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20% born outside State, up from 17% in 2016

CSO census data shows that in April 2022, Ireland’s smallest county, Louth, had the two largest towns in the State – Drogheda (44,135 people) and Dundalk (43,112).

There were 49 towns in the country with a population above 10,000 in 2022, the data shows.

The five towns with the highest populations nationally were in Leinster, with

• Swords (40,776),
• Navan (33,886),
• and Bray (33,512) completing the list.

Ennis was the next largest town with 27,923 people.

Sligo (20,608) and Letterkenny (22,549) had the highest populations in Connacht and the  three counties of Ulster, respectively.

Most of the towns with the oldest populations  were in the west – including towns in Kerry, Roscommon, Donegal, Cork and Clare.

Among the smaller towns with a population of 1,500-10,000,  Saggart in Dublin was the youngest, with an average age of 30.4, while Ballyshannon in Donegal and Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis in Kerry were the oldest, both with an average age of 44.4.

In the bigger towns – those with a population of 10,000 or more people – Balbriggan in Dublin was the youngest, with an average age of 33.6, and Clonmel in Tipperary was the oldest, with an average age of 40.8.

Cork had the highest percentage (72%) of residents born in the county, while Meath had the lowest percentage (32%) of residents who were born in the county.

In the year prior to the census, 265,098 people moved residence within Ireland. Of these, 29% moved to a different county.

Of the 112,548 households that moved to another home in the year prior to 2022, 61% moved into a rented property, 23% to a property owned with a mortgage or loan, and 11% to a property purchased without a mortgage or loan.

Place of birth

There were 5,084,879 usual residents (who normally live in the country and were present in the state on census night) in Ireland on 3 April 2022.

Of these, 59% (3,014,287) lived in the county in which they were born.

A further 21% (1,053,155) were born elsewhere in the State.

The remaining 20% of those living in Ireland in April 2022 (1,017,437 people) were born outside the State – up from 17% in 2016.

One in four of those living in Dublin were born in another country while 23% of those living in Monaghan and 22% in Donegal were born outside the State.

Movers by age

People aged 26 were most likely to move, with 15% of those at this age moving in the year before Census 2022.

The proportion moving after age 26 gradually decreased, with fewer than 2% of people aged 65 moving in the year before the census.

Movers in Roscommon and Leitrim were most likely to move to a different county, with 46% and 45%, respectively, of movers doing so.

One in four Dublin movers left the county. In Cork, 18% of movers left the county, which was the lowest rate for people moving to another county.