Country or area · Northern Europe · Europe · UN WPP 2024

Ireland population

Ireland population now

5,368,465

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 5.2–5.5 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 5,196,630

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 5.35695 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 5.2–5.5 million
Median age: 40.2
Aged 65+: 16.5%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2053

male female projection · one cell = 1,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

IRL · 1950–2100 · in brief

Ireland in numbers

5,196,630 people lived in Ireland in mid-2023: 0.06% of the world's people, and the 122nd-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports. That is 1.8 times its 1950 population of 2.9 million.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2053 at 6.0 million, then falling to 5.3 million by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 1.7 million to 25.7 million.

Births stay ahead of deaths until 2051; in the medium projection, deaths are ahead every year after it. The population still grows until 2053, because more people arrive than leave.

The median age was 30.0 in 1950 and 39.4 in 2023; the projection has 50.9 in 2100. 15.5% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 33.3% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2036 at 3.7 million.

Its place in the world by population: 122nd in 2023, 121st in 2050, 126th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Slovakia in 2028, Finland in 2032 and Bulgaria in 2042. It is overtaken by the Central African Republic in 2024, Oman in 2024 and Mauritania in 2025.

Population, mid-2023: 5,196,630
Rank by population, 2023: 122 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.06%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +1.70% · +86,615 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 75
Land area, 2023: 68,890 km²
Births, 2023: 53,268
Deaths, 2023: 35,550
Net migration, 2023: +43,873
Children per woman, 2023: 1.60
Median age, 2023: 39.4 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 82.4 years
In a city, 2025: 29 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 2,912,654
Projected, mid-2050: 5,970,042
Projected, mid-2100: 5,286,120

IRL · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2053estimates | projections05 m10 m15 m20 m25 m30 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Ireland, 1950–2100

Ireland: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	2,898,772		66,938	37,821	3.50	65.6
1951	estimate	2,926,536		67,981	42,518	3.55	64.8
1952	estimate	2,947,192		68,327	35,232	3.56	67.2
1953	estimate	2,935,733		67,112	34,600	3.54	67.9
1954	estimate	2,922,428		65,033	35,523	3.47	68.0
1955	estimate	2,907,919		62,291	36,640	3.37	68.0
1956	estimate	2,891,157		61,542	33,812	3.38	69.0
1957	estimate	2,876,352		62,106	34,193	3.48	69.0
1958	estimate	2,861,846		60,436	34,128	3.46	69.3
1959	estimate	2,846,153		61,177	34,027	3.60	69.4
1960	estimate	2,832,282		61,763	32,462	3.75	70.2
1961	estimate	2,823,097		59,993	34,560	3.78	69.6
1962	estimate	2,826,288		61,486	33,628	3.93	70.0
1963	estimate	2,836,703		62,846	33,569	4.03	70.2
1964	estimate	2,849,365		63,669	32,423	4.08	70.5
1965	estimate	2,864,968		63,190	32,805	4.04	70.6
1966	estimate	2,881,337		61,802	34,843	3.94	70.2
1967	estimate	2,896,437		60,863	31,194	3.84	71.2
1968	estimate	2,914,403		60,815	32,900	3.77	70.9
1969	estimate	2,931,186		62,853	33,463	3.82	70.8
1970	estimate	2,950,319		64,468	33,416	3.85	70.8
1971	estimate	2,972,488		67,065	31,645	3.93	71.6
1972	estimate	3,013,753		67,921	33,977	3.85	71.0
1973	estimate	3,060,553		68,269	33,677	3.71	71.2
1974	estimate	3,108,316		68,612	34,367	3.59	71.1
1975	estimate	3,156,039		67,051	32,725	3.37	71.7
1976	estimate	3,204,198		67,707	33,497	3.29	71.8
1977	estimate	3,252,605		68,915	33,116	3.24	71.9
1978	estimate	3,302,907		70,321	33,318	3.21	71.9
1979	estimate	3,355,459		72,527	33,318	3.21	72.2
1980	estimate	3,396,143		74,072	33,007	3.21	72.5
1981	estimate	3,434,336		72,275	32,460	3.06	72.9
1982	estimate	3,463,317		70,923	32,028	2.95	73.2
1983	estimate	3,487,755		67,264	32,513	2.75	73.2
1984	estimate	3,507,460		64,228	31,685	2.59	73.6
1985	estimate	3,524,449		62,553	32,738	2.49	73.6
1986	estimate	3,538,092		61,818	33,122	2.44	73.6
1987	estimate	3,545,643		58,912	31,019	2.31	74.4
1988	estimate	3,535,118		55,155	31,176	2.17	74.4
1989	estimate	3,515,073		52,456	31,709	2.08	74.5
1990	estimate	3,507,068		53,096	30,991	2.11	74.8
1991	estimate	3,520,968		52,602	30,962	2.08	75.0
1992	estimate	3,547,552		51,017	30,617	1.99	75.4
1993	estimate	3,569,290		49,280	31,853	1.90	75.3
1994	estimate	3,582,954		48,188	30,663	1.85	75.8
1995	estimate	3,597,359		48,603	31,951	1.84	75.5
1996	estimate	3,624,035		50,432	31,441	1.88	75.8
1997	estimate	3,652,983		52,461	31,266	1.93	76.0
1998	estimate	3,691,602		53,629	31,299	1.94	76.2
1999	estimate	3,730,545		53,577	32,378	1.90	76.1
2000	estimate	3,775,330		54,379	31,182	1.89	76.5
2001	estimate	3,829,840		57,094	30,024	1.94	77.1
2002	estimate	3,896,122		59,929	29,581	1.97	77.6
2003	estimate	3,960,764		61,074	28,955	1.96	78.1
2004	estimate	4,025,106		61,297	28,474	1.93	78.5
2005	estimate	4,107,023		60,653	28,116	1.86	78.9
2006	estimate	4,203,545		64,292	28,342	1.92	79.2
2007	estimate	4,334,010		70,395	27,848	2.01	79.6
2008	estimate	4,453,016		74,966	27,971	2.06	79.8
2009	estimate	4,518,983		76,014	27,964	2.06	80.1
2010	estimate	4,548,521		75,667	27,574	2.06	80.6
2011	estimate	4,569,639		74,428	27,969	2.03	80.7
2012	estimate	4,589,566		72,217	28,669	1.99	80.8
2013	estimate	4,610,698		69,318	29,038	1.93	81.1
2014	estimate	4,638,675		67,413	28,731	1.90	81.4
2015	estimate	4,677,802		65,608	29,620	1.86	81.5
2016	estimate	4,727,172		63,823	30,125	1.82	81.7
2017	estimate	4,779,834		61,783	29,812	1.77	82.1
2018	estimate	4,840,687		60,961	30,617	1.76	82.1
2019	estimate	4,904,424		59,149	30,667	1.72	82.4
2020	estimate	4,962,558		56,491	32,141	1.65	82.4
2021	estimate	5,002,655		60,066	35,943	1.78	81.9
2022	estimate	5,054,196		53,241	35,143	1.59	82.0
2023	estimate	5,165,835		53,268	35,550	1.60	82.4
2024	estimate	5,227,425		52,767	36,649	1.60	82.6
2025	projection	5,282,610	5.2–5.3 million	52,616	37,175	1.60	82.8
2026	projection	5,333,468	5.3–5.4 million	52,626	37,687	1.60	82.9
2027	projection	5,380,432	5.2–5.5 million	52,830	38,267	1.60	83.1
2028	projection	5,425,344	5.2–5.6 million	53,231	38,988	1.60	83.2
2029	projection	5,467,898	5.2–5.8 million	53,837	39,638	1.60	83.4
2030	projection	5,507,049	5.2–5.9 million	54,555	40,379	1.60	83.5
2031	projection	5,543,138	5.2–6.0 million	55,282	41,144	1.60	83.7
2032	projection	5,578,180	5.1–6.1 million	56,133	41,910	1.60	83.9
2033	projection	5,612,000	5.1–6.2 million	57,030	42,788	1.60	84.0
2034	projection	5,643,415	5.0–6.3 million	57,984	43,594	1.60	84.2
2035	projection	5,673,181	5.0–6.5 million	58,952	44,475	1.60	84.3
2036	projection	5,700,556	4.9–6.7 million	59,781	45,327	1.60	84.4
2037	projection	5,727,845	4.9–6.8 million	60,665	46,207	1.60	84.6
2038	projection	5,755,114	4.9–7.0 million	61,439	47,085	1.60	84.7
2039	projection	5,781,397	4.8–7.1 million	62,198	47,981	1.60	84.8
2040	projection	5,805,333	4.8–7.3 million	62,632	48,833	1.60	85.0
2041	projection	5,829,807	4.7–7.5 million	62,933	49,670	1.60	85.1
2042	projection	5,853,165	4.6–7.7 million	63,081	50,493	1.60	85.2
2043	projection	5,873,310	4.6–7.9 million	62,978	51,324	1.60	85.4
2044	projection	5,891,627	4.5–8.1 million	62,759	52,140	1.60	85.5
2045	projection	5,909,238	4.4–8.3 million	62,339	52,951	1.60	85.6
2046	projection	5,924,634	4.4–8.5 million	61,748	53,720	1.60	85.7
2047	projection	5,937,026	4.3–8.6 million	60,960	54,546	1.60	85.8
2048	projection	5,948,677	4.3–8.7 million	60,152	55,362	1.60	86.0
2049	projection	5,959,674	4.2–9.0 million	59,241	56,142	1.60	86.1
2050	projection	5,967,553	4.2–9.2 million	58,341	56,882	1.60	86.2
2051	projection	5,972,531	4.1–9.4 million	57,360	57,563	1.60	86.3
2052	projection	5,975,144	4.0–9.6 million	56,323	58,376	1.60	86.5
2053	projection	5,977,161	4.0–9.8 million	55,370	59,060	1.60	86.6
2054	projection	5,976,950	3.9–10.0 million	54,459	59,751	1.59	86.7
2055	projection	5,976,132	3.9–10.2 million	53,712	60,467	1.60	86.8
2056	projection	5,971,711	3.8–10.4 million	52,993	61,249	1.60	87.0
2057	projection	5,968,816	3.7–10.6 million	52,402	61,886	1.60	87.1
2058	projection	5,961,441	3.6–10.9 million	51,826	62,579	1.60	87.2
2059	projection	5,952,269	3.6–11.1 million	51,385	63,262	1.60	87.3
2060	projection	5,940,162	3.5–11.2 million	51,002	63,946	1.60	87.4
2061	projection	5,927,669	3.4–11.4 million	50,685	64,612	1.60	87.5
2062	projection	5,915,790	3.4–11.6 million	50,594	65,264	1.60	87.7
2063	projection	5,904,290	3.3–11.8 million	50,592	65,868	1.60	87.8
2064	projection	5,891,842	3.2–12.1 million	50,684	66,451	1.60	87.9
2065	projection	5,877,489	3.2–12.3 million	50,893	66,922	1.60	88.0
2066	projection	5,862,776	3.1–12.6 million	51,057	67,496	1.60	88.1
2067	projection	5,847,475	3.0–13.1 million	51,259	67,954	1.60	88.2
2068	projection	5,832,097	3.0–13.5 million	51,477	68,268	1.60	88.3
2069	projection	5,816,241	2.9–13.9 million	51,696	68,567	1.60	88.4
2070	projection	5,799,965	2.8–14.3 million	51,901	68,711	1.60	88.5
2071	projection	5,783,020	2.8–14.5 million	52,179	68,827	1.60	88.7
2072	projection	5,766,484	2.7–14.8 million	52,341	68,773	1.61	88.8
2073	projection	5,749,786	2.7–15.1 million	52,377	68,462	1.61	88.9
2074	projection	5,733,011	2.6–15.3 million	52,314	68,138	1.60	89.0
2075	projection	5,716,096	2.6–15.7 million	52,189	67,757	1.60	89.1
2076	projection	5,700,282	2.5–15.9 million	52,018	67,143	1.60	89.2
2077	projection	5,684,540	2.4–16.2 million	51,755	66,506	1.60	89.3
2078	projection	5,669,339	2.4–16.3 million	51,448	65,854	1.60	89.4
2079	projection	5,654,608	2.3–16.7 million	51,066	65,107	1.60	89.5
2080	projection	5,639,947	2.3–17.0 million	50,616	64,302	1.61	89.7
2081	projection	5,627,996	2.3–17.1 million	50,163	63,627	1.61	89.7
2082	projection	5,617,121	2.2–17.4 million	49,677	62,898	1.61	89.8
2083	projection	5,604,805	2.2–18.0 million	49,156	62,311	1.61	90.0
2084	projection	5,591,519	2.1–18.4 million	48,546	61,792	1.61	90.1
2085	projection	5,578,010	2.1–18.7 million	47,990	61,415	1.61	90.2
2086	projection	5,564,194	2.1–19.1 million	47,361	61,137	1.61	90.3
2087	projection	5,550,656	2.0–19.3 million	46,784	61,104	1.61	90.4
2088	projection	5,535,811	2.0–19.5 million	46,210	61,132	1.61	90.5
2089	projection	5,519,733	1.9–19.8 million	45,693	61,309	1.61	90.6
2090	projection	5,502,841	1.9–20.4 million	45,190	61,656	1.61	90.7
2091	projection	5,484,620	1.9–21.2 million	44,722	62,106	1.60	90.8
2092	projection	5,466,376	1.9–21.9 million	44,358	62,607	1.60	90.9
2093	projection	5,447,804	1.8–22.6 million	44,070	63,185	1.61	91.0
2094	projection	5,428,691	1.8–22.7 million	43,829	63,907	1.61	91.1
2095	projection	5,409,283	1.8–22.8 million	43,638	64,519	1.61	91.2
2096	projection	5,389,235	1.8–23.0 million	43,538	65,190	1.61	91.3
2097	projection	5,367,288	1.8–23.4 million	43,447	65,789	1.61	91.4
2098	projection	5,344,852	1.7–24.0 million	43,368	66,382	1.61	91.5
2099	projection	5,321,759	1.7–25.1 million	43,347	66,958	1.61	91.7
2100	projection	5,298,149	1.7–25.7 million	43,357	67,374	1.61	91.8

Show the numbers: Ireland, mid-2026, by single year of age

Ireland: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	27,380	25,960
1	27,818	26,404
2	28,258	26,834
3	28,704	27,257
4	30,742	29,195
5	31,564	30,010
6	31,300	29,894
7	32,508	31,284
8	33,317	32,150
9	34,000	32,638
10	34,184	32,638
11	34,484	32,786
12	35,520	33,700
13	36,532	34,785
14	37,555	35,954
15	38,356	36,842
16	38,737	37,118
17	38,909	37,174
18	38,739	37,054
19	37,861	36,158
20	37,080	35,284
21	37,026	35,162
22	36,996	35,566
23	36,714	35,848
24	36,172	35,455
25	35,448	34,645
26	34,976	34,000
27	34,823	33,643
28	34,296	33,085
29	32,898	31,902
30	31,612	30,860
31	31,209	30,690
32	31,185	30,639
33	31,179	30,660
34	31,375	31,219
35	31,942	31,992
36	32,207	32,571
37	32,555	33,636
38	32,628	34,662
39	33,089	35,830
40	34,738	37,597
41	35,864	38,728
42	36,810	40,006
43	38,186	41,786
44	39,713	42,985
45	41,352	43,860
46	42,049	44,182
47	40,724	42,870
48	39,277	41,020
49	38,793	39,968
50	38,529	39,468
51	37,868	38,804
52	36,874	37,920
53	36,188	37,116
54	35,521	36,295
55	35,072	35,585
56	34,122	34,436
57	32,592	32,880
58	31,553	32,042
59	30,992	31,676
60	30,650	31,496
61	30,197	31,438
62	29,461	30,919
63	28,632	30,060
64	27,942	29,152
65	27,384	28,574
66	26,621	27,937
67	25,885	27,049
68	25,061	26,204
69	24,168	25,288
70	23,416	24,499
71	22,554	23,824
72	21,599	22,926
73	20,750	22,076
74	19,852	21,167
75	18,834	20,239
76	17,880	19,639
77	17,035	18,850
78	16,214	17,874
79	15,154	16,927
80	13,865	15,840
81	12,370	14,442
82	10,902	13,028
83	9,546	11,736
84	8,269	10,338
85	7,172	9,184
86	6,268	8,420
87	5,408	7,655
88	4,505	6,693
89	3,673	5,770
90	2,974	4,996
91	2,391	4,234
92	1,865	3,470
93	1,370	2,729
94	992	2,134
95	760	1,730
96	563	1,354
97	365	978
98	220	679
99	132	466
100+	173	758

IRL · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Ireland, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

IRL · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Ireland

On the UN's projection, Ireland will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2036: 3,692,950 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 3,400,740.

100 aged 15–64

29 children

24 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: take 100 people of working age — the orange row — and the two rows under it are the children (teal) and the people of 65 and over (violet) who lived alongside them in 2023.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 12 years: 2000–2011.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: 1950 on the left, 2100 on the right; coloured in the years with fewer than 50 dependants per 100 working-age people, grey in the rest, hatched where that is a projection.

How every country compares

IRL · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Ireland, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Ireland gains 45,893 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 5,608 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 1,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: age runs left to right, babies to 100. A blue square above the line means arrivals outnumber departures at that age, an orange square below it means the opposite. The figures are the UN's projection for 2020–2025; nobody recorded migration by age before 2020.

In the years that were counted, 1950–2023, the most it gained in one year was 94,513 (2006) and the most it lost was 45,810 (1953).

In 2024, 1,216,237 people living in Ireland had been born in another country, 23 of every 100 people there, against 7 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

IRL · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Ireland

Of every 100 babies born in Ireland in 2023, 1 had a mother under 20, 59 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 40 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 2 under 20 and 29 aged 35 or older.

1950
2 · 69 · 29

2023
1 · 59 · 40

2050 · projected
1 · 61 · 38

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: one block a year, 100 squares in each, a square for every hundredth baby. The colour is the mother's age group, and the three numbers underneath are those groups in order, youngest first.

Babies born, 2023: 53,268
Average age when women have a baby: 32.7 years; 31.6 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 4; 11 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Ireland by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	7	11	13	2	1	1
15–19	1,170	3,079	3,143	684	616	530
20–24	8,519	16,362	7,830	4,068	3,932	3,521
25–29	18,496	22,300	13,536	9,235	10,466	8,767
30–34	18,922	14,394	17,932	18,248	21,287	15,840
35–39	14,610	7,881	10,071	16,246	17,396	11,695
40–44	4,813	2,782	1,784	4,394	4,278	2,732
45–49	401	242	70	390	364	270
50–54	0	0	0	1	1	1
All babies	66,938	67,051	54,379	53,268	58,341	43,357

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

IRL · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Ireland

A baby born in Ireland in 2021 could expect 81.6 years of life, 70.0 of them in full health (95% range 69.3–70.8). That leaves 11.6 years in less than full health, more than the world's 9.5: a longer life usually brings a longer stretch of illness near its end.

Women

70.2 in full health, 13.2 not: 83.4 years

Men

69.8 in full health, 10.1 not: 79.9 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 70.2 healthy years of 83.4. Men: 69.8 of 79.9. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 70.5.

IRL · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Ireland

At the end of 2025, Ireland was hosting 171,597 people who had crossed a border into it, about 32 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad171,597
Ireland nationals abroad399

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: each square is 5,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Ireland living in another country, wherever they are. An outlined square means fewer people than one square stands for.

In 2025, 13,144 people asked for asylum in Ireland for the first time; 290 people from Ireland asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

IRL · of every 100 people

How people live in Ireland

Of every 100 people in Ireland in 2025, 29 lived in a city, 27 in a town or suburb and 44 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 2.8 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: everyone here, shrunk to 100 squares, with the colour saying whether that hundredth person lives in a city, a town or the countryside. Every country is measured by the same rule.

How the world's people live

IRL · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Ireland went in school

Almost every adult in Ireland went to school: of every 100 in 2020, 76 finished upper secondary or went further.

12 finished primary 12 finished lower secondary 23 finished upper secondary 53 studied after school

Its people aged 15 to 64, and the ones among them who finished upper secondary, are projected to be most numerous in the same year, 2070.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

IRL · cities · 2025

Cities in Ireland

Ireland had 5 cities in 2025, home to 1.6 million people. The largest, Dublin, holds 22 of every 100 people in Ireland.

Dublin1,142,650
Cork154,085
Blanchardstown108,867
Galway76,385
Swords72,254

How to read this: the 5 largest cities in 2025, bars on one scale. A city is the whole built-up area on the UN's rule, not the city's own boundary.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Ireland are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.