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 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 43.8% | — |
| 1955 | 45.5% | +4.0% |
| 1960 | 46.5% | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 48.7% | +4.7% |
| 1970 | 49.6% | +1.8% |
| 1975 | 47.4% | -4.3% |
| 1980 | 47.0% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 45.7% | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 45.2% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 44.8% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 43.6% | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 41.7% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 39.9% | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 40.1% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 39.7% | -0.9% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 39.7% is above the median for high income countries, which is 29.2%, 1.4× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 39.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.1%, 1.6× the median. (48 countries reporting)
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
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.1157 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.4488 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.68 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.4488 % change on previous year (2100)
- 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)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.1844 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.5372 Percent per annum (2030)
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 countries 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
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.