Census figures provide a snapshot of Offaly

The number of vacant houses has actually decreased in the last five years in Offaly according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office. Census 2011 figures record 2,858 vacant houses and 544 vacant flats in the county as of April 2011. Meanwhile the previous census taken in 2006 recorded a total of 3,023 vacant houses and 307 vacant flats. Offaly's total housing stock has increased in the interim years however, with a housing stock of 27,591 in 2006 increasing to 30,750 in 2011. What may go some way in explaining these figures is Offaly's rising population. Offaly's population stands at 76,687 according to 2011 census figures. The county's population has increased by just under 6,000 since the previous census was taken in 2006, marking an 8.2% change. Census figures released this week show that Offaly's population is split almost exactly equally when it comes to gender, with 38,439 men and 38,257 women. Back in 2006 the gender divide was much larger, with 35,937 men in the county and over a thousand fewer women at 34,931. Nationally the population now stands at 4,588,252. Similar to Offaly there are now more men than women in the State. This week's figures also record a total of 40,221 single people in Offaly, compared to 29,754 married. A further 2,058 living in Offaly are separated while 1,340 are divorced. The numbers of all statuses have increased in the past five years. Back in 2006 37,541 in Offaly were recorded as single, while 27,452 were married, 1,753 were separated and 900 were divorced. The largest age group in Offaly stands at those aged between zero and four. That group makes up 6,239 of the county's current population, whereas in 2006 the largest age group was those aged 25-29 at 5,619 of the county's population. The latest census figure show a total of 26,750 private households in Offaly, with an average of 2.9 residents in each household. In 2006 the corresponding figures were 23,769 private households, also with an average of 2.9 in each household. The overwhelming majority of houses in the county are detached, making up 15,285 of the total housing stock.