Offaly remains a predominantly rural county

Offaly remains a predominantly rural county, with 57% of the county's population living in rural areas.

That's according to the latest census figures released by the CSO.

The figures show that, of a total population of 77,961 in Offaly in April 2016, 43% (33,421 persons) lived in urban areas, with 57% (44,540 persons) living in rural areas.

Nationally, 62.7% lived in urban areas and 37.3% in rural areas.

Tullamore, with 14,607 persons was the largest town in the county. The fastest growing town in percentage terms was Banagher, which experienced 6.5% population growth between 2011 and 2016.

Nationally, Drogheda remained the largest town, with 40,956 residents, while Saggart was the fastest growing town, seeing its population increase by 46.1% between 2011 and 2016.

Of the 3,397 usual Offaly residents who moved in the year to April 2016, most (2,312) moved elsewhere within the county.

Only 251 of the 1,309 Offaly households who moved in the year preceding the census bought their new home with a mortgage or loan, while 858 rented their accommodation.

Nationally, 263,551 usual residents moved in the year to April 2016.
The CSO's report: 2016 – Profile 2: Population Distribution and Movements was published on the CSO website, which provide the population for every settlement in Ireland for 2016 and 2011.