The Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) have today (2 July 2025) published Ireland and Northern Ireland – A Joint Census Publication 2021/2022.
The publication presents findings from Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Ireland. It offers a comprehensive look at statistics across the island of Ireland, covering a wide range of topics including demographics, marital status, ethnicity, language, health, unpaid care, religion, employment, and commuting patterns.
Some of the key findings are as follows:
- In 2022, the population of the island of Ireland stood at 7.1 million people, an increase of 26%, or 1.5 million people, over the 20 years since 2002.
- This was the first time since 1851 that the population on the island of Ireland exceeded 7 million people.
- Between 2002 and 2022, the population in Ireland increased by 31% and by 13% in Northern Ireland.
- The 5.15 million people living in Ireland in 2022 accounted for 73% of the all-island population, while the 1.91 million people in Northern Ireland accounted for 27%.
- Northern Ireland’s population density (141 people per km²) was almost twice that of Ireland (73 people per km²).
- The median age of the population was 38 years in Ireland and 40 years in Northern Ireland, both below the EU average of 44 years.
- Northern Ireland had a higher proportion of people aged 65 years and over (18%) compared with Ireland (15%).
The full publication, which includes an infographic, presentation videos and audio files is available at Ireland and Northern Ireland – A Joint Census Publication 2021-2022 – Central Statistics Office