Number of people immigrating to Ireland fell by 12% this year, new figures show

The CSO said Ireland recorded positive net migration, with more people arriving than leaving. Net migration stood at 48,100, down from 58,700 in 2025 and 79,300 in 2024. Picture: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

Some 110,600 people immigrated to Ireland in the 12 months to April this year, a 12% decrease on the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

It was the fifth successive 12-month period in which more than 100,000 people immigrated to Ireland. More than half of immigrants, or 58,300 people, were aged between 25 and 44.

Statistician in Population Estimates and Projections at the CSO Conor J Crowley said this number fell by 14,700 and comprised of 30,200 returning Irish citizens, 20,700 other EU citizens, 4,300 UK citizens and over 55,000 other citizens.

The CSO said Ireland recorded positive net migration, with more people arriving than leaving. Net migration stood at 48,100, down from 58,700 in 2025 and 79,300 in 2024.

The decrease was attributed to “a larger fall in immigration than emigration”.

Emigration fell for the second year in a row, with about 62,500 people leaving the State. This was down 5%, or 3,100 people, compared with the 12 months to April 2025.

Of those emigrants, 53% were aged 25 to 44, while 19,900 were aged 15 to 24.

Mr Crowley added that of those emigrating, 35,400 were Irish citizens, 8,700 were other EU citizens, 2,000 were UK citizens, and 16,400 were other citizens.

Looking further, 11,800 people left Ireland for Australia, a fall of 13% compared with the previous year. The number of people moving to Ireland from Australia also fell, from 10,100 in 2025 to 8,300 in 2026.

Migration to and from “rest of world” countries, excluding Ireland, the UK, EU countries, Australia, the US, and Canada, also fell in the 12 months to April 2026, the CSO said.

The number of people moving to Ireland from rest-of-world countries fell by 23%, from 68,000 to 52,200. The number leaving Ireland for those countries also fell by 16%, from 11,100 to 9,300.

Separately, the annual data showed Ireland’s population rose by 66,900 to 5,225,600.

In Dublin, the population rose from 27.6% of the country’s total in 2011 to 28.9% in 2026, bringing the number of residents in the capital to 1,597,700.