''Census 2016'' in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

was held on Sunday, 24 April 2016, to administer a

national census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

. It was organised by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and reported a total population of 4,761,865, or a 3.8% increase since the prior 2011 census. This was the lowest recorded population growth rate since the 1991 census, with the decline in population growth rates attributed to both lower

birth rates The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...

and lower net migration. The census results were released gradually between April and December 2017 in a series of reports organised either as summaries or in-depth results of specific themes, like age, ethnicity, or religion. Another census was due to take place in April 2021, but was delayed for one year due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Background

Although

Irish law Law of Ireland or Irish law may refer to: * Early Irish law (Brehon law) of Medieval Ireland * Alternative law in Ireland prior to 1921 * Law of the Republic of Ireland The law of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute, and common law. ...

does not prescribe a regular interval for administering censuses, ''Census 2016'' was held in accordance with Irish government tradition since 1951 to administer a census on a Sunday in April on years ending with the numbers '1' or '6'. This incidentally coincided with the

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of the 1916 Easter Rising, which began on

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the ...

, 24 April 1916. Responsibility for organising the census fell with the Central Statistics Office, which operates within the

Department of the Taoiseach The Department of the Taoiseach ( ga, Roinn an Taoisigh) is the government department of the Taoiseach, the title in Ireland for the head of government.Article 13.1.1° and Article 28.5.1° of the Constitution of Ireland. The latter provision re ...

. The CSO hired 4,660 enumerators, supported by 430 field supervisors, who reported in turn to 44 regional supervisors. In delivering over two million census forms, enumerators were required to make personal contact with a resident at the property.

Census form

''Census 2016'' was the first Irish census that allowed respondents to report a

marital status Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. ''Married'', '' single'', ''divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status. ''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...

contracted with a person of the same sex. This followed a 2015 referendum to amend the Irish Constitution to permit same-sex marriages, which was passed into law by the Marriage Act 2015. Other than marital status, the 2016 census form copied all questions verbatim from the 2011 census form. The same is not planned for the 2022 census, which underwent a public consultation process in 2017 to formulate new questions. These changes included a revision to questions on religion, which

Atheist Ireland Atheist Ireland is an association of atheists based in Ireland. The group was initially founded by members of Atheist.ie, an online community which had been set up by Seamus Murnane in June 2006. Its current chairperson is writer and activist ...

argued skewed responses towards religiosity. The new questions were trialed in West Cork in 2018. Although most census forms in 2016 were collected in person by returning enumerators, over 15,000 forms were returned by post, with all recipients legally required to return completed forms.

Results

The census's results on declining religiosity, the aging population, and rising homelessness all drew attention in Irish media. Affiliation with the largest religion in Ireland,

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, dropped to 78%, down from 84% in 2011. The census also reported the first ever recorded fall in the absolute number of Roman Catholics. A thematic report on housing found that home ownership rates reached their lowest since 1971, which Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government

Simon Coveney Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since December 2022 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Af ...

described as a "stark story" emanating from "fundamental structural problems", which he associated with the

2008 Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At t ...

and Irish housing bubble.

Population change

While Ireland's population continued to grow in the 2011–2016 period, the decline in growth rates was noted by multiple outlets and the CSO's reporting.

Province

Region and county

The local authority with the highest percentage growth rate was

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

(8.1%), while Dublin city had the largest population increase (+26,942). Of Ireland's traditional counties, the largest overall population increase was in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

(+74,799), while both Dublin and Meath were jointly the fastest growing counties (5.9%). Three counties declined in population:

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban ce ...

(−0.1%), Mayo (−0.2%), and

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

(−1.2%).

Notes

References

2016 in the Republic of Ireland 2016 censuses Censuses in the Republic of Ireland Demographics of Ireland Geographic history of Ireland {{Census in Ireland