Census 2006


Censuses of population have been conducted in Ireland since 1841. Beginning in 1951, these censuses have been undertaken at 5 yearly intervals with the exceptions of 1976 and 2001. Between 1996 and 2006, the population of Ireland increased by 17% (CSO 2007) largely due to labour migration to Ireland and the demographic make up of the population changed substantially. The 2006 Census of population which was conducted by the Central Statistics Office on 23 April 2006 provides some very interesting statistics on cultural diversity in Ireland.

The results from the 2006 Census show that 420,000 non-Irish nationals were living in Ireland at the time of the Census and they came from 188 different countries. The top ten of these countries accounted for 82% of the total. The breakdown by nationality shows that the vast majority came from within the EU as illustrated by the chart below:

Non-Irish Natinals by nationality (figures as per Census 2006)

Of the 275,775 people who came from the EU, over 40% (112,548) of these were from the UK. The next highest groups were from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The chart below shows the breakdown of non-Irish nationals from the EU:

Breakdown of Non Irish Nationals from the EU (as per Census 2006)

The Census also gives information on the occupations of Non –Irish nationals and shows that in April 2006, 15% were employed as service workers, 14% were working in the professional, technical and health sectors and 11% were working in building/construction – see chart below.

Occupations Non-Irish Natinals (as per Census 2006)

The Census 2006 is a rich source of information about the population of Ireland, immigration into Ireland and emigration from Ireland. The published reports provide detailed information on the diversity of the newcomers to Ireland, their living arrangements, educational attainment, occupations etc. The list below gives details of the publications available and these can be found on the CSO website.

Census 2006 Reports
Date Published
Preliminary Report19 Jul 06
Principal Demographic Results29 Mar 07
Volume 1 - Population Classified by Area26 Apr 07
Volume 2 - Ages and Marital Status10 May 07
Volume 3 - Household Composition, Family Units and Fertility31 May 07
Principal Socio-economic Results28 June 07
Volume 4 - Usual Residence, Migration, Birthplaces and Nationalities12 July 07
Volume 5 - Ethnic or Cultural Background (including the Irish Traveller Community) 26 July 07
Volume 6 - Housing 16 Aug 07
Volume 7 - Principal Economic Status and Industries06 Sep 07
Volume 8 - Occupations 20 Sep 07
Volume 9 - Irish Language04 Oct 07
Volume 10 - Education and Qualifications 18 Oct 07
Volume 11 - Disability, Carers and Voluntary Activities01 Nov 07
Volume 12 - Travel to Work, School and College15 Nov 07
Volume 13 - Religion 29 Nov 07
Non-Irish Nationals Living in Ireland 30 Jun 08




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