CDR02 - Population at Each Census since 1926. Published by Central Statistics Office. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0).Population at Each Census since 1926...

Population at Each Census from 1926 to 2016 (Number) by Sex, CensusYear and Age Group

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Population at Each Census since 1926 (Number) by Age Group, Sex and CensusYear

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Population at Each Census since 1926

Population at Each Census since 1926 (Number) by Age Group, Sex and CensusYear

View data using web pages

Download .px file (Software required)

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The purpose of the project was to provide machine-readable economic and social history statistics relating to the whole of Ireland for the period 1821-1971. Further information about the project is available on the QUB Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis website. Main Topics: The dataset contains population census data covering population, housing, religion, birthplaces, language, occupations, age structures, conjugal status and family structure. All the relevant background material is incorporated either in the documentation files or in the scanned images of the tables of contents, prefaces, and notes in the original source. The main population census tables are: Total population grouped by county districts and gender (1881-1971). Total number of buildings, classified as either inhabited buildings, uninhabited buildings, or buildings under construction grouped by county districts. Also includes the area and valuation of each county district (1881-1971). Total number of Roman Catholics, Church of Ireland members, Presbyterians, Methodists and others grouped by county districts and gender (1926-1971). Total number of Roman Catholics, Church of Ireland members and others grouped by counties, gender and age groups (1926-1971). Total numbers born in each county grouped by county of residence and gender (1901-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Total numbers born in each province grouped by county districts of residence and gender (1926-1936) Republic of Ireland only Total numbers born in each county district grouped by county of residence and gender (1926-1971) Northern Ireland only. Irish/English speakers and English only speakers grouped by county districts (1926-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Occupations grouped by counties and gender (1926-1971). Total number of persons in each age group grouped by county districts and gender (1901-1971). Total number of married, single and widowed people grouped by county districts, age groups and gender (1926-1971). Total number of families grouped by duration of marriage, husband's age at marriage, wife's age at marriage and number of children born (1946, 1961 and 1971) Republic of Ireland only. Total number of families grouped by counties, duration of marriage, wife's age at marriage and number of children born (1946, 1961 and 1971) Republic of Ireland only. Total number of families grouped by religious affiliation, duration of marriage, wife's age at marriage and number of children born (1946, 1961 and 1971) Republic of Ireland only. Total number of dependent children grouped by counties, number of children in family and parent's marital status, gender and age (1926 and 1946) Republic of Ireland only. Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.

The island of Ireland is split into 32 different counties, and from 1800 until 1921 the whole island was a part of the United Kingdome of Great Britain and Ireland (although Britain had been a controlling presence on the island for considerably longer than this). In 1921 the island was split into two separate states, where the six counties with the highest population of Protestants formed part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the other 26 counties became the Independent Republic of Ireland. From 1821 until 1841, the population of these 26 counties was growing steadily, until the Great Famine from 1845 to 1849 swept across the island, particularly devastating the west and south.

The famine was caused by a Europe-wide potato blight that contributed to mass starvation and death throughout the continent, although it's impact on Ireland was much harsher than anywhere else. The potato blight affected Ireland so severely as the majority of potatoes in Ireland were of a single variety which allowed the disease to spread much faster than in other countries. People in the west and south of Ireland were particularly dependent on potatoes, and these areas were affected more heavily than the north and west, where flax and cereals were the staple. As the potato blight spread, the population became increasingly reliant on dairy and grain products, however a lot of these resources were relocated by the British military to combat food shortages in Britain. Due to disproportional dependency on potatoes, and mismanagement by the British government, over one million people died and a further one million emigrated. The Great Famine lasted from just 1845 to 1849, but it's legacy caused almost a century of population decline, and to this day, the population of Ireland has never exceeded it's pre-famine levels.

The population decline continued well into the twentieth century, during which time the Republic of Ireland achieved independence from the British Empire. After centuries of fighting and rebellion against British rule, Irish nationalists finally gained some independence from Britain in 1921, establishing an Irish Republic in the 26 counties. There was a lot of conflict in Ireland in the early 1900s, through the War of Independence and Irish Civil War, however the population of the Republic began growing again from the 1960s onwards as the quality of life improved and the emigration rate declined. The population was at it's lowest from 1926 to 1971, where it remained at just under three million, but in the following fifty years the population has grown by over two million people.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The purpose of the project was to provide machine-readable economic and social history statistics relating to the whole of Ireland for the period 1821-1971. Further information about the project is available on the QUB Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis website. Main Topics: The dataset contains census of industrial production data covering output, capital employed, wages, persons employed, firm size and location; and trade statistics covering commodities imported and exported and value of trade between countries. All the relevant background material is incorporated either in the documentation files or in the scanned images of the tables of contents, prefaces, and notes in the original source. The main census of industrial production tables are: Gross value of output, cost of materials, total net output, salaries, wages, remainder of net output, and number of persons engaged for each industry or trade (1926, 1929, 1932-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Value of industrial commodities for each industry or trade (1926, 1929, 1932-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Value of stocks of materials, work in progress, stocks of goods made by the establishment, and stocks of goods purchased for resale without further processing for each industry or trade (1953-1963 and 1966-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Value of stocks of materials, work in progress, stocks of goods made by the establishment, plant and machinery, and building and land for each industry or trade (1953-1963 and 1966-1971) Republic of Ireland. Annual change in value of fixed capital in each year including cost of plant, machinery and vehicles, cost of new buildings including extensions and substantial alterations, cost of land and other fixed assets, value of sales of plant and machinery, value of sales of vehicles, value of sales of land and buildings for each industry or trade (1945-1954, 1956-1965 and 1968-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Value of various fuels consumed by each industry and trades (1926, 1929 and 1932-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Total number of proprietors, salaried employees, industrial wage earners, other wage earners for each industry or trade, grouped by gender and age under or over 18 (1926, 1929, 1932-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Wage rates both for salaried employees and wage earners for each industry or trade (1926, 1929, 1936-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Average earnings per week and average hours worked by week for each industry or trade, grouped by gender and age under or over 18 (1937-1944, 1958-1967 and 1969-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Number of wage earners for each industry or trade grouped by wage rate and gender(1937, 1958-1967) Republic of Ireland only. Number of wage earners for each industry or trade grouped by wage rate and age under or over 18 (1938-1944) Republic of Ireland only. Size of labour force in firms for each industry or trade (1929, 1935-1938 and 1944-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Number of firms, gross output excluding excise duty, net output, and average number of persons engaged grouped by county for each industry or trade (1936-1947) Republic of Ireland only. Value of sales and work done, value of stocks of finished products and work in progress at beginning and end of year, cost of outward transport of goods sold, gross output, net output, persons employed, output per person employed, costs of purchases of materials and fuel, stocks of materials and fuels at beginning and end of year, cost of inward transport of materials and fuels used, and amount paid for work given out for each industry or trade (1951-1957) Northern Ireland only. Gross output, sales, purchases of materials and fuels, net output, net output per person, persons employed, and wages and salaries paid for each industry or trade (1963 and 1968-1972) Northern Ireland only. Gross output, cost of materials and amount paid to other firms for work given out, cost of inward transport, net output, persons employed, and output per person employed for each industry or trade (1930, 1935 and 1949-1968) Northern Ireland only. Number of working proprietors and directors, number of administrative, technical and clerical staff, number of operatives, salaries of administrative, technical and clerical staff, earnings of operatives for each industry or trade (1949-1972) Northern Ireland only. Value of plant and machinery and plant acquired during the year, value of vehicles acquired during year, capital expenditure on new buildings, disposal of plant, machinery and vehicles for each industry or trade (1949-1968) Northern Ireland only New building work, land and existing buildings, plant and machinery, vehicles, total disposals, net capital expenditure, change during the year, goods on hand for sale at end of year, work in progress at end of year, materials and fuels at end of year vehicles for each industry or trade (1963 and 1968-1972) Northern Ireland only. Number of firms, gross output, net output, number of persons engaged, expenditure on wages and salaries and net capital expenditure grouped by county for each industry or trade (1955-1958 and 1968) Northern Ireland only. Gross output, net output and persons engaged grouped by county (1935, 1949-1951, 1954, 1958, 1963 and 1968) Northern Ireland only. Number of firms, gross output, net output, number of persons engaged grouped by firm size for each industry or trade (1955-1958 and 1968) Northern Ireland only. Cost and quantity of various fuels consumed by different industries and trades (1935, 1951, 1956, 1963 and 1968-1972) Northern Ireland only. The main trade statistics tables are: Value of imports, exports and re-exports grouped by commodity (1931-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Value of imports, exports and re-exports grouped by country of origin or destination (1931-1971) Republic of Ireland only. Value of imports and exports grouped by commodity (1924-1971) Northern Ireland only. Value of imports and exports grouped by country of origin or destination (1936-1938, 1943-1945, 1956-1958, 1960-1962, 1966-1971) Northern Ireland only. Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.

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.