Ireland Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Ireland vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Ireland	World
1960	30.1	22.5
1961	29.8	22.5
1962	29.5	22.4
1963	29.2	22.2
1964	28.9	22
1965	28.6	21.8
1966	28.2	21.7
1967	28	21.6
1968	27.8	21.5
1969	27.6	21.5
1970	27.4	21.4
1971	27.1	21.4
1972	26.9	21.5
1973	26.7	21.5
1974	26.5	21.6
1975	26.5	21.7
1976	26.4	21.9
1977	26.5	22
1978	26.5	22.2
1979	26.5	22.3
1980	26.5	22.5
1981	26.6	22.6
1982	26.7	22.7
1983	26.9	22.9
1984	27.1	23
1985	27.3	23.2
1986	27.6	23.3
1987	27.9	23.4
1988	28.4	23.6
1989	28.8	23.8
1990	29.2	23.9
1991	29.6	24.1
1992	29.9	24.3
1993	30.2	24.5
1994	30.6	24.7
1995	30.9	25
1996	31.3	25.2
1997	31.6	25.4
1998	31.9	25.7
1999	32.2	25.9
2000	32.5	26.1
2001	32.7	26.3
2002	33	26.5
2003	33.2	26.7
2004	33.4	27
2005	33.4	27.2
2006	33.4	27.4
2007	33.4	27.6
2008	33.5	27.8
2009	33.9	28
2010	34.3	28.2
2011	34.8	28.4
2012	35.2	28.6
2013	35.6	28.9
2014	36	29.1
2015	36.4	29.3
2016	36.8	29.5
2017	37.1	29.8
2018	37.4	30
2019	37.8	30.3
2020	38.2	30.6
2021	38.6	30.8
2022	38.9	31
2023	39.4	31.3
2024	39.7	31.6
2025	40	31.9
2026	40.2	32.1
2027	40.4	32.3
2028	40.6	32.6
2029	40.7	32.8
2030	40.9	33
2031	41.1	33.2
2032	41.2	33.4
2033	41.3	33.6
2034	41.4	33.8
2035	41.5	34
2036	41.6	34.2
2037	41.7	34.4
2038	41.8	34.6
2039	41.9	34.8
2040	42	35
2041	42.1	35.2
2042	42.3	35.4
2043	42.4	35.6
2044	42.6	35.8
2045	42.8	36
2046	43	36.2
2047	43.2	36.4
2048	43.4	36.6
2049	43.6	36.8
2050	43.9	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Ireland was 30.1 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 39.7 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 19th for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Ireland ranks 48th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Ireland is expected to increase to around 43.9 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Ireland demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Ireland
	Male	Female
0-4	2.8%	2.66%
5-9	3.17%	3.03%
10-14	3.52%	3.36%
15-19	3.48%	3.31%
20-24	3.28%	3.18%
25-29	3.07%	2.98%
30-34	2.97%	2.95%
35-39	3.19%	3.41%
40-44	3.76%	4.04%
45-49	3.71%	3.84%
50-54	3.39%	3.45%
55-59	2.99%	3.04%
60-64	2.7%	2.81%
65-69	2.36%	2.45%
70-74	1.96%	2.07%
75-79	1.54%	1.69%
80+	1.61%	2.22%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Ireland has low demographic potential with 43.8% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 145/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Ireland			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	72.7%	53.4%	19.4%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	73.1%	53.6%	19.5%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	72.8%	53.4%	19.4%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	72.6%	53.3%	19.3%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	72.7%	53.4%	19.3%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	73.2%	53.8%	19.4%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	73.5%	54%	19.5%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	73.3%	53.9%	19.4%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	73.1%	53.8%	19.4%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	73%	53.8%	19.3%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	73.2%	53.9%	19.3%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	73.3%	54%	19.2%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	72.9%	53.9%	19%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	72.4%	53.7%	18.7%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	72.2%	53.7%	18.5%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	71.9%	53.5%	18.4%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	71.6%	53.2%	18.4%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	71.3%	52.9%	18.4%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	70.8%	52.4%	18.4%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	70.3%	52%	18.3%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	69.9%	51.6%	18.3%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	69.5%	51.3%	18.2%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	69%	50.9%	18.1%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	68.4%	50.4%	18%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	67.7%	49.7%	18%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	66.9%	48.8%	18.1%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	66%	47.9%	18.1%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	65.3%	47.1%	18.2%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	64.6%	46.2%	18.4%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	63.8%	45.2%	18.6%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	62.6%	44%	18.5%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	61.2%	42.8%	18.4%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	59.9%	41.7%	18.3%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	58.5%	40.4%	18.1%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	56.9%	39%	17.9%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	55.3%	37.6%	17.7%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	53.7%	36.2%	17.5%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	52.3%	35%	17.3%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	51.1%	34%	17.1%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	50.1%	33.2%	16.9%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	49.2%	32.5%	16.7%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	48.3%	31.8%	16.5%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	47.6%	31.2%	16.4%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	47.2%	30.8%	16.3%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	46.8%	30.5%	16.3%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	46.2%	30.1%	16.1%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	45.5%	29.7%	15.8%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	45.1%	29.5%	15.6%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	45.6%	29.8%	15.8%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	46.7%	30.4%	16.2%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	48.1%	31.2%	16.8%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	49.4%	31.9%	17.5%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	50.5%	32.3%	18.2%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	51.4%	32.6%	18.8%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	52%	32.6%	19.5%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	52.5%	32.5%	20%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	52.8%	32.3%	20.5%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	52.9%	32%	20.9%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	53%	31.7%	21.4%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	53%	31.2%	21.8%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	53.1%	30.8%	22.3%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	53%	30.3%	22.7%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	52.9%	29.8%	23.2%	54%	39%	15%
2023	52.8%	29.1%	23.7%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	52.5%	28.3%	24.2%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Ireland increased from 46.8% to 52.5% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Ireland working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Ireland	World
1960	57.9%	57.6%
1961	57.8%	57.5%
1962	57.9%	57.4%
1963	57.9%	57.2%
1964	57.9%	57%
1965	57.7%	56.9%
1966	57.6%	56.8%
1967	57.7%	56.9%
1968	57.8%	56.9%
1969	57.8%	56.9%
1970	57.7%	57%
1971	57.7%	57.1%
1972	57.8%	57.2%
1973	58%	57.3%
1974	58.1%	57.3%
1975	58.2%	57.4%
1976	58.3%	57.5%
1977	58.4%	57.7%
1978	58.5%	58%
1979	58.7%	58.4%
1980	58.9%	58.7%
1981	59%	59%
1982	59.2%	59.3%
1983	59.4%	59.6%
1984	59.6%	59.9%
1985	59.9%	60.1%
1986	60.2%	60.4%
1987	60.5%	60.5%
1988	60.8%	60.7%
1989	61.1%	60.8%
1990	61.5%	60.9%
1991	62%	61%
1992	62.5%	61.1%
1993	63.1%	61.2%
1994	63.7%	61.3%
1995	64.4%	61.5%
1996	65.1%	61.7%
1997	65.7%	61.9%
1998	66.2%	62.2%
1999	66.6%	62.5%
2000	67%	62.8%
2001	67.4%	63.1%
2002	67.8%	63.4%
2003	68%	63.7%
2004	68.1%	64%
2005	68.4%	64.3%
2006	68.7%	64.5%
2007	68.9%	64.7%
2008	68.7%	64.9%
2009	68.2%	65%
2010	67.5%	65.1%
2011	66.9%	65.2%
2012	66.4%	65.2%
2013	66.1%	65.2%
2014	65.8%	65.2%
2015	65.6%	65.1%
2016	65.5%	65.1%
2017	65.4%	65%
2018	65.3%	64.9%
2019	65.3%	64.9%
2020	65.3%	64.8%
2021	65.3%	64.9%
2022	65.4%	64.9%
2023	65.4%	65%
2024	65.6%	65.1%
2025	65.7%	65.2%
2026	65.8%	65.3%
2027	65.9%	65.4%
2028	65.9%	65.4%
2029	65.9%	65.4%
2030	65.8%	65.4%
2031	65.7%	65.4%
2032	65.6%	65.4%
2033	65.4%	65.4%
2034	65.2%	65.3%
2035	64.9%	65.2%
2036	64.6%	65%
2037	64.3%	64.9%
2038	63.9%	64.7%
2039	63.4%	64.6%
2040	62.9%	64.5%
2041	62.4%	64.4%
2042	61.9%	64.3%
2043	61.4%	64.2%
2044	60.8%	64.1%
2045	60.2%	63.9%
2046	59.7%	63.8%
2047	59.2%	63.7%
2048	58.8%	63.6%
2049	58.5%	63.4%
2050	58.2%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Ireland changed from 68.1% to 65.6% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Ireland	World
1960	30.9%	37.4%
1961	31%	37.5%
1962	30.9%	37.6%
1963	30.9%	37.8%
1964	30.9%	38%
1965	31.1%	38%
1966	31.1%	38%
1967	31.1%	38%
1968	31.1%	37.9%
1969	31.1%	37.8%
1970	31.1%	37.7%
1971	31.2%	37.6%
1972	31.2%	37.5%
1973	31.2%	37.3%
1974	31.2%	37.2%
1975	31.1%	37.1%
1976	31%	36.9%
1977	30.9%	36.7%
1978	30.7%	36.3%
1979	30.5%	35.9%
1980	30.4%	35.5%
1981	30.3%	35.2%
1982	30.1%	34.9%
1983	29.9%	34.6%
1984	29.6%	34.3%
1985	29.3%	34%
1986	28.9%	33.8%
1987	28.5%	33.6%
1988	28.1%	33.4%
1989	27.6%	33.2%
1990	27.1%	33%
1991	26.6%	32.9%
1992	26%	32.7%
1993	25.5%	32.5%
1994	24.9%	32.3%
1995	24.2%	32.1%
1996	23.6%	31.8%
1997	23%	31.5%
1998	22.5%	31.1%
1999	22.1%	30.8%
2000	21.8%	30.4%
2001	21.4%	30%
2002	21.1%	29.6%
2003	21%	29.2%
2004	20.8%	28.8%
2005	20.6%	28.5%
2006	20.4%	28.1%
2007	20.3%	27.9%
2008	20.5%	27.6%
2009	20.7%	27.5%
2010	21.1%	27.3%
2011	21.4%	27.1%
2012	21.5%	27%
2013	21.5%	26.9%
2014	21.4%	26.8%
2015	21.3%	26.6%
2016	21.2%	26.5%
2017	20.9%	26.4%
2018	20.7%	26.2%
2019	20.4%	26%
2020	20.1%	25.8%
2021	19.8%	25.6%
2022	19.5%	25.3%
2023	19%	25%
2024	18.6%	24.7%
2025	18.1%	24.4%
2026	17.6%	24.1%
2027	17.2%	23.8%
2028	16.9%	23.4%
2029	16.6%	23.1%
2030	16.3%	22.8%
2031	16%	22.6%
2032	15.8%	22.3%
2033	15.6%	22.1%
2034	15.4%	21.9%
2035	15.3%	21.7%
2036	15.2%	21.6%
2037	15.1%	21.5%
2038	15.1%	21.4%
2039	15.2%	21.3%
2040	15.2%	21.2%
2041	15.3%	21.1%
2042	15.4%	21%
2043	15.4%	21%
2044	15.5%	20.9%
2045	15.6%	20.8%
2046	15.6%	20.7%
2047	15.7%	20.7%
2048	15.7%	20.6%
2049	15.7%	20.5%
2050	15.6%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Ireland decreased from 20.8% to 18.6% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Ireland	World
1960	11.2%	4.97%
1961	11.3%	4.99%
1962	11.2%	5.01%
1963	11.2%	5.02%
1964	11.2%	5.04%
1965	11.2%	5.08%
1966	11.2%	5.12%
1967	11.2%	5.16%
1968	11.2%	5.2%
1969	11.1%	5.24%
1970	11.1%	5.28%
1971	11.1%	5.32%
1972	11%	5.37%
1973	10.9%	5.42%
1974	10.7%	5.47%
1975	10.7%	5.53%
1976	10.7%	5.59%
1977	10.7%	5.65%
1978	10.8%	5.71%
1979	10.8%	5.77%
1980	10.8%	5.81%
1981	10.7%	5.81%
1982	10.7%	5.8%
1983	10.7%	5.79%
1984	10.7%	5.8%
1985	10.8%	5.82%
1986	10.9%	5.86%
1987	11%	5.91%
1988	11.2%	5.95%
1989	11.3%	6.01%
1990	11.4%	6.07%
1991	11.4%	6.14%
1992	11.4%	6.21%
1993	11.4%	6.29%
1994	11.4%	6.37%
1995	11.4%	6.45%
1996	11.4%	6.53%
1997	11.4%	6.61%
1998	11.3%	6.68%
1999	11.3%	6.76%
2000	11.2%	6.84%
2001	11.1%	6.92%
2002	11.1%	7.01%
2003	11.1%	7.1%
2004	11.1%	7.18%
2005	11%	7.26%
2006	10.9%	7.34%
2007	10.8%	7.41%
2008	10.8%	7.47%
2009	11.1%	7.52%
2010	11.4%	7.58%
2011	11.7%	7.66%
2012	12.1%	7.78%
2013	12.4%	7.92%
2014	12.8%	8.08%
2015	13.1%	8.26%
2016	13.4%	8.45%
2017	13.7%	8.65%
2018	14%	8.88%
2019	14.2%	9.1%
2020	14.6%	9.33%
2021	14.9%	9.53%
2022	15.2%	9.74%
2023	15.5%	9.98%
2024	15.9%	10.2%
2025	16.2%	10.4%
2026	16.5%	10.6%
2027	16.9%	10.8%
2028	17.2%	11.1%
2029	17.6%	11.5%
2030	17.9%	11.7%
2031	18.3%	12%
2032	18.7%	12.3%
2033	19%	12.6%
2034	19.4%	12.8%
2035	19.8%	13.1%
2036	20.2%	13.4%
2037	20.6%	13.7%
2038	21%	13.9%
2039	21.4%	14.1%
2040	21.9%	14.3%
2041	22.3%	14.5%
2042	22.7%	14.7%
2043	23.2%	14.9%
2044	23.7%	15%
2045	24.2%	15.2%
2046	24.7%	15.4%
2047	25.1%	15.7%
2048	25.5%	15.9%
2049	25.8%	16.1%
2050	26.1%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Ireland increased from 11.1% to 15.9% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.