The population of the Republic rose by 66,900 people in the 12 months to the end of April, increasing to 5,525,600, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
During the same 12-month period, an estimated 110,600 immigrants arrived in the State. This marks a 12 per cent decrease from the corresponding period ending in April 2025 and was the fifth successive 12-month period where more than 100,000 people immigrated to Ireland.
Fewer people emigrated from the Republic in the year leading up to April 2026, with an estimated 62,500 people departing the State. This was a decrease of 5 per cent or 3,100 emigrants when compared with the 12-month period up to April last year.
More than half (53 per cent) of those who emigrated were aged between 25 and 44 years (32,900 people), while 32 per cent (19,900 people) were aged between 15 and 24 years.
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More people arrived in the country than left – about 48,100, a decline of 11,600 people or 19 per cent from 59,700 in the corresponding period ending in April 2025.
The number of immigrants in the 12 months to this April fell by 14,700 when compared with the previous 12-month period and comprised of 30,200 returning Irish citizens, 20,700 other EU citizens, 4,300 UK citizens and more than 55,000 others.
The number of emigrants in the same 12-month period decreased slightly and comprised of 35,400 Irish citizens, 8,700 other EU citizens, 2,000 UK citizens and 16,400 others.
In the 12 months to this April, 11,800 people left Ireland to go to Australia, a decrease of 1,700 from the previous year. Similarly, the number of people coming to Ireland from Australia decreased from 10,100 to 8,300.
The number of people in the Republic aged below 14 years fell to 992,400 in April, the first time this age bracket fell under one million people since 2014.
“This age group had a fall in population share between 2020 and 2026, reducing from 20 per cent to 18 per cent of the total population, a decrease of 21,300,” statistician Conor J Crowley said.
The number of people in the Republic aged 65 and over rose to 891,100 in April.
“Those aged 65 and over showed an increase in population share between 2020 and 2026, increasing from 14.4 per cent to 16.1 per cent of the total, which was a volume increase of 165,000 people,” Crowley said.
Since 2010, the number of births in the Republic has continued to decline. About 55,000 people under the age of one year lived in Ireland in April, a decrease of 19,900 people or 27 per cent in 16 years.
In the 12 months leading up to April, there was a natural increase (births minus deaths) of nearly 19,000 people in the State.
The population of Dublin has risen from 27.6 per cent of the country’s total in 2011 to 28.9 per cent this year, with 1,597,700 people residing in the capital.
The southwest and mideast had the second and third highest population by region in April, with 792,900 and 788,400 people respectively.
The region with the highest population growth year on year was Dublin, which had an increase of 29,700 people from April 2025 to April 2026. This was followed by the west region, which had a rise of 11,500 people.
The only region not to see an increase in population since April last year was the southeast. In April 2026, the southeast had a population of 485,400 people, down 1,000 (or 0.2 per cent) people from April last year.
The region with the lowest contribution to the total population this year was the midland region, with 339,400 people (6.1 per cent).
