The Census of Ireland is typically held on a

quinquennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

basis by the Central Statistics Office to determine the population of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. The most recent census was held in 2022. , the next census is planned to occur in 2027. Prior to the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

in 1922, censuses covered the entire island of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

as part of 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The last all-Ireland census was the 1911 census of Ireland, no census having taken place in 1921 due to the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

Dates of census while part of the United Kingdom

* May 1813 (failed due to lack of returns and organisation) *

1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 26 – Congress of Laibach convenes to deal with outstanding international issues, particularly ...

(failed due to lack of returns and organisation) *

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto estab ...

* Sunday, 6 June 1841 *

1851 Events January–March * January 11 – Hong Xiuquan officially begins the Taiping Rebellion in China, one of the bloodiest revolts that would lead to 20 million deaths. * January 15 – Christian Female College, modern-d ...

1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...

* Sunday, 5 April 1891 * Sunday, 31 March 1901 * Sunday, 2 April 1911 * Sunday, 24 April 1921 (not taken due to

)

Dates of census post-independence

* Sunday, 18 April 1926 * Sunday, 26 April 1936 * Sunday, 12 May 1946 * Sunday, 8 April 1951 * Sunday, 8 April 1956 * Sunday, 9 April 1961 * Sunday, 17 April 1966 * Sunday, 18 April 1971 * Sunday, 1 April 1979 * Sunday, 5 April 1981 * Sunday, 13 April 1986 * Sunday, 21 April 1991 * Sunday, 28 April 1996 * Sunday, 28 April 2002 * Sunday, 23 April 2006 * Sunday, 10 April 2011 * Sunday, 24 April 2016 * Sunday, 3 April 2022

Political geography

Under Article 16 of the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland (, ) is the constitution, fundamental law of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executi ...

, revisions of

Dáil constituencies There are 43 multi-member electoral districts, known as Dáil constituencies, to elect 174 Teachta Dála, TDs to Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas, Republic of Ireland, Ireland's parliament, on the system of propor ...

by the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

are required at a minimum every 12 years. However, they must also have due regard to changes in the population. Under the

Electoral Reform Act 2022 The Electoral Reform Act 2022 is a law of Ireland which amended electoral law and provided for the establishment of an electoral commission titled An Coimisiún Toghcháin (). 2021 draft bill Negotiations after the February 2020 general ...

, the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

is required to conduct a review of constituency boundaries after every census. From 1997 up to the establishment of the Electoral Commission in 2023, this function was carried out by a

Constituency Commission The Constituency Commission () is an independent commission in Ireland which had advised on redrawing of constituency boundaries of Dáil constituencies for the election of members to Dáil Éireann (the house of representatives of the Oireacht ...

created for this function.

Urban geography

From 1971 to 2006, census towns were "defined as a cluster of 50 or more occupied dwellings where, within a radius of 800 metres, there was a nucleus of 30 occupied dwellings". From 2016, a new census settlement was defined "as a minimum of 50 occupied dwellings, with a maximum distance between any dwelling and the building closest to it of 100 metres, accompanied by evidence of an urban centre". For the 2022 census, the CSO developed a new urban geography term the Built Up Area (BUA) to define urban areas.

Surviving Census

All Free State Censuses survive, only the 1901 and the 1911 Census (which were released in the 1961 by order of the Minister of Justice,

Oscar Traynor Oscar Traynor (21 March 1886 – 14 December 1963) was an Irish republican and Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1957 to 1961, Minister for Defence from 1939 to 1948 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Posts and Telegr ...

to compensate the loss of earlier records) are currently public due to Section 35, of the 1993 Statistics Act which bans the release of census return forms until 100 years after the enumeration date. Due to the explosion in the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

in Dublin during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

in 1922, the 1813–1851 census were destroyed except for a few enumerators books and transcribed records (which were recovered from the wreckage and donated). Furthermore, all censuses from 1861-1891 were deliberately destroyed, the 1861–1871 were destroyed for the protection of privacy. Furthermore, in 1918, due to a paper shortage, the 1881–1891 were pulped, against the request of the staff at the Public Record Office in Dublin. There is an active attempt at recovering these censuses and re-constructing them with the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland. In July 2025, "over 200,000 names" are to be released by the VRTI.

Notes

References

External links

Census page on the CSO websiteCensus page on the National Archives of Ireland

Recovered censuses from the Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland
{{Census in Ireland