Census 2022: Ireland's average age increases as number of people identifying as Catholic falls
Identifying Census In Catholic Of Roman 2022, As Data 79% To Fell Proportion From According 69% 2016 To The People In
The average age of the population of Ireland has increased to 38.8 while the proportion of people identifying as Roman Catholic has dropped from 79% to 69%, according to the results of the landmark 2022 Census.
Furthermore, the proportion of people owning their own home has fallen, from 70% in Census 2011 to 66% in Census 2022. And the number of households renting from a private landlord has risen by 7% to 330,632.
Proportion of the country who identify as Roman Catholic fell from 79% (3,696,644) in 2016 to 69% (3,515,861) people in last year.
The overall population of the country rose by 8% to 5,149,139 people last year. It is the first time in 171 years that Ireland's population exceeded the five million threshold.
The number of households who rented their accommodation from a private landlord rose by 7% to 330,632 last year, while the number of owner-occupied dwellings fell to 66%.
Single people aged 15 and over account for 43% of Ireland's population. Married people, including those who were re-married, and people in a same-sex civil partnership, accounted for 46% of the population.
Just under one in three children in the country under the age of 15 were in childcare in 2022, with creches and other similar facilities being the most common type of childcare option.
Almost 80% of the population reported they had either never smoked (3,113,712) or given up smoking (974,145). Nearly 450,000 people smoked daily, with a further almost 226,500 smoking occasionally.
Delivering the summary results on Tuesday morning, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that the results of this countrywide census will provide us with “unique and valuable insights into the Ireland that we live in today and will be widely used in the coming years”.
As had been flagged in the preliminary results last year, there were 5,149,139 people in the State on Sunday 3 April. This was an 8% increase on the last Census in 2016.
From 36.1 years in 2011, the average age of the population has increased by over two-and-a-half years in just over a decade.
Approximately one third of all workers — 747,961 people — worked from home for at least some or part of their week.
Four in five households (80%) had a broadband internet connection in 2022, up from 71% in 2016.
A lesser proportion of the population reported having good health compared to the last census, dropping from 87% to 83%.
More than 700,000 people said they undertook some voluntary work, and nearly 300,000 people volunteered in a sporting organisation.
Digging into population growth, all counties have a bigger population now compared to 2016.This ranges from 5% in Donegal, Kilkenny and Tipperary to 14% in Longford. The east of the country had strong growth, in areas such as Meath (13%), Fingal (12%) and Kildare (11%).
The highest increase in population was in the over 70s at 26%.
The number of non-Irish citizens has also increased, and stands at 12% of Ireland’s usual resident population. The number of dual nationals has increased by 63% to 170,597 since 2016.
The number of people who reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent represented 8% of the population, or 407,342 people. A further 14% of the population reported a long-lasting condition or difficulty to some extent or a little.
People aged 50 to 59 were most likely to providing regular unpaid care, with the number of unpaid carers up 53% to more than 299,000 between 2016 and 2022.
Just under one in three children under the age of 15 were in childcare in 2022. The most common type used was a creche at 139,899 children. Family members or unpaid relatives provided care for 92,118 children.
While the proportion of people identifying as Roman Catholic fell from 79% in 2016 to 69% in 2022, the “No Religion” category increased from 451,941 people to 736,210 people.
The number of people who drove to work increased by 4% to 1.2 million between 2016 and 2022. There was an increase in cycling to work of 7%, to more than 60,000 people. And there were 4% fewer people commuting to work by train, Luas or Dart.
In last year’s census, there was an option to complete a section called a Time Capsule, where people could write messages that will be released a century from now. Of the 1.8 occupied households who completed the census, 19% (or 348,443) took up this option.
After Tuesday's summary release, the CSO will publish further Census data drilling down into the themes highlighted in the summary in the coming months.
- According to Census 2022, the population of the country increased by 8% between 2016 and 2022 and now stands at 5,149,139.
- There were 2,544,549 males and 2,604,590 females in the country on the night of Census 2022 — a ratio of 98 males for every 100 females.
- The population of every county grew by at least 5%, with the highest population increases seen in the electoral areas of Longford (14%), Meath (13%), Dublin Fingal (12%) and Kildare (11%).
- The average age of the population has continued to increase, and now stands at 38.8 years old, an increase from 37.4 in 2016 and 36.1 in 2011
- The highest increase in population was seen in the over 70s cohort (26%).
- Conversely, there was a 4% fall in the numbers of people aged between 25 years old and 39 years old
- Irish and dual-Irish citizens made up 84% of the population.
- The number of non-Irish citizens increased since 2016 and now stands at 631,785 — approximately 12% of the overall population.
- The number of people who recorded dual Irish citizenship was 170,597, a 63% increase since Census 2016.
- Single people aged 15 and over made up 43% of the country's population, up from 41% six years ago.
- There were more single men (52%) than women (48%).
- Married people, including those who were re-married, and people in a same-sex civil partnership, accounted for 46% of the population aged 15 years and over, down from 48% in 2016.
- Just under one in three children under the age of 15 were in childcare in 2022.
- The most common type of childcare used was a creche or a similar facility.
- These facilities were providing care to 139,899 children as of April 2022.
- The second most common type of childcare — by an unpaid relative or family member — was being given to some 92,118 children.
- The census has shown that the proportion of owner-occupied dwellings has continued to fall, down from almost 70% to 66% between 2011 and Census 2022.
- Between Census 2016 and Census 2022, the number of households who rented their accommodation from a private landlord rose by 7% to 330,632.
- Nearly 750,000 people, a third of workers, indicated that they worked from home for at least some part of their week, according to the CSO.
- Almost 80% of households had a broadband internet connection in 2022 up from 71% in 2016 and 64% in 2011.
- The number of people who drove to work increased by 4% to 1.2 million between 2016 and 2022.
- There was a 7% increase in the number of people who said they cycled to work, bringing the number to more than 60,000.