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.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.


Bespoke methods used to produce datasets for specific individual countries are available through the WorldPop Open Population Repository (WOPR) link below. These are 100m resolution gridded population estimates using customized methods ("bottom-up" and/or "top-down") developed for the latest data available from each country. They can also be visualised and explored through the woprVision App.
The remaining datasets in the links below are produced using the "top-down" method, with either the unconstrained or constrained top-down disaggregation method used. Please make sure you read the Top-down estimation modelling overview page to decide on which datasets best meet your needs. Datasets are available to download in Geotiff and ASCII XYZ format at a resolution of 3 and 30 arc-seconds (approximately 100m and 1km at the equator, respectively):

- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 ( 1km resolution ): Consistent 1km resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020.
- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020.
- Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019)
-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted ( 1km resolution ): Consistent 1km resolution population count datasets created using unconstrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019).
-Unconstrained global mosaics 2000-2020 ( 1km resolution ): Mosaiced 1km resolution versions of the "Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020" datasets.
-Constrained individual countries 2020 ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using constrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for 2020.
-Constrained individual countries 2020 UN adjusted ( 100m resolution ): Consistent 100m resolution population count datasets created using constrained top-down methods for all countries of the World for 2020 and adjusted to match United Nations national population estimates (UN 2019).

Older datasets produced for specific individual countries and continents, using a set of tailored geospatial inputs and differing "top-down" methods and time periods are still available for download here: Individual countries and Whole Continent.

Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00645

The number of social media users in Ireland was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** million users (+***** percent). After the seventh consecutive increasing year, the social media user base is estimated to reach **** million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. The shown figures regarding social media users have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to *** countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

National population projections by age and gender are produced every two years for the UK and each of the UK constituent countries by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of the National Statistician and the Registrars General of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Principal Projections are produced based on long-term assumptions about future fertility, mortality and migration levels, with variant projections being produced from various alternative assumptions – usually in the form of high/low variants and their combinations. National population projections provide an estimate of the future size and age structure of the population of Northern Ireland. Population projections are widely used in policy development in areas such as housing, healthcare and education.

The population share with internet access in Ireland was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** percentage points. The internet penetration is estimated to amount to ** percent in 2029. The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population having access to the internet via any means. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in more than *** countries and regions worldwide. All input data are sourced from international institutions, national statistical offices, and trade associations. All data has been are processed to generate comparable datasets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

This statistic shows the median age of the population in Ireland from 1950 to 2100. The median age is the age that divides a population into two numerically equal groups; that is, half the people are younger than this age and half are older. It is a single index that summarizes the age distribution of a population. In 2020, the median age of the Irish population was 37.3 years.

Ireland: Population density, people per square km: The latest value from 2021 is 73 people per square km, an increase from 72 people per square km in 2020. In comparison, the world average is 456 people per square km, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for Ireland from 1961 to 2021 is 54 people per square km. The minimum value, 41 people per square km, was reached in 1961 while the maximum of 73 people per square km was recorded in 2021.

The population of Northern Ireland was 1.92 million people in 2023, compared with 1.83 million ten years earlier in 2013. Since 1971, the population of Northern Ireland has increased by approximately 380,000 people.

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.

There were 2 358 000 Linkedin users in Ireland in December 2020, which accounted for 45.6% of its entire population. People aged 25 to 34 were the largest user group (1 400 000).

Ireland Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data was reported at 8.500 % in 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 8.500 % for 2018. Ireland Population Living in Slums: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 7.500 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2020, with 11 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.500 % in 2020 and a record low of 6.200 % in 2000. Ireland Population Living in Slums: % of Urban 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. Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.;United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT);Weighted average;

Ireland IE: Population: Ages 0-14: % of Total Population data was reported at 17.340 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.620 % for 2020. Ireland IE: Population: Ages 0-14: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 19.005 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 24.310 % in 1990 and a record low of 17.340 % in 2021. Ireland IE: Population: Ages 0-14: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.GGI: Social: Demography: OECD Member: Annual.

There is a requirement, as per Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1799, to deliver Census data for the reference year 2021 to Eurostat. In September 2020, the Irish Government decided to postpone the scheduled April 2021 Census to April 2022 following a recommendation from CSO related to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The CSO however has agreed that the office will still meet its legal requirement. It will base the Eurostat requirements on Census 2022 data, using administrative and other sources to appropriately adjust the data to reference year 2021. A (preliminary) headcount of usual residents at the 1 km² grid level (there are approximately 73,000 such square kilometres in Ireland) is required by Eurostat by 31^st December 2022. The data was produced in the following manner:

Initial preliminary Census estimate for April 2022 As part of the field operation for the 2022 Census, the CSO introduced a new smartphone-based application that allowed field staff to capture information about every dwelling in the country. This application facilitated the production of a preliminary population publication less than 12 weeks (June 23^rd) after census night (April 3^rd). The information includes data on the number of de facto occupants. This information is provisional, and the final file will not be completed until all collected paper forms are fully processed, which is expected to be around the end of January 2023. The provisional data should however be a very strong indicator of the final results.

The preliminary Census de facto population estimate was 5,123,536 persons, available at the 1 km² grid level. As we need the population on a usual resident basis, it was decided to adjust this estimated de facto population at the 1 km² grid level by applying the arithmetic differences between the 2016 usual resident and de facto population counts at that level to the de facto population for 2022. A ratio model, where rates of change of de facto to usual resident counts are applied instead of differences, was also considered but this led to more extreme adjustments, mainly where there was a large change in the population count of a cell between 2016 and 2022. This reduced the usual resident population to 5,101,268 for April 2022, a fall of 22,268 persons.

Temporary Absent Dwellings Census also provided data on the temporarily absent dwellings dataset (at 1 km² grid level), containing a count of persons usually resident in the State but whose entire household were abroad on census night and therefore not included in the de facto population count. This covers 33,365 temporarily absent dwellings with 50,749 temporarily absent persons across 9,138 grid cells. This category was not present in the 2016 figures so it was decided to include these absent persons as they meet the definition of usual residents and will be present in the final transmission, due March 2024. The resulting usually resident population count for 3^rd April 2022 was estimated as 5,152,671 persons.

Note that in a small number cases (80 grid cells), adjustments resulted in a negative cell value, but these were set to zero.

Final preliminary estimate

The CSO then adjusted this figure of estimated usual residents for 3^rd April 2022 back to the 3^rd December 2021 reference point by performing a reverse cohort-survival model.

Firstly, there are an estimated 21,528 births, some 12,405 deaths and approximately 63,595 inward and 25,730 outward migrants for the four-month period December 2021 to March 2022. This affects a total of approximately 123,000 persons, or about 2.4% in a total population of around 5.15 million persons. These population changes were ‘reversed’, as indicated below. Secondly, we also ‘reversed’ those persons who moved from their address within Ireland after December 3^rd 2021 to their Census April 3^rd 2022 address. Based on the selection method approximately 85,000 persons were moved to their previous address, representing about 1.7% of the population.

The steps in the process were:

Births We took the actual November 2015 to April 2016 births from Census 2016 with the variables grid reference, gender and NUTS3 as the sampling frame for the selection of births. Then, using data from table 19 in the Q1 2022 Vital Stats quarterly release (Table VSQ19 on Statbank), we derived the number of Q1 2022 births at NUTS3 by gender level. We also included a proportion of Q4 2021 births, taking one-third to represent December 2021. There are 21,528 births in total for the four-month period we are interested in (16,121 for Q1 2022 plus a third of the value of Q4 2021 which is 5,407), see table 2. Then, using the SAS procedure surveyselect, we selected, at random, the required number of births per strata from the frame and totalled up per grid reference. The resulting figure is the number of people removed from the Census 2021 grid totals, as these figures represent those born during December 2021 to March 2022.

We took the entire Census 2016 data with the variables grid reference, gender, NUTS3 and broad age group (0-14, 15-29, 30-49, 50-64, 65-84 and 85+) as the sampling frame for the selection of people to add back in who died between December 2020 and March 2022. This stratification results in 96 cells. This frame serves as a proxy for the distribution of deaths across the 1km grid square strata. Next, we obtained the Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 mortality data stratified by gender, NUTS3 and age group, provided by the Vital Stats statistician. The total number is 12,405 deaths for the four-month period of interest (9,535 for Q1 2022 plus one third of the value for Q4 2021 which is 8,626), see tables 3 and 4.

Then using the SAS procedure surveyselect, we selected, at random, the required number of deaths per strata from the frame and total up per grid reference. The resulting figure is simply the number of people added to the Census 2021 grid figures as summarised at the grid level, as they represent those who died during December 2021 to March 2022.

Inward and outward migrants

The processing of the inward and outward migrants essentially follows the same methodology in that we used Census 2016 as a sampling frame for the inclusion of those who emigrated in December 2021 and March 2022 and the exclusion of those who immigrated in the same period.

We took the Census 2016 with the variables grid reference, gender, NUTS3, broad nationality (Irish, UK, EU14 excl. IE, EU15 to 27 and Rest of the World) and broad age group (0-14, 15-29, 30-49, 50-64, 65-84 and 85+) as the sampling frame for the selection of migrants. Using the Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 migration data, we got the required inward and outward movers. The Population and Migration statistician provided the data at an individual level for our purposes. There are 63,780 inward migrators (53,403 in Q1 2022 and 10,377 taking one-third of the Q4 2021 values) and 25,730 outward migrators (19,779 in Q1 2022 and 5,951 taking one-third of the Q4 2021 values), see tables 5 to 7.

Then, using SAS procedure surveyselect, we selected, at random, the required number of inward and outward migrants per strata from the frame and sum over grid reference. Given that there will be more inward than outward migrants, the resulting figures will generally be negative i.e., the population will fall.

Ukrainian refugees There are no official statistics, but it was estimated that there were more than 23,000 Ukrainian refugees present in the State in April 3 2022. It is difficult to know the exact numbers captured by the Census until the full final dataset is available. Ukrainian refugees were to be counted as immigrants and usual residents (UR) on the census form unless an individual classed themselves as a visitor, in which case they were de facto (DF) residents. From the point of view of the procedure being described here, Ukrainians who are classified

The smartphone penetration in Ireland was forecast to remain on a similar level in 2029 as compared to 2024 with ** percent. According to this forecast, the penetration will stay nearly the same over the forecast period. The penetration rate refers to the share of the total population.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to *** countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more information concerning Singapore and Germany.

Ireland Percentage of Population Exposure to Wildfires data was reported at 0.000 % in 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 % for 2019. Ireland Percentage of Population Exposure to Wildfires data is updated yearly, averaging 0.000 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2020, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 % in 2020 and a record low of 0.000 % in 2020. Ireland Percentage of Population Exposure to Wildfires data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Ireland – Table IE.OECD.GGI: Social: Air Quality and Health: OECD Member: Annual.