Population
Population
The population of Ireland is predominantly of Celtic origin. No significant ethnic minorities exist.
Population Characteristics
The population of the Irish Republic in 2001 was estimated at 3,840,838, giving the country an overall population density of 55 persons per sq km (142 per sq mi). The population decreased from the 1840s, when about 6.5 million people lived in the area included in the republic, until about 1970, largely because of a high emigration rate. During the 1980s the population increased at an annual rate of only about 0.5 percent. In 2001 the rate was 1.12 percent. Some 58 percent of the population lived in urban areas in 1999.
Ireland was colonized from Europe. For more than 5,000
years, successive waves of settlers arrived from the
island of Great Britain or from the continent, each group
contributing to the cultural heritage of the modern Irish
nation. The Celtic elements remains dominant,
but the east has been particularly influenced by the
Anglo-Normans. Their initial invasion in 1170 was
followed by subsequent immigration of settlers from
England, Wales, and Scotland. The present population of
Ireland is, therefore, of mixed origin. The first
official language is Irish, but English is recognized as
the second official language.
English is universally spoken, although 27% of the
population know both Irish and English. Irish is more
widely used in the west, where, in limited areas, it
remains the first language of the people.
Demography
The population of Ireland, which expanded rapidly during
the 18th and early 19th centuries, reached 8.1 million in
1841, prior to the great potato famine. The famine years,
beginning in 1845, brought a sudden reversal of the
population trend due to deaths and emigration. Migration
to North America and Great Britain continued over the next
hundred years; by 1930 the population numbered little
more than half the 1845 figure. Since 1961, the population
has been increasing at an average of about 1% per annum.
Ireland's density is fifth-lowest of all European nations.
A distinctive feature of Ireland's rural population today
is the low proportion to the total population of people in
the 15-to-45-year age group. This low level results from
the departure of working-age persons to seek employment in
the cities or overseas. The population is fairly evenly
distributed throughout the country. Higher densities can
be found along the western seaboard, an area of small
farms on poor land. Lower densities are associated with
larger farms on the more fertile land in the east. Only
52% of the population live in towns of 1,500 inhabitants
or more. Dublin, together with its seaport of DUN
LAOGHAIRE, has more than one-fifth of the country's total
population. Second in importance is the city of CORK,
followed by Limerick, WATERFORD, and GALWAY, all port
cities. The largest inland town is KILKENNY, with 9,838
inhabitants. The most urbanized areas of the country are
the south and east; the population is increasing in these
areas while densities elsewhere are declining. Migration
has led to serious rural depopulation in the extreme west
and in the LEITRIM and ROSCOMMON areas near Lough Allen.
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