In the 18th and early 19th centuries, Ireland experienced a major population boom as a result of the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions.

In the area covering the present day Republic of Ireland, the population reached about 6.5 million in the mid-1840s.

The population continued a slow decline well into the 20th century, with the Republic recording a low of 2.8 million in the 1961 census.

With the 2008 onset of the Irish economic and banking crisis, the state's economy suffered, and Ireland has once again been experiencing net emigration of its citizens, but immigration remains high.

[2] The Celtic Tiger economic boom saw a large expansion of the labour market, which contributed to the large increase of immigration towards the country, with the additional enlargement of the European Union in 2004 and the further 2007 enlargement contributing to increased levels of immigration.

The largest immigrant groups, with over 10,000 people, being Poles, British, Indians, Romanians, Lithuanians, Brazilians, Italians, Latvians, Spaniards, French, Croats, Americans, Chinese, Germans and Ukrainians.

[26][27][28] They are managed by the International Protection Accommodation Service under the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) as well being policed by the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

[29] Some minor parties have voiced opposition to immigration in the country and its capability to continue to let refugees in; that "Ireland is full".

[30][31] In May 2023, a Red C/The Business Post poll found that 75% of people thought that Ireland is taking in too many refugees.

[32] The DCEDIY projected a shortfall of 15,000 beds for refugees in December 2022 and admitted that there was mounting pressure to house 65,000 people.

[33][34] Approximately 7,400 refugee adults and children[35] were projected to be living in 38 "direct provision" centres across 17 counties in Ireland by the end of April 2020.

[36] The government of Ireland have said that they project to end direct provision by 2024[37] and are looking towards alternative forms of accommodation.

Literacy rate; definition: age 15 and over who can read and write School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education); total: 19 years For November 2022 the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was: Unchanged at 4.3% for males from October 2022, and down from 5.3% in November 2021.