Census Ireland: More than 10% of people are now non-Irish citizens
The figures show that Ireland is getting increasingly diverse, with a rise in the number of people identifying as Black or Black Irish and Asian or Asian Irish. File photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Over one in 10 people living in Ireland on Census night were non-Irish citizens, with almost 90,000 people having moved to the country within the last 12 months.
The number of citizens of Asian countries living in Ireland almost doubled from Census 2016 to Census 2022, while the number of UK citizens living in the State continues to fall.
The Central Statistics Office published these details as part of its latest in-depth analysis of the Census 2022 figures, this time looking at diversity, migration, ethnicity, Irish Travellers and religion in Ireland.
The figures show that Ireland is getting increasingly diverse, with a rise in the number of people identifying as Black or Black Irish and Asian or Asian Irish.
There were almost 632,000 non-Irish citizens living in Ireland for the most recent census. Almost half, 313,000 people, were EU citizens and a further 83,000 were UK citizens.
CSO statistician Brendan Murphy said: “Of the 89,512 people who immigrated in the year leading up to the 2022 census, more than 22,000 were Irish citizens.
“The most common countries of origin for Irish citizens were the UK, Australia, and USA, while India, Brazil, and Spain were the top three countries of origin for non-Irish citizens coming to live in the State in the year to Census 2022.”
More than one in ten of the population were non-Irish citizens in Census 2022https://t.co/JBoJP0sdDt#CSOIreland #Ireland #Census #Census2022 #CensusIreland #Population #Diversity #Migration #Ethnicity #IrishTravellers #Religion
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) October 26, 2023
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The average age of UK citizens living in Ireland was 50 years in 2022, compared to 39 years of age for Irish citizens. The youngest population in Ireland was Ukrainian citizens, with an average age of 25 years.
Four in five Brazilian citizens living in Ireland were aged between 23 and 43 while there were twice as many women from the US in their 20s and 30s here as men of the same age. There were also two main cohorts of Indian citizens in Ireland, adults aged 23 to 43 and children of primary school age.
The number of Irish Travellers living in the State was up 6% on the last Census. The average age of Irish Travellers was 27 years compared with 39 years for the total population.
At a national level, 15% of the population was aged 65 years and over while for Irish Travellers, this was just 5%.
Turning to religion, there was a 187% increase in the number of people stating they had no religion in Census 2022 compared with 2011, the CSO said.
Roman Catholics accounted for 69% of the population, while 14% said they had no religion. The second-largest religious grouping was the Church of Ireland or England, Anglican and Episcopalian.
People aged 25 to 29 were less likely to be Roman Catholic (53%) than other age groups.
They were also the age cohort with the highest proportion of people with no religion (26%) and the highest proportion of Hindus.
