Ireland, the Republic part of it, is a busy place these times with people coming and people going.
But more are coming in according to the latest numbers from the Irish government's Central Statistics office. Immigration levels are now the highest they have been in seventeen years.
CSO figures to the end of April this year reveal that more than 100,000 people immigrated to the Republic in three successive years. The population of the 26 counties is now estimated to be 5.38 million, an increase of 98,700 on the figure recorded in 2023.
As the Irish Times was reporting, some 149,200 people immigrated to Ireland in the 12 months leading up to April 2024, the highest figure in 17 years, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office.
It was the third successive 12-month period where more than 100,000 people immigrated to the State, while the number of those who emigrated was the highest since 2015.
Of the immigrant numbers, 30,000 were returning Irish citizens, 27,000 were EU citizens, and 5,400 were UK citizens, while the remaining 86,800 immigrants were citizens of other countries, including Ukraine.
The number of returning Irish citizens saw minimal change, with an increase of just 400 from the 29,600 who returned the year prior.
The population of the Republic is now estimated to be 5.38 million, an increase of 98,700 on the figure recorded in 2023. This was the largest 12-month population increase in 16 years since 2008 when the population rose by 109,200.
Meanwhile, more than 69,000 people emigrated in the same period, an increase of 5,000 when compared to the same period in 2023 and the highest emigration figure since 2015, according to the CSO.
Of those, 34,700 were Irish citizens, 10,600 were EU citizens, 3,000 were UK citizens, and 21,500 were citizens of other countries including Ukraine.
According to the Times report, there was a “strong outward flow” to Australia in particular, with an estimated 10,600 people moving there from Ireland, up from 4,700 the year prior, representing an increase of 126 per cent. It represents the highest level of emigration to Australia since 2013, the CSO said.
"Meanwhile, 6,400 people moved to Ireland from Australia, a decrease of 17 per cent from the 7,700 who did so in 2023. Some 15,200 people left Ireland to live in the UK, up from 14,600 in 2023 while 20,500 people moved to Ireland from the UK, up from 18,400 in 2023. Those aged between 25 and 44 accounted for 48 per cent of all emigrants.
The number of emigrants from countries outside of the EU has risen by 49% when compared to the 14,400 in 2023, though a significant number were Ukrainian, according to the CSO. Overall, there was a positive net migration of 79,300 in the 12 month period, compared with 77,600 in the previous year. There was a natural increase of 19,400 people in the State which comprised of 54,200 births and 34,800 deaths.
The population of the Republic, in common with a number of western countries, is also aging.
In April 2024, according to the CSO, 833,300 people were living in Ireland aged 65 and over, an increase of 156,800. More than one million people were aged between 0 and 14, a volume decrease of 4,100.
A downward trend in births since 2010 has driven declines in those aged 0 to 4 since 2012, according to the CSO.
The proportion of the population living in Dublin has risen from 28.1 percent of the total in 2018 to 28.5 percent of the total in 2024 and now stands at 1,534,900 people.
Observant readers will note one thing missing from all these words. There is no mention of the United States. Irish people who are leaving the island are mostly heading to Australia, the UK and other countries.
This is because there is virtually no way that an Irish person can move to the U.S. simply because he or she wants to apply their talents here. But that, as they say, is another story.
