In 2024, over nine million people lived in Greater London, making it the most populated ceremonial county in England. The West Midlands Metropolitan County, which contains the large city of Birmingham, was the second-largest county at just over 3.03 million, closely followed by Greater Manchester at three million, and then West Yorkshire with a population of 2.4 million. Kent, Essex, and Hampshire were the three next-largest counties in terms of population, each with just over 1.9 million people. A patchwork of regions England is just one of the four countries that compose the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with England, Scotland and Wales making up Great Britain. England is therefore not to be confused with Great Britain or the United Kingdom as a whole. Within England, the next subdivisions are the nine regions of England, containing various smaller units such as unitary authorities, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan districts. The counties in this statistic, however, are based on the ceremonial counties of England as defined by the Lieutenancies Act of 1997. Regions of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland Like England, the other countries of the United Kingdom have their own regional subdivisions, although with some different terminology. Scotland’s subdivisions are council areas, while Wales has unitary authorities, and Northern Ireland has local government districts. As of 2024, the most-populated Scottish council area was Glasgow City, with over 650,000 inhabitants. In Wales, Cardiff had the largest population among its unitary authorities, and in Northern Ireland, Belfast was the local government area with the most people living there.

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.

In 1821, Ireland's population was just over 6.8 million people. During this time, the entire island was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, after both islands were united by the Acts of Union in 1800. From the graph we can see that the population enjoyed steady growth between 1821 and 1841, and it rose by almost 1.4 million people in this time. However the Great Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1849, had a devastating impact on the population, causing it to drop from 8.18 million in 1841 to 6.55 million in 1851. The Great Hunger 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. As the potato blight spread, the population became increasingly dependent 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. Road to recovery 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 independence from Britain in 1921, although the six counties with the largest Protestant populations formed Northern Ireland, which is still a part of the United Kingdom today. In spite of the conflict that overshadowed Ireland for much of the twentieth century, which claimed the lives of thousands of people (particularly during the Northern Irish Troubles), and despite Ireland's high emigration rate, the population began growing again in the second half of the 1900s. The population was at it's lowest from 1926 to 1961, where it remained around 4.3 million, but in the following half-century the population grew by over two million people, reaching 6.4 million in 2011, although this number is still lower than in 1821. Gender stats The difference between the male and female populations throughout Ireland's recent history has also remained relatively low. The largest difference occurred in 1831, where there are 170,000 more women than men, although these figures do not include military personnel which would reduce the difference significantly. The gap then remains under 60,000 throughout the twentieth century.

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).

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings Age is grouped into categories

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes - Vacant Units: no - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: A dwelling is a self contained living accommodation which is occupied or, if vacant, is intended for occupation, by one or more households. - Households: A private household comprises either one person living alone or a group of people (not necessarily related) living at the same address with common housekeeping arrangements - that is, sharing at least one meal a day or sharing a living room or sitting room. - Group quarters: Communal Establishments (CEs) or non-private households are establishments providing managed (full-time or part-time supervision) residential accommodation. This includes hotel, boarding house, guest house, bed and breakfast, hostel, educational establishment, religious community, children's home, nursing home, hospital/nurses' home, prison, defence establishment (including ships), civilian ships, boats and barges, garda station, and holiday campsite. Boarding houses with less than five boarders on Census Night are treated as private households.

Universe

All persons present in Ireland on the census night, including visitors and those in residence. Usual residents who were temporarily absent were included but asked a subset of questions.

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Central Statistics Office

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 491122.

SAMPLE DESIGN: A 10% random sample of the recoded household records from each county was selected. The records within each county were sorted randomly before output to the sample file.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

There are 3 forms completed by the public: a. Household Form (main census form); b. Listing Form (for communal establishments only); and c. Individual Form. The information from the Household Form is used here.

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.

This feature layer represents the proportion of the population 15 years and over who have achieved at least primary education. Attributes include a breakdown by gender and level of education achieved. The layer has been developed as a proxy to represent SDG 4.6.1 ‘Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex' for Ireland. Census 2016 data produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Administrative County boundary data produced by Tailte Éireann were used to create this feature layer.In 2015 UN countries adopted a set of 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda. Each goal has specific targets to help achieve the goals set out in the agenda by 2030. Governments are committed to establishing national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals and to review progress using accessible quality data. With these goals in mind the CSO and Tailte Éireann are working together to link geography and statistics to produce indicators that help communicate and monitor Ireland’s performance in relation to achieving the 17 sustainable development goals.The indicator displayed supports the efforts to achieve goal number 4 which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

In 1821, the population of the island of Ireland was just over 6.8 million people. During this time, the entire island was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, after both islands were united by the Act of Union in 1800. The population enjoyed steady growth between 1821 and 1841, and it rose by almost 1.4 million people in this time, however the Great Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1849, had a devastating impact on the population, causing it to drop from 8.18 million in 1841 to 6.55 million in 1851. If applying modern-day borders, the population of Northern Ireland was not growing as fast as the population of the Republic of Ireland before 1841, however it was not as severely affected by the famine, which was hardest felt in the east and south. The Great Hunger 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. As the potato blight spread, the population became increasingly dependent 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 overall population of Ireland has never exceeded it's pre-famine levels. Decline continues through partition 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 independence from Britain in 1921, although the six counties with the largest Protestant populations formed Northern Ireland, which is still a part of the United Kingdom today. Although there was much conflict in Ireland in the twentieth century which claimed the lives of thousands of people (particularly during the Northern Irish Troubles), and despite Ireland's high emigration rate, the overall population began growing again in the second half of the 1900s. Recovery The population of the Republic of Ireland was at it's lowest in 1961, with 2.8 million people, which is almost four million fewer people than before the famine. Since then it has grown consistently, reaching 4.6 million in 2011 and expected to reach 5 million people by 2020. In Northern Ireland, the population began growing again from the beginning of the 1900s, but growth has been very slow. The only time it fell was in the 1970s, at the peak of The Troubles, where high unemployment and violence contributed to a lower birth rate and an increase in emigration. From the 1980s onwards, living standards improved and the population began growing again, reaching 1.8 million people in 2011.

Usually resident population by ethnic or cultural background by Electoral Divisions. (Census 2022 Theme 2 Table 2 )Census 2022 table 2.2 is the population usually resident in Ireland by ethnic or cultural background. Details include population by ethnicity or cultural background. Census 2022 theme 2 is Migration, Ethnicity, Religion and Foreign Languages. Electoral Divisions (EDs) are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the State. There are 3,440 legally defined EDs in the State. However, in order to render them suitable for the production of statistics, the CSO has amended some ED boundaries to ensure that statistical disclosure does not occur. This has had the effect of amalgamating some EDs and splitting others. The amending of the Cork City and Cork County boundaries necessitated a redrawing of Electoral Division boundaries within Cork to ensure all ED boundaries in the county were suitable for the production of statistical data. For Census 2022, the CSO is publishing data for 3,420 CSO Electoral Divisions. The CSO Electoral divisions are referred to by their established statutory names.Formally “District Electoral Divisions” (DEDs), under the 2001 Local Government Act, the names of Wards and the names of District Electoral Divisions were changed to Electoral Divisions. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. CSO Electoral Divisions 2022

This feature layer shows the Municipal Districts for County Donegal. There are five Municipal Districts in Donegal, namely, Letterkenny, Inishowen, Stranorlar, Donegal, and Glenties.

A district electoral division (DED; Irish: Toghroinn ceantair) is a former name given to a low-level territorial division in Ireland. In 1994, both district electoral divisions and wards (the equivalent of district electoral divisions within the five county boroughs) were renamed as electoral divisions (the boundaries and names of the DEDs and wards themselves remained unchanged).[citation needed] In the Republic of Ireland, DEDs are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the state for which small area population statistics (SAPS) are published from the Census.[1] In the European Union, Local administrative units (LAUs) are basic components of Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) regions. For each EU member country, two levels of Local Administrative Units (LAU) are defined: LAU-1 and LAU-2, which were previously called NUTS-4 and NUTS-5 respectively, until the NUTS regulation went into force in July 2003. The District electoral division is at the level of LAU-2. There are a total of 3,440 electoral divisions within the Republic of Ireland.

Source: Wikipedia

In 2013 a Boundary committee released a report to make changes to DEDs and this is the most recent revisions of DEDs in Ireland. Boundary Committee Report 2013 can be found here

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.

As of 2024, the population density in London was by far the highest number of people per square km in the UK, at *****. Of the other regions and countries which constitute the United Kingdom, North West England was the next most densely populated area at *** people per square kilometer. Scotland, by contrast, is the most sparsely populated country or region in the United Kingdom, with only ** people per square kilometer. Countries, regions, and cities In 2024, the population of the United Kingdom reached **** million. The majority of people in the UK live in England, which had a population of **** million that year, followed by Scotland at *** million, Wales at **** million and finally Northern Ireland at just over *** million. Within England, the South East was the region with the highest population at almost *** million, followed by London at just over *****million. In terms of cities, London is the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom, followed by Manchester, and then Birmingham, although both these cities combined would still have a smaller population than the UK capital. London calling London's huge size in relation to other UK cities is also reflected by its economic performance. In 2023, London's GDP was over ****billion British pounds, around a quarter of UK's overall GDP. In terms of GDP per capita, Londoners had a GDP per head of ****** pounds, compared with an average of ****** for the country as a whole. Productivity, expressed as by output per hour worked, was also far higher in London than the rest of the country. In 2023, London was around *****percent more productive than the rest of the country, with South East England the only other region where productivity was higher than the national average.

Population by sex and marital status by Electoral Divisions. (Census 2022 Theme 1 Table 2 )Census 2022 table 1.2 is the total population of Ireland by sex and marital status. Details include population by sex and marital status. Census 2022 theme 1 is population by Sex, Age and Marital status. Electoral Divisions (EDs) are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the State. There are 3,440 legally defined EDs in the State. However, in order to render them suitable for the production of statistics, the CSO has amended some ED boundaries to ensure that statistical disclosure does not occur. This has had the effect of amalgamating some EDs and splitting others. The amending of the Cork City and Cork County boundaries necessitated a redrawing of Electoral Division boundaries within Cork to ensure all ED boundaries in the county were suitable for the production of statistical data. For Census 2022, the CSO is publishing data for 3,420 CSO Electoral Divisions. The CSO Electoral divisions are referred to by their established statutory names.Formally “District Electoral Divisions” (DEDs), under the 2001 Local Government Act, the names of Wards and the names of District Electoral Divisions were changed to Electoral Divisions. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. CSO Electoral Divisions 2022

The population of the United Kingdom in 2024 was estimated to be approximately 69.3 million, with over 9.6 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at almost 9.1 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.7 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.2 million, and 1.9 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas, whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 650,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 384,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of approxiamtely 352,000.

Population aged 3 years and over by ability to speak Irish by Electoral Divisions. (Census 2022 Theme 3 Table 1 )Census 2022 table 3.1 is population aged 3+ by ability to speak Irish. Details include population counts by ability to speak Irish. Census 2022 theme 3 is Irish Language. Electoral Divisions (EDs) are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the State. There are 3,440 legally defined EDs in the State. However, in order to render them suitable for the production of statistics, the CSO has amended some ED boundaries to ensure that statistical disclosure does not occur. This has had the effect of amalgamating some EDs and splitting others. The amending of the Cork City and Cork County boundaries necessitated a redrawing of Electoral Division boundaries within Cork to ensure all ED boundaries in the county were suitable for the production of statistical data. For Census 2022, the CSO is publishing data for 3,420 CSO Electoral Divisions. The CSO Electoral divisions are referred to by their established statutory names.Formally “District Electoral Divisions” (DEDs), under the 2001 Local Government Act, the names of Wards and the names of District Electoral Divisions were changed to Electoral Divisions. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. CSO Electoral Divisions 2022

Irish speakers aged 3 years and over by frequency of speaking Irish by Electoral Divisions. (Census 2022 Theme 3 Table 2 )Census 2022 table 3.2 is Irish speakers aged 3+ by frequency of speaking Irish. Details include population by frequency of speaking Irish and sex. Census 2022 theme 3 is Irish Language. Electoral Divisions (EDs) are the smallest legally defined administrative areas in the State. There are 3,440 legally defined EDs in the State. However, in order to render them suitable for the production of statistics, the CSO has amended some ED boundaries to ensure that statistical disclosure does not occur. This has had the effect of amalgamating some EDs and splitting others. The amending of the Cork City and Cork County boundaries necessitated a redrawing of Electoral Division boundaries within Cork to ensure all ED boundaries in the county were suitable for the production of statistical data. For Census 2022, the CSO is publishing data for 3,420 CSO Electoral Divisions. The CSO Electoral divisions are referred to by their established statutory names.Formally “District Electoral Divisions” (DEDs), under the 2001 Local Government Act, the names of Wards and the names of District Electoral Divisions were changed to Electoral Divisions. Coordinate reference system: Irish Transverse Mercator (EPSG 2157). These boundaries are based on 20m generalised boundaries sourced from Tailte Éireann Open Data Portal. CSO Electoral Divisions 2022