Limerick population rises over 200,000 for first time according to Census results

THE POPULATION of Limerick has risen to above 200,000 people for the first time, according to the 2022 Census.

Results from the survey were published on Tuesday and revealed that the population of Ireland has risen to 5.15 million. This is the first time the population of Ireland was recorded at over 5 million since the time of the Famine.

According to the census, of Limerick’s population, 105,084 were female and 104,452 were male, which means there were 99 males for every 100 females. 

The average age of Limerick’s population in April 2022 was 39.3 years, compared with 37.7 years in April 2016. 

The number of people aged 65 and over continues to grow. This age group increased by 23% to 33,588 in Limerick and by 22% to 776,315 at a national level since 2016.

In Limerick, the number of dual Irish citizens increased from 3,258 to 5,487 while non-Irish citizens accounted for 11% of the county’s population.

Nationally, dual Irish citizenship increased by 63% from 104,784 to 170,597 people and non-Irish citizens made up 12% of the population.

The proportion of separated and divorced people in Limerick remains steady at 6% of the population (aged 15 and over) the same as in 2016. The national comparison was 6% in both 2022 and 2016.

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In 2022, 80% of people in Limerick stated that their health was good or very good compared with 86% in 2016. Nationally, 83% of people stated that their health was good/very good, compared to 87% in 2016.

The number of people (aged three and over) who stated that they could speak Irish in Limerick was 78,172 compared with 77,313 in 2016.

Within this figure, 1,853 said they spoke Irish daily while 4,319 spoke Irish weekly. Nationally, 1,873,997 people stated they were able to speak Irish, with 71,968 speaking Irish daily and 115,065 speaking it weekly.

There were 90,623 people (aged 15 and over) at work in Limerick, an increase of 13,438 people (+17%) between 2016 and 2022. Nationally, there were 313,656 additional people (+16%) at work.

In Limerick, 24,866 people (aged 15 and over) worked from home at least one day a week in 2022.This represented 27% of the workforce. The national figure was 32%.

There were 39,474 children aged 15 and under in Limerick in April 2022. Of these, 12,568 (32%) were in childcare, compared with 33% nationally.

In 2022, 65% of households in Limerick owned their own home, with a further 27% renting. This compared with 66% of households owning their home nationally and 28% renting.

In Limerick, 18% of households wrote a message in the Time Capsule. Nationally, this figure was 19%.