The Central Statistics Office have published an age profile based on Census 2016 results, showing that the average age in Ireland is getting older.
Nationally the average age was 37.4 years. There has been an increase in average age in every county, with Mayo and Kerry the highest at 40.2 years. Fingal in Dublin was the youngest at 34.3 years.
The population of Donegal was recorded at 159,192 in 2016, with a higher than average age of 38.5. The population of Donegal fell by almost 2,000 from the 161,137 people recorded in 2011.
Ireland’s population has been getting steadily older since the 1980s. Out of the 4,761,865 people recorded in Ireland on Census 2016, 37.2% were aged 45 and over, compared with 34.4% in 2011 and 27.6% in 1986. Almost a third of the population 33.2% was less than 25 years old, while 29.5% were in the 25-44 age group.
It has been noted by the CSO the impact of third level education has had on the population, with the 18-22 age group showing an influx in cities and towns to attend colleges and universities.
Age dependency, which is measured as the number of younger (0-14) and older (65+) people as a percentage of those of working age (15-64), increased from 49.3% in 2011 to 52.7% in 2016.
The number in the 65 and over category increased by 102,174 – more than twice the 15-64 age category, which rose by 44,477 since 2011.
Here’s a breakdown of each age group from the CSO:
0-4 years
The number of pre-school children fell by 7% to 331,515 in April 2016. The number of pre-school children living in flats or apartments increased by 24.3% since 2011, to reach 31,891.
5-12 years
The number of primary school age children stood at 548,693 in 2016, an increase of 8.8% on April 2011. Almost a third (30.7%) of primary school age children were living in rented accommodation in 2016, up from 28.7% five years earlier.
13-18 years
There were 371,588 13 to 18 year olds in April 2016, an increase of 7.7% since 2011. Of these teenagers, 3.9% lived in apartments in 2016.
19-24 years
There was a fall in the number of young adults (19-24) since 2011 to 331,208, a drop of 6.5%.
25-64 years
There were 2,541,294 people in this age group, an increase of 48,275 on 2011.
65 years and over
This age group saw the largest increase in population since 2011, rising by 102,174 to 637,567, a rise of 19.1%. The census recorded 456 centenarians, an increase of 17.2% on 2011. Over half a million or 577,171 in this older age group lived in private households, an increase of 19.6%, while those in nursing homes increased by 1,960 to 22,762.