Ireland (Republic of Ireland)

Croagh Patrick. Photo by Rev. Michael Rogers, S.J.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Catholic story in Ireland is its recent transformation from the country with perhaps the highest rate of Catholic practice to a country where Catholic life is spoken about in the past tense. Many Irish under age 60 identify themselves as “Catholic but not religious.” In very many ways, Ireland looks fairly secular today, but no one disputes the emphasis on sacraments, and devotional qualities of Irish Catholicism endure today. Read more...

Articles

In the News

Ireland tells state-run schools: Stop steering pupils to religion class - New York Times - February 21, 2018
Catholic Church’s hold on schools at issue in changing Ireland - New York Times - January 21, 2016
Catholic Church ponders future after same-sex marriage vote in Ireland - The New York Times - May 24, 2015
Ireland’s same-sex marriage vote puts the Catholic Church on the defensive - Public Radio International - May 21, 2015
Everything you need to know about Ireland's disaffected Catholics - The Week - June 28, 2014

Demographics

National Demographics

Note: The Catholic Church's Ireland data amalgamates statistics for both the Republic of Ireland and the six counties comprising Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

Total Population:

4,803,748 1

Urban:

63.20% 1

Rural:

36.80% 1

Immigrants as % of Population:

15.9% 2

Homicides:

0.64 per 100,000 people (global median 6.9) 3

Level of Public Corruption:

19 (1=lowest, 176=highest corruption) 4

Gender Equality in the Economy, Health, Education and Politics:

6 (1=most equal, 144=least equal) 7

Fertility Rate:

2.01 births per adult woman 5

Children Who Do Not Live to Age 5:

0.40% 5

Life Expectancy at Birth:

81 years 5

Internet Users:

80% 5

Gross National Income per Capita:

US$46,550 5

Catholic Demographics

These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

Baptized Catholics:

5,630,000

Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population:

76.08%

Baptisms per Year (Under age 7):

42,747

Baptisms per Year (Over age 7):

487

First Communions per Year:

59,516

Confirmations per Year:

65,887

Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools:

527,129

Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools:

352,808

Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education:

36,016

Church Marriages per Year:

6,540

Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics:

6,134

Priests:

3,928

Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters):

5,091

Catholics per Priest:

1,433

Parishes:

1,358

Catholic Hospitals:

Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids:

1. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
2.United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
3.United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
4.Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
5.UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016.
6. Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022).
7.World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report, 2016.

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Ireland (Republic of Ireland)

Articles

In the News

Demographics

Footnotes

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