Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland
Ireland: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 39.7% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland stood at 39.7%. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland peaked at 49.6% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 39.7%, in 2020.
Ireland ranks 43rd of 179 regions on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 44.7% | 43.8% | 45.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 47.6% | 46.5% | 48.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 48.5% | 47.4% | 49.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 46.3% | 45.7% | 47.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 45.0% | 44.8% | 45.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 42.7% | 41.7% | 43.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 40.0% | 39.9% | 40.1% | 2 |
| 2020s | 39.7% | 39.7% | 39.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More population data for Ireland
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.5% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 217,052 people (2100)
- Population density 76.73 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.5% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 124,730 people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate 0.3% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland?
- Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland was 39.7% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 49.6% in 1970.
- What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.7% in 2020.
- How does Ireland rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Ireland ranks 43rd out of 179 regions with data for 2020.
- Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.