Population

Ireland has a population of about 6.1 million people. The average population density of Ireland is about 60 people per square km. In the Republic there are 4.3 million people, and in Northern Ireland there is 1.8 million people. Dublin is the biggest city by far, with a population of 1.7 million in the Greater Dublin Area. Next comes Belfast with just above 0.5 million, then Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway, Waterford and so on. Ireland's population is only half as much as it was in 1841, before the famine, but it is growing steadily and is predicted to reach that population by 2050.

Ireland is made up of mostly pure Irish. Although there are large numbers of groups coming from outside Ireland. The biggest minority is Britons. There around 400,000 Britons in Ireland up to around 5% of the population. Next there is Polish (200,000), then Lithuanians (115,000), Chinese (50,000),Nigerians (30,000) Germans (20,000), Latvians (15,000), Americans (10,000), and lots more. They now make up 10% of Ireland's population, twice as much as Portugal. Ireland is now considered a popular place to live. So good that Irish descendants are finally coming home.