Source: CSO

Offaly's population tops 80,000 for first time in State's history

The population of Offaly has topped 80,000 for the first time since the foundation of the State.

Preliminary results from the 2022 census issued today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the population of Offaly at 82,668.

It is an increase of 4,707 (up 6%) on the 2016 census population in the county.

Nationally, the population of the State is now 5.1 million people, up 7.6% on the Census 2016 figure.

The CSO said all counties in the country showed an increased population since 2016.

Longford saw biggest percentage increase (14.1%), followed by Meath (12.9%).

Offaly's population rise was the second lowest in Leinster. In the province 10 of the 12 counties showed a higher percentage increase than the national average, with only Offaly, and Kilkenny (4.5%), being lower.

The population in Offaly included 41,269 females and 41,399 males.

The CSO said the rise of 4,707 people in Offaly was made up of a natural increase (ie births minus deaths) of 2,704 and an estimated net inward migration of 2,003.

Offaly's population has been on the increase for the past six censuses. The last time the population of the county showed a decrease from the previous census was in 1991.

The 82,688 population figure for 2022 is 61% higher than the lowest population recorded in Offaly since the foundation of the State (51,308 in 1936).

The total housing stock in Offaly in April 2022 was 32,151. This shows an increase of 1,411 (+4.6%) since 2016. There were 2,663 vacant dwellings, which was 23 more than in 2016 (+0.87%). This does not include holiday homes, of which there were 211.