundaries for urban areas have not been updated since Census 2000. As a result, data for urban and rural areas from the ACS do not necessarily reflect the results of ongoing urbanization..While the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) data generally reflect the December 2009 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas; in certain instances the names, codes, and boundaries of the principal cities shown in ACS tables may differ from the OMB definitions due to differences in the effective dates of the geographic entities..The Census Bureau introduced a new set of disability questions in the 2008 ACS questionnaire. Accordingly, comparisons of disability data from 2008 or later with data from prior years are not recommended. For more information on these questions and their evaluation in the 2006 ACS Content Test, see the Evaluation Report Covering Disability..Data for year of entry of the native population reflect the year of entry into the U.S. by people who were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas or born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent and who subsequently moved to the U.S..Ancestry listed in this table refers to the total number of people who responded with a particular ancestry; for example, the estimate given for Russian represents the number of people who listed Russian as either their first or second ancestry. This table lists only the largest ancestry groups; see the Detailed Tables for more categories. Race and Hispanic origin groups are not included in this table because official data for those groups come from the Race and Hispanic origin questions rather than the ancestry question (see Demographic Table)..Starting in 2008, the Scotch-Irish category does not include Irish-Scotch. People who reported Irish-Scotch ancestry are classified under "Other groups," whereas in 2007 and earlier they were classified as Scotch-Irish..Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables..Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 American Community Survey

Supporting documentation on code lists, subject definitions, data accuracy, and statistical testing can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Data and Documentation section...Sample size and data quality measures (including coverage rates, allocation rates, and response rates) can be found on the American Community Survey website in the Methodology section..An * indicates that the estimate is significantly different (at a 90% confidence level) than the estimate from the most current year. A "c" indicates the estimates for that year and the current year are both controlled; a statistical test is not appropriate..Although the American Community Survey (ACS) produces population, demographic and housing unit estimates, for 2010, the 2010 Census provides the official counts of the population and housing units for the nation, states, counties, cities and towns..Explanation of Symbols:.An ''**'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate..An ''-'' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''-'' following a median estimate means the median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''+'' following a median estimate means the median falls in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution..An ''***'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the median falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate..An ''*****'' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate. .An ''N'' entry in the estimate and margin of error columns indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small..An ''(X)'' means that the estimate is not applicable or not available..Estimates of urban and rural population, housing units, and characteristics reflect boundaries of urban areas defined based on Census 2000 data. Boundaries for urban areas have not been updated since Census 2000. As a result, data for urban and rural areas from the ACS do not necessarily reflect the results of ongoing urbanization..While the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) data generally reflect the December 2009 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas; in certain instances the names, codes, and boundaries of the principal cities shown in ACS tables may differ from the OMB definitions due to differences in the effective dates of the geographic entities..The Census Bureau introduced a new set of disability questions in the 2008 ACS questionnaire. Accordingly, comparisons of disability data from 2008 or later with data from prior years are not recommended. For more information on these questions and their evaluation in the 2006 ACS Content Test, see the Evaluation Report Covering Disability..Selected migration data are not available for certain geographic areas due to problems with group quarters data collection and imputation. See Errata Note #44 for details..Data for year of entry of the native population reflect the year of entry into the U.S. by people who were born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island Areas or born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent and who subsequently moved to the U.S..Ancestry listed in this table refers to the total number of people who responded with a particular ancestry; for example, the estimate given for Russian represents the number of people who listed Russian as either their first or second ancestry. This table lists only the largest ancestry groups; see the Detailed Tables for more categories. Race and Hispanic origin groups are not included in this table because official data for those groups come from the Race and Hispanic origin questions rather than the ancestry question (see Demographic Table)..Starting in 2008, the Scotch-Irish category does not include Irish-Scotch. People who reported Irish-Scotch ancestry are classified under "Other groups," whereas in 2007 and earlier they were classified as Scotch-Irish..Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lowe...

At the end of the Revolutionary Period in United States history, the majority of white settlers in the United States of America had English heritage. The Thirteen Colonies, which claimed independence in 1776, was part of the British Empire until this point - English settlers and their descendants made up over 60 percent of the population by 1790. The English were the ethnic majority (among whites) in all states except Pennsylvania, which had a similarly-sized German population, while New York had a sizeable Dutch population as it was a former Dutch colony. The second-largest group was the Irish, where those from both the island's north and south made up a combined 10 percent of the population, followed by the Scottish and Germans at over eight percent each. Outside of the United States, the French and Spanish territories that would later be incorporated into the Union were majority French and Spanish - despite their large size they were relatively sparsely populated. The composition of the U.S. population would change drastically throughout the 19th century due largely to waves of migration from Europe.

Approximately 41 million people immigrated to the United States of America between the years 1820 and 1957. During this time period, the United States expanded across North America, growing from 23 to 48 states, and the population grew from approximately 10 million people in 1820, to almost 180 million people by 1957. Economically, the U.S. developed from being an agriculturally focused economy in the 1820s, to having the highest GDP of any single country in the 1950s. Much of this expansion was due to the high numbers of agricultural workers who migrated from Europe, as technological advances in agriculture had lowered the labor demand. The majority of these migrants settled in urban centers, and this fueled the growth of the industrial sector.

American industrialization and European rural unemployment fuel migration The first major wave of migration came in the 1850s, and was fueled largely by Irish and German migrants, who were fleeing famine or agricultural depression at the time. The second boom came in the 1870s, as the country recovered from the American Civil War, and the Second Industrial Revolution took off. The final boom of the nineteenth century came in the 1880s, as poor harvests and industrialization in Europe led to mass emigration. Improvements in steam ship technology and lower fares led to increased migration from Eastern and Southern Europe at the turn of the century (particularly from Italy). War and depression reduces migration Migration to the U.S. peaked at the beginning of the 20th century, before it fluctuated greatly at the beginning of the 20th century. This was not only due to the disruptions to life in Europe caused by the world wars, but also the economic disruption of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The only period between 1914 and 1950 where migration was high was during the 1920s. However, the migration rate rose again in the late 1940s, particularly from Latin America and Asia. The historically high levels of migration from Europe has meant that the most common ethnicity in the U.S. has been non-Hispanic White since the early-colonial period, however increased migration from Latin America, Asia and Africa, and higher fertility rates among ethnic minorities, have seen the Whites' share of the total population fall in recent years (although it is still over three times larger than any other group.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the majority of documented migration to the United States of American came from European countries. Between 1820 and 1957, of the approximate 41 million migrants to the US, over 34 million of these came from Europe. The most commonly documented countries of origin during this time were Germany (6.6 million), Italy (4.9 million), Ireland (4.6 million), Great Britain (4.5 million), and Russia (3.4 million). The first wave of mass migration came in the 1850s, as the Great famine crippled Ireland's population, and many in rural areas of mainland Europe struggled to adapt to industrialization, and economic opportunities attracted many in the 1870s, following the American Civil War. The 1880s saw another wave, as steam powered ships and lower fares made trans-Atlantic journeys much more affordable. The first wave of mass migration from Eastern and Southern Europe also arrived at this time, as industrialization and agricultural advancements led to high unemployment in these regions.

The majority of migrants to the United States settled in major urban centers, which allowed the expansion of industry, leading to the United States' emergence as one of the leading global economies at the turn of the twentieth century. The largest wave of migration to the United states during this period came in the first fifteen years of the 1900s. The influx of migrants from Northern and Western Europe had now been replaced by an influx from Eastern and Southern Europe (although migration from the British Isles was still quite high during this time). European migration fell to it's lowest levels in eighty years during the First World War, before fluctuating again in the interwar period, due to the Great Depression. As the twentieth century progressed, the continent with the highest levels of migration to the US gradually changed from Europe to Latin America, as economic opportunities in Western Europe improved, and the US' relationship with the Soviet Union and other Eastern, communist states became complicated.

How high is the brand awareness of Jameson Irish Whiskey in the United States?When it comes to spirits drinkers, brand awareness of Jameson Irish Whiskey is at **% in the United States. The survey was conducted using the concept of aided brand recognition, showing respondents both the brand's logo and the written brand name.How popular is Jameson Irish Whiskey in the United States?In total, **% of U.S. spirits drinkers say they like Jameson Irish Whiskey. However, in actuality, among the **% of U.S. respondents who know Jameson Irish Whiskey, **% of people like the brand.What is the usage share of Jameson Irish Whiskey in the United States?All in all, **% of spirits drinkers in the United States use Jameson Irish Whiskey. That means, of the **% who know the brand, **% use them.How loyal are the drinkers of Jameson Irish Whiskey?Around *% of spirits drinkers in the United States say they are likely to use Jameson Irish Whiskey again. Set in relation to the **% usage share of the brand, this means that **% of their drinkers show loyalty to the brand.What's the buzz around Jameson Irish Whiskey in the United States?In October 2022, about *% of U.S. spirits drinkers had heard about Jameson Irish Whiskey in the media, on social media, or in advertising over the past three months. Of the **% who know the brand, that's **%, meaning at the time of the survey there's little buzz around Jameson Irish Whiskey in the United States.If you want to compare brands, do deep-dives by survey items of your choice, filter by total online population or users of a certain brand, or drill down on your very own hand-tailored target groups, our Consumer Insights Brand KPI survey has you covered.

In 2020/21 there were approximately 696,000 Polish nationals living in the United Kingdom, the highest non-British population at this time. Indian and Irish were the joint second-largest nationalities at approximately 370,000 people.

As of January 1, 2024, the majority of inhabitants in Greenland had the Danish citizenship, amounting to 54,400 people. Philippine and Thai citizenships were the second and third most common, with respectively 921 and 349 citizens living in Greenland that same year. Greenland is an autonomous region under the Kingdom of Denmark.

As recorded by the source, Moroccans ranked as the foreign nationality with more residents in Spain in 2023, closely followed by Romanians. After years of losing its foreign population, Spain’s immigration figures started to pick up in 2015, with the number of people that moved to the Mediterranean country surpassing the number of foreigners that decided to leave.

A matter of balance The net migration rate of Spain changed its course mainly due to the great inflow of foreigners that move to reside in the Mediterranean country. Spain’s immigration flow slowed down after the 2008 financial crisis, albeit the number of foreigners that opted to change their residence saw a significant growth in the last years. In 2022, Colombians ranked first as the foreign nationality that most relocated to Spain, distantly followed by Moroccans and Ukranians.

Spain does not have the highest number of immigrants in Europe In recent years, the European Union confronted a rising number of refugees arriving from the Middle East. Migration figures show that Germany accommodated approximately 15 million foreign-born citizens, ranking it as the country that most hosted immigrants in Europe in 2022. By comparison, Spain’s foreign population stood slightly over seven million, positioning the Western Mediterranean country third on the European list of foreign-born population. Unfortunately, thousands of persons have died ore gone missing trying to reach Spanish territory, as more and more irregular migrants opt to use dangerous maritime routes to arrive at Southern Europe from Africa's coasts.

The unemployment rate in the Republic of Ireland was four percent in June 2025, unchanged from the previous month. Between 2000 and 2007, Ireland's unemployment rate was broadly stable, fluctuating between 3.9 and 5.4 percent. Following the global financial crisis, however, Ireland's unemployment rate increased dramatically, eventually peaking at 16.1 percent in early 2012. For the next eight years, unemployment gradually fell, eventually reaching pre-crisis levels in the late 2010s. This was, however, followed by an uptick in unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which peaked at 7.6 percent in March 2021, before falling to pre-pandemic levels by February 2022. Risk and rewards of the Irish economic model After being quite hard hit by the global financial crisis of 2008, Ireland staged a strong recovery in the mid-2010s, and was frequently the EU's fastest growing economy between 2014 and 2022. This growth, was however, fueled in part by multinational companies, such as Apple, basing their European operations in the country. As of 2022, an adjusted measure of gross national income valued Ireland's economy at around 273 billion Euros, rather than the 506 billion Euros GDP figure. Ireland's close economic relationship with American tech companies also leaves it vulnerable to the political weather in the United States. It is currently unclear, for example, what the recent return to power of Donald Trump as President in early 2025 could mean for the Irish economy going forward. Ireland's labor market As of the third quarter of 2024, there were approximately 2.79 million people employed in the Republic of Ireland. Of these workers, 379,200 people worked in Ireland's human health and social work sector, the most of any industry at that time. Other sectors with high employment levels include wholesale and retail trade, at 323,500 people, and education, at 228,200 people. While unemployment still remains quite low, some indicators suggest a moderate loosening of the labor market. Job vacancies, are slightly down from their peak of 35,300 in Q2 2022, amounting to 28,900 in Q3 2024, while youth unemployment has begun to tick upwards, and was 11.9 percent in January 2025.

The real per capita cosumer spending in Ireland was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 1,682.3 U.S. dollars (+6.86 percent). According to this forecast, in 2029, the consumer spending will have increased for the fifth consecutive year to 26,219.19 U.S. dollars. Consumer spending, here depicted per capita, refers to the domestic demand of private households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs). Spending by corporations and the state is not included. The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.Consumer spending is the biggest component of the gross domestic product as computed on an expenditure basis in the context of national accounts. The other components in this approach are consumption expenditure of the state, gross domestic investment as well as the net exports of goods and services. Consumer spending is broken down according to the United Nations' Classification of Individual Consumption By Purpose (COICOP). As not all countries and regions report data in a harmonized way, all data shown here has been processed by Statista to allow the greatest level of comparability possible. The underlying input data are usually household budget surveys conducted by government agencies that track spending of selected households over a given period.The data has been converted from local currencies to US$ using the average constant exchange rate of the base year 2017. The timelines therefore do not incorporate currency effects. The data is shown in real terms which means that monetary data is valued at constant prices of a given base year (in this case: 2017). To attain constant prices the nominal forecast has been deflated with the projected consumer price index for the respective category.

The real total consumer spending in Ireland was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 16.9 billion U.S. dollars (+11.58 percent). After the fifth consecutive increasing year, the real total consumer spending is estimated to reach 162.5 billion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Consumer spending here refers to the domestic demand of private households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs). Spending by corporations and the state is not included. The forecast has been adjusted for the expected impact of COVID-19.Consumer spending is the biggest component of the gross domestic product as computed on an expenditure basis in the context of national accounts. The other components in this approach are consumption expenditure of the state, gross domestic investment as well as the net exports of goods and services. Consumer spending is broken down according to the United Nations' Classification of Individual Consumption By Purpose (COICOP). As not all countries and regions report data in a harmonized way, all data shown here has been processed by Statista to allow the greatest level of comparability possible. The underlying input data are usually household budget surveys conducted by government agencies that track spending of selected households over a given period.The data has been converted from local currencies to US$ using the average constant exchange rate of the base year 2017. The timelines therefore do not incorporate currency effects. The data is shown in real terms which means that monetary data is valued at constant prices of a given base year (in this case: 2017). To attain constant prices the nominal forecast has been deflated with the projected consumer price index for the respective category.

The Good Friday Agreement, or the Belfast Agreement, was the culmination of the Northern Ireland peace process that brought about the end of the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles. The peace process itself involved years of negotiations between the leading nationalist parties (generally seen as representing Northern Ireland's Catholic community), unionist parties (generally seen as representing Northern Ireland's Protestant community), representatives of the British, Irish, and U.S. governments, as well as paramilitary organizations. Terms of the Good Friday Agreement The Agreement involved a series of proposals touching aspects such as demilitarization, identity, devolution, and cross-community cooperation. The Agreement laid the framework for the Northern Ireland government to be reinstated after a 25-year absence, with mechanisms in place to ensure power-sharing and fair representation between Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant communities. It also reaffirmed Northern Ireland's position as an equal part of the United Kingdom, but stipulated that the people of Northern Ireland may change this through a referendum (generally assumed to mean reunification with the Republic of Ireland), while it also extended British and Irish citizenship to anybody born in the north. In terms of demilitarization and ending the violence, the Agreement stipulated that all complying paramilitary groups were to disarm and cease operations, and it ensured the British Army presence in Northern Ireland would be significantly reduced. To many, the most controversial aspect of the Agreement was the early release of convicted paramilitary personnel from organization who signed the Agreement, regardless of the charge or length of their remaining sentence - for this reason, the hardline Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) did not support the Agreement. The referendum The Good Friday Agreement was signed by the respective parties on April 10, 1998 (albeit, without the support from the DUP and some smaller paramilitary groups), and was then put to the public on both sides of the Irish border in referenda on May 22, 1998. The vote passed easily on both sides, with ** percent support in the north, and ** percent in the south. In Northern Ireland, the background of voters was not recorded, and therefore there is no official breakdown of the vote by religious background, yet, the most widely accepted estimates suggest that support in Catholic communities may have been as high as ** percent, while support in Protestant communities was roughly ** percent - again, largely in opposition to the early release of paramilitary prisoners.