The population of the Republic of Ireland is estimated to be at over five million people for the first time since the era of the Great Famine.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Tuesday published its annual Population and Migration Estimates for April 2021, showing Ireland’s population rose to 5.01 million, up from 4.97 million 12 months earlier.
It is the first time the population has reached this level since 1851, a date during the time of the famine which saw mass starvation and emigration in Ireland.
“Ireland's population was estimated to be 5.01 million in April 2021, which is the first time the population has risen above five million since the 1851 census, when the comparable population was 5.11 million,” James Hegarty, a CSO statistician said.
“The total population on the island of Ireland in 1851 was 6.6 million.”
Mr Hegarty noted that the latest figures reflect “some of the demographic and social impacts of Covid-19.”
Births, deaths and migration
Ireland’s population increased by 0.7 per cent in the year to April 2021, according to the CSO figures, due to a combination of positive net migration and natural increase.
This increase of 34,000 was slightly lower than the increase of 55,900, or 1.1 per cent, seen in the year to April 2020.
There were 55,500 births and 32,700 deaths in the year to April, giving a natural increase of more births than deaths in the population of 22,800. This is the lowest level of natural increase recorded since the 2000 population estimates.
The number of immigrants to the State in the year to April 2021 is estimated to be 65,200, while the number of emigrants from the State over the same period is estimated at 54,000.
These combined flows gave positive net migration, with more people arriving than leaving, of 11,200 in the year to April 2021, compared with 28,900 in the previous year.
Returning Irish nationals
Irish nationals accounted for 30,200 (46.3 per cent) of the 65,200 immigrants to Ireland, representing the highest number of returning Irish nationals since 2007.
Of the 54,000 emigrants from Ireland, 22,800 (42.2 per cent) were estimated to be Irish nationals. Therefore, the number of Irish nationals who returned here to live was just over 7,300 higher than the number who left to live abroad.
In the year to April 2021, 35,000 non-Irish nationals arrived to live in Ireland and 31,200 non-Irish nationals emigrated abroad. Therefore, positive net migration among non-Irish nationals was 3,900 in 2021, decreasing from 28,300 in 2020.
This resulted in the number of non-Irish nationals living in Ireland increasing slightly to 645,500 people in April 2021 from 644,400 persons in April 2020, accounting for 12.9 per cent of the total population.
Dublin region
The Dublin region experienced weak growth in the year, increasing its population by just 8,300 people or 0.6 per cent.
As a result, the population of Dublin in April 2021 was estimated to be 1.43 million people, equating to 28.5 per cent of the total population.
Meanwhile, the population aged 65 and over increased by 22,200, up 3.1 per cent, in the year to April 2021.
There were 742,300 people living in Ireland aged 65 and over in April 2021, an increase of 112,500 or 17.9 per cent since April 2016.
