Population in Ireland records 5.01 million; Crossing the 5 million mark first time since 1851

The population in Ireland has crossed 5 million for the first time since 1851. According to the data provided by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the population in the country as of April 2021 was 5.01 million. It was 4.97 million 12 months earlier.

The population in the Republic is measured in every five years through census. The last time Ireland’s population crossed 5 million was in 1851 and then recorded 5.11 million.

Meanwhile the increase is not just natural increase but migration also played an important role. About 34,000 (0.7%) increase has been recorded in the year up to April. Previous years’ increase was 55,900.

The number of immigrants who came to the State in the year to April was 65,200, down 24% on the previous year, while the number of emigrants who left decreased to 54,000. This is calculated as net migration and has added to the population index. An increase of 11,200 can be seen here. Last year it was 28,900.

The fall in net immigration is a result of the pandemic which ceased movement of people all around the world for months.

With the hit of pandemic, many Irish nationals have managed to come back to the country at a record number of 30,200 in the year. It is the highest since 2007 financial crisis. Meanwhile 54,000 emigrants were there in the year up to April and 22,800 of them were Irish nationals.

According to the CSO, number of non-Irish nationals in the Republic as of April is 645,500. They consist 12.9% of the total population.

Other data provided by the CSO:

Population in Dublin: 1.43 million.

Number of people in Ireland aged 65 and above: 742,300 (shows the effectiveness of health care system in the country).

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