Ireland population pyramid 2026
5,356,950 people in 2026 (projected). Ireland’s pyramid has two bulges, the 1980 birth peak and the boom-era children of the 2000s, and a history of emigration that turned to immigration in the 1990s.
- 2026 population
- 5.4Mrank 125 of 237
- Median age
- 39.2 yearsoldest rank 68
- Fertility rate
- 1.60births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Older16.5% age 65+
Ireland population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Ireland age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 17.6% of the population, while 16.5% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 65.8% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Ireland’s age structure as older; the guide to constrictive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 51.9: about 52 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (26.8 children and 25.1 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Ireland’s population pyramid
Emigration and late high fertility
For most of the twentieth century Ireland combined two things that elsewhere in Europe rarely went together: high fertility and a population that barely grew. Women still had on average close to four children around 1970, far above most of western Europe, yet the population rose only from about 2.9 million to 3.2 million between 1950 and 1975, because so many young adults emigrated, mainly to Britain and the United States. The UN series records a net outflow of about 560,000 between 1950 and 1999. The 1975 pyramid shows the result: a broad base of children, but an almost flat section from 35 to 64 where the emigrant generations of the 1950s should have been.
The 1980 peak and the 1990s dip
Births in Ireland peaked around 1980, and that generation, born about 1977–81, is now the widest part of the pyramid at ages 45–49, about 9% larger than the neighbouring bands. Fertility then fell quickly, reaching about 2.1 by 1990, coinciding with the legalisation of contraception and a period of economic difficulty, and the smaller cohorts born in the early 1990s form a dip at ages 30–34. A second bulge sits lower down, at 15–24: these children were born in 2002–11, a period that began with the economic boom, when immigration was high and fertility, at about 2.1 around 2010, was among the highest in the European Union. Since then fertility has eased to about 1.6, so the base of the pyramid has narrowed again.
Immigration and a younger profile than most of Europe
From the 1990s the migration flow reversed. Between 2000 and 2023 net immigration added about 640,000 people, much of it from other EU countries after 2004, alongside a natural increase of about 810,000. Women outnumber men at ages 40–44 (about 92 men per 100 women), an imbalance the chart alone cannot explain; differences between male and female migration flows are one possible factor.
The result is an age structure closest to those of Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, with the United States also among the nearest matches. Births still exceed deaths by a comfortable margin, and the medium scenario has the population growing to a peak of about 6.0 million around 2053, with deaths first outnumbering births in 2051. The guide to reading a population pyramid shows how bulges like Ireland’s can be traced to specific birth years.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Ireland’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
Births outnumber deaths in 2026; the medium scenario projects deaths to exceed births from 2051. People aged 65 and older are projected to outnumber children under 15 by 2030.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Ireland is projected to record 52,626 births (about 144 births a day) and 37,687 deaths, a natural increase of 14,939. Net migration adds +32,022 people, ranking #18 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 1,533,526 births, 720,056 deaths, and cumulative net migration of +638,616. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of +342,895 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 84.9 years66.7 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 81.0 years64.5 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 20.8 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 2.5per 1,000 births · 44 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 3.0per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 32.7 yearssex ratio at birth 105.6
Women in Ireland are projected to live 3.9 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 44 to 2.5 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #214 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 32.7 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Ireland
The median age of 39.2 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 1.60 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 82.9 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,356,950 | #125 | Largest first |
| Median age | 39.2 years | #68 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 1.60 | #150 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | +0.9% | #104 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 82.9 years | #28 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 16.5% | #72 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Ireland
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45–49 | 414,094 | 7.7% | 202.2K / 211.9K |
| 2 | 40–44 | 386,415 | 7.2% | 185.3K / 201.1K |
| 3 | 15–19 | 376,947 | 7.0% | 192.6K / 184.3K |
| 4 | 50–54 | 374,585 | 7.0% | 185K / 189.6K |
| 5 | 20–24 | 361,303 | 6.7% | 184K / 177.3K |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Ireland has 2,651,773 males and 2,705,176 females. That is 98.0 males per 100 females, ranking #125 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.5% of the population and females for 50.5%. There are 53,403 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 88.6 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 105.6 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Ireland has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 2,912,654 in 1950 to 5,356,950 in 2026, a change of 84%. Over the same span, median age moved from 29.0 to 39.2 years.
The under-15 share changed from 28.6% to 17.6%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 11.0% to 16.5%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Ireland’s population is projected to grow by about 11%, reaching 5,970,042 in 2050. The median age changes from 39.2 to 42.9 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 9.6 percentage points to 26.1%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 15.6%. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest projected population of 5,977,056 in 2053. That turning point depends on the medium scenario and may move in later revisions. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,912,654 | 29.0 | 3.50 | 65.6 | 66,938 | 37,821 | −1,352 | +0.9% |
| 1960 | 2,827,690 | 29.1 | 3.76 | 70.2 | 61,763 | 32,462 | −38,492 | -0.3% |
| 1970 | 2,961,404 | 26.2 | 3.85 | 70.8 | 64,468 | 33,416 | −8,892 | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 3,415,240 | 25.5 | 3.21 | 72.5 | 74,072 | 33,007 | −2,876 | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 3,514,018 | 28.2 | 2.11 | 74.8 | 53,096 | 30,991 | −8,203 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 3,802,585 | 31.5 | 1.89 | 76.5 | 54,379 | 31,182 | +31,298 | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 4,559,080 | 33.3 | 2.06 | 80.6 | 75,667 | 27,574 | −26,974 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 4,982,606 | 37.3 | 1.65 | 82.4 | 56,491 | 32,141 | +15,746 | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 5,196,630 | 38.4 | 1.60 | 82.4 | 53,268 | 35,550 | +43,873 | +1.2% |
| 2024* | 5,255,018 | 38.7 | 1.60 | 82.6 | 52,767 | 36,649 | +39,059 | +1.1% |
| 2026* | 5,356,950 | 39.2 | 1.60 | 82.9 | 52,626 | 37,687 | +32,022 | +0.9% |
| 2030* | 5,525,094 | 39.9 | 1.60 | 83.6 | 54,555 | 40,379 | +21,907 | +0.7% |
| 2040* | 5,817,570 | 41.0 | 1.60 | 85.0 | 62,632 | 48,833 | +10,681 | +0.4% |
| 2050* | 5,970,042 | 42.9 | 1.60 | 86.2 | 58,341 | 56,882 | +3,518 | +0.1% |
| 2060* | 5,933,916 | 45.7 | 1.60 | 87.4 | 51,002 | 63,946 | +455 | -0.2% |
| 2070* | 5,791,492 | 47.2 | 1.60 | 88.6 | 51,901 | 68,711 | −142 | -0.3% |
| 2080* | 5,633,972 | 47.3 | 1.61 | 89.6 | 50,616 | 64,302 | +1,729 | -0.2% |
| 2090* | 5,493,730 | 48.5 | 1.61 | 90.7 | 45,190 | 61,656 | −1,761 | -0.3% |
| 2100* | 5,286,120 | 49.9 | 1.61 | 91.8 | 43,357 | 67,374 | −43 | -0.5% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 142,903 | 135,649 | 278,552 | 5.2% |
| 5–9 | 162,690 | 155,976 | 318,666 | 5.9% |
| 10–14 | 178,276 | 169,863 | 348,139 | 6.5% |
| 15–19 | 192,602 | 184,345 | 376,947 | 7.0% |
| 20–24 | 183,988 | 177,315 | 361,303 | 6.7% |
| 25–29 | 172,441 | 167,274 | 339,715 | 6.3% |
| 30–34 | 156,561 | 154,069 | 310,630 | 5.8% |
| 35–39 | 162,421 | 168,691 | 331,112 | 6.2% |
| 40–44 | 185,313 | 201,102 | 386,415 | 7.2% |
| 45–49 | 202,195 | 211,899 | 414,094 | 7.7% |
| 50–54 | 184,981 | 189,604 | 374,585 | 7.0% |
| 55–59 | 164,331 | 166,619 | 330,950 | 6.2% |
| 60–64 | 146,882 | 153,064 | 299,946 | 5.6% |
| 65–69 | 129,119 | 135,051 | 264,170 | 4.9% |
| 70–74 | 108,171 | 114,492 | 222,663 | 4.2% |
| 75–79 | 85,116 | 93,529 | 178,645 | 3.3% |
| 80–84 | 54,952 | 65,383 | 120,335 | 2.2% |
| 85–89 | 27,027 | 37,721 | 64,748 | 1.2% |
| 90–94 | 9,591 | 17,564 | 27,155 | 0.5% |
| 95–99 | 2,041 | 5,208 | 7,249 | 0.1% |
| 100+ | 173 | 759 | 932 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Ireland’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Montenegro96% overlap · median age 40.4
- Faroe Islands95% overlap · median age 37.1
- Gibraltar95% overlap · median age 38.8
- Uruguay95% overlap · median age 36.7
- United States95% overlap · median age 38.7
- New Zealand95% overlap · median age 38.0
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Ireland.
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World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Ireland Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/ireland/
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“Ireland Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/ireland/.
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World Population Pyramid. “Ireland Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/ireland/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Ireland in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Ireland's population in 2026 is projected at 5,356,950.
What is the median age in Ireland?
The projected median age in Ireland in 2026 is 39.2 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Ireland?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 1.60 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Ireland's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will grow by about 11%, from 5.4M to 6M.
What share of Ireland is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 16.5% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 26.1%.
How many babies are born in Ireland each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 52,626 births and 37,687 deaths in 2026, about 144 births a day. Births exceed deaths by 14,939.
What is life expectancy in Ireland for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 84.9 years for women and 81.0 years for men, a gap of 3.9 years in favour of women.
Does Ireland have more immigrants or emigrants?
Ireland is projected to gain about 32,022 more people through migration than it loses in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of +638,616.
What is the sex ratio in Ireland?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 98.0 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.