Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland
Ireland: Number of people living in urban and rural areas was 3.43 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland is 3.43 million people, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 16.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland peaked at 3.43 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.19 million people, in 1950.
Ireland ranks 119th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.24 million people | 1.19 million people | 1.26 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.38 million people | 1.27 million people | 1.51 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.70 million people | 1.54 million people | 1.86 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.97 million people | 1.89 million people | 2.00 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.09 million people | 2.00 million people | 2.21 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.51 million people | 2.25 million people | 2.79 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.95 million people | 2.82 million people | 3.12 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.30 million people | 3.16 million people | 3.43 million people | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More population data for Ireland
- World population growth -0.5% (2100)
- Population density 76.73 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 217,052 people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.5% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 124,730 people (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.47 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Share of people who are religious 1.6 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate accounting for survival until childbearing age 1.59 children per women (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland?
- Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Ireland was 3.43 million people in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 3.43 million people in 2025.
- What is the lowest number of people living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.19 million people in 1950.
- How does Ireland rank for number of people living in urban and rural areas?
- Ireland ranks 119th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is number of people living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.