The West is a strategic planning area within the Northern and Western Region in Ireland. It is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland (coded IE042) under the

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide stati ...

classification. It consists of the counties of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Mayo and

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...

, and the city of

. The West spans 13,801 km² (20% of the total area of the state) and as of the 2016 census has a population of 453,109. The region is located on the western seaboard of Ireland with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

delimiting the region to the east. The West Region is largely rural, with only 30% of its population living in urban areas. It is noted for its continuance of Irish traditions, such as the Irish language in the region's

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

areas.

Regional Assembly

The constituent local authorities are the councils of the counties of

, Mayo and

and the city

, which each send representatives to the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, forming the West Strategic Planning Area Committee.

Former Regional Authority

From 1994 to 2014, the West Region was administered by the West Regional Authority, which consisted of 28 elected representatives including the region's representative on the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

Committee of the Regions. These representatives met once a month and were nominated from the four administrative councils of the region: *

Galway City Council Galway City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

(6) *

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

(7) * Mayo County Council (7) *

Roscommon County Council Roscommon County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Ros Comáin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Roscommon, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ho ...

(6) In 2014, the Regional Authorities were dissolved and their functions were transferred to the Regional Assemblies.

Demographics

According to the 2006 census, the region had a population of 380,057, which constitutes 9.7% of the national population. Its population density was 27 persons per km². The population of the regional capital, Galway City, was 72,414.

Economy

According to Eurostat figures for 2012, the region has GDP of €13.802 bn and a GDP per capita of €31,500. Tourism in the region is bolstered by its geography, with it attracting tourists from across Ireland and elsewhere, with inland rivers, lakes, mountains and plains, along with off shore islands, a large number of beaches, and its rugged coastline amongst natural attractions.

Transport

The Ireland West Airport Knock is an international airport in the region which is served by flights to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, and

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. Mainline rail services operate from both Galway and Mayo to Dublin. The

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...

, connecting Galway to Dublin, was completed in 2009. The M17 motorway from Shannon to the M6 opened in 2010 and its short continuation north to Tuam (as the M18 motorway) opened in 2017. The Western Railway Corridor re-opened in 2010 as far as Athenry, a junction with the Dublin-Galway line.

Urban areas

A list of the largest urban areas in the West Region. County capitals are shown in bold.

References

External links

Project Ireland 2040: Regional Report: The West
{{coord missing, Ireland NUTS statistical regions of the Republic of Ireland