The Mid-West is a strategic planning area within the Southern Region in Ireland. It is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland (coded IE051). It consists of the

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Clare and Tipperary, and the city and county of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

is the economic centre of the region. It spans 10,511 km², 14.95% of the total area of the state and as of the 2022 census, it had a population of 505,369.

Area

The constituent local authorities are the councils of the counties of Clare and Tipperary and the city and county of

, which each send representatives to the Southern Regional Assembly, forming the Mid-West Strategic Planning Area Committee. The area of the Mid-West was expanded in 2018 as part of an EU-wide revision to NUTS areas, by the inclusion of the whole of

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. This reflected the merger of North Tipperary and

South Tipperary South Tipperary () was a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary (town), Tipperary and consisted of 52% of the land area of the tradit ...

as local government areas in 2014. Prior to 2018, South Tipperary was located in the South-East.

Former Regional Authority

Prior to 2014, the area was a region was administered by the Mid-West Regional Authority, which consisted of 26 elected representatives from the region's councils. These representatives met once a month. The councils were: * Clare County Council (7) * Limerick City Council (6) * Limerick County Council (7) * North Tipperary County Council (6) The Regional Authorities were dissolved in 2014 and were replaced by Regional Assemblies. Shannon Development was a development body for the Shannon Region of the lower

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and 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 I ...

, which encompassed the entire Mid-West Region together with North Kerry (in the South-West Region) and South Offaly (in the Midland Region). It too was dissolved in 2014.

Demographics

The Mid-West has a population of 473,269 which constitutes about 9.94% of Ireland's total population. The population density of the region is 45.02 persons/km².

is the largest urban area in the region with a population of 102,000 people within the larger urban area including the city suburbs.

Economy

The economy of the region is based mainly around the greater

/ Shannon corridor. The Shannon Free Zone, Shannon Airport, Shannon Estuary Ports, National Technology Park Limerick and major educational institutions such as the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

and Limerick Institute of Technology are major drivers of the regional economy with growth prospects in Biotechnology and medical technology, ICT, aerospace, tourism

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

and logistics.Irish Region Office - Regions of Ireland: Mid-West Region
The Dublin/Limerick corridor and the western corridor linking Galway/Ennis/Limerick/Cork is of strategic importance to the region. According to CSO figures for 2014, the region has a GDP of €12.116 bn and a GDP per capita of €31,792. Eurostat figures for 2012, the region has GDP of €11.468 bn and a GDP per capita of €30,300 The 2016 unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Ireland at 6% (the same as that of Dublin). . The workforce in the region was 160,400 in 2003 which was an employment rate of 96.7% of which 61.8% were employed in services, 29.8% in Industry and 8.3% employed in agriculture. Agriculture remains a major part of the Mid-West economy. The Clare Marts in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

is a major trading post of livestock nationally. The plains of East

are part of Ireland's

Golden Vale The Golden Vale () is the historic name given to an area of rolling pastureland in the province of Munster in southwestern Ireland. The area covers parts of three counties: Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. Considered the best land in Ireland ...

that stretch from

City into

According to the CSO, the mid-west in 2016 had the lowest value of land sold in Ireland of €16.5 million. Also, the Mid-West region had the lowest volume of land in Ireland of 2,898 acres which could in turn reduce income coming into this region.

Transport

Shannon Airport is the only airport in the region with a wide range of flights available to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, continental

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and transatlantic flights to the United States. The M7 is a high quality motorway connecting

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

. The N18/ M18 including the

Limerick Tunnel The Limerick Tunnel () is a , immersed tube tunnel underneath the River Shannon on the outskirts of Limerick city. The tunnel forms part of the N18 road (Ireland), N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled. Construction Construction ...

provides a complete bypass of

and improved access to Shannon,

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. The N/M20 road/motorway provides access to Cork and Kerry.

Urban areas

A list of the largest urban areas and regionally important towns with a population of 1,000 or more in the Mid-West Region. County capitals are shown in bold.

References

{{coord missing, Ireland NUTS statistical regions of the Republic of Ireland