THE CENTRAL STATISTICS office has released census data relating to Ireland’s population distribution and the movement of people within the country, which shows only five counties – all in Leinster – have grown in population since the Famine. 

As the population hit 5.1 million as of 2022, the five counties whose populations have risen since 1851 were Dublin (260% increase), Kildare (159%), Wicklow (57%), Meath (57%) and Louth (30%).

Also among the key findings of the Census of 2022 Profile 1 report is the fact that Co Cork (72%) had the highest number of residents who were born there while Co Meath had the lowest (32%).

“There were 418,259 usual residents in Cork who were born in the county,” the report stated. 

Overall, nearly 60% of the population who are usually resident in the state live in their county of birth, the report said. 

The data also offers an insight into the makeup of towns across Ireland, particularly in terms of size and age distribution. 

“County Louth had the two largest towns in the state, Drogheda with 44,135 people and Dundalk with 43,112 people,” the report said. 

The next three largest towns in terms of population were Swords (40,776), Navan (33,886) and Bray (33,512).

Of towns with a population over 10,000, Balbriggan had the youngest average age at 33.6 while Clonmel had the oldest average age at 40.8.

In total there were 49 towns with a population of 10,000 or more in 2022. Two thirds of those were in Leinster (33), with 11 in Munster, three in Connacht and two in Ulster. 

The report’s findings show that age profiles differ considerably across the country, “with relatively fewer children and large cohorts of young adults in areas such as Dublin City and Galway City”. 

On a national scale, one third of people were living in cities and suburbs in 2022 and just under 30% (1.5 million) of the population lived outside cities and suburbs or towns.

Towns with a population of 10,000 or more made up over 18% of the country’s population, with just under 1 million people.