Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland
Ireland: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 54.8% in 2020. ▬ Flat
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 54.8% for share of population living in urban and rural areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland peaked at 54.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 51.4%, in 1965.
That places Ireland 196th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 53.7% | — |
| 1955 | 53.2% | -1.0% |
| 1960 | 51.7% | -2.8% |
| 1965 | 51.4% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 51.6% | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 53.0% | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 53.3% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 53.3% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 53.3% | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 53.3% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 53.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 53.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 54.0% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 54.4% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 54.8% | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 53.5% | 53.2% | 53.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 51.6% | 51.4% | 51.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 52.3% | 51.6% | 53.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 53.3% | 53.3% | 53.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 53.3% | 53.3% | 53.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 53.6% | 53.6% | 53.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 54.2% | 54.0% | 54.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 54.8% | 54.8% | 54.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More reference data data for Ireland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.45 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0921 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 3.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 21.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5015 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Ireland was 54.8% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 54.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 51.4% in 1965.
- How does Ireland rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Ireland ranks 196th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.