This is a list of counties of Ireland ordered by population. Counties in the Republic of Ireland are shown in normal type, while those in Northern Ireland are listed in italic type. See also the list of Irish counties by area. The counties of Northern Ireland no longer have a function in demarcating areas of local government. For a more detailed analysis of current and historical Irish populations in the Republic of Ireland, see Irish Population Analysis.
Data source/age (as-of November 2012):
- Taken from latest Census Data for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
- Population data for the counties in the Republic of Ireland are based on census 2011, counties in Northern Ireland based on 2004 figures.
- Density: Based on census 2011
| Rank | County | Population | Density (/ km²) | Province | Change since previous census |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | 1,273,069 | 1380.8 | Leinster | 7.02% |
| 2 | Antrim | 616,384 | 202.4 | Ulster | |
| 3 | Cork | 519,032 | 69.0 | Munster | 7.84% |
| 4 | Down | 489,588 | 199.8 | Ulster | |
| - | Fingal | 273,991 | 600.6 | Leinster | 14.17% |
| - | South Dublin | 265,205 | 1,190.6 | Leinster | 7.40% |
| 5 | Galway | 250,541 | 40.7 | Connacht | 8.15% |
| 6 | Londonderry | 211,669 | 102.1 | Ulster | |
| 7 | Kildare | 210,312 | 123.8 | Leinster | 12.87% |
| - | Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown | 206,261 | 1,620.1 | Leinster | 6.30% |
| 8 | Limerick | 191,809 | 69.4 | Munster | 4.21% |
| 9 | Meath | 184,135 | 78.5 | Leinster | 13.08% |
| 10 | Donegal | 161,137 | 32.9 | Ulster | 9.42% |
| 11 | Tipperary | 158,754 | 36.8 | Munster | 6.37% |
| 12 | Tyrone | 158,460 | 50.2 | Ulster | |
| 13 | Kerry | 145,502 | 30.1 | Munster | 4.05% |
| 14 | Wexford | 145,320 | 61.2 | Leinster | 10.30% |
| 15 | Wicklow | 136,640 | 67.4 | Leinster | 8.28% |
| 16 | Mayo | 130,638 | 23.3 | Connacht | 5.49% |
| 17 | Armagh | 126,803 | 101.1 | Ulster | |
| 18 | Louth | 122,897 | 148.7 | Leinster | 10.45% |
| 19 | Clare | 117,196 | 33.8 | Munster | 5.63% |
| 20 | Waterford | 113,795 | 61.2 | Munster | 5.40% |
| 21 | Kilkenny | 95,419 | 46.0 | Leinster | 8.98% |
| - | South Tipperary | 88,432 | 39.2 | Munster | 6.26% |
| 22 | Westmeath | 86,164 | 46.7 | Leinster | 8.59% |
| 23 | Laois | 80,559 | 46.8 | Leinster | 20.13% |
| 24 | Offaly | 76,687 | 38.3 | Leinster | 8.21% |
| 25 | Cavan | 73,183 | 37.7 | Ulster | 14.34% |
| - | North Tipperary | 70,322 | 34.4 | Munster | 6.61% |
| 26 | Sligo | 65,393 | 35.5 | Connacht | 7.39% |
| 27 | Roscommon | 64,065 | 25.0 | Connacht | 9.01% |
| 28 | Monaghan | 60,483 | 46.7 | Ulster | 8.01% |
| 29 | Fermanagh | 57,527 | 34.0 | Ulster | |
| 30 | Carlow | 54,612 | 60.8 | Leinster | 8.47% |
| 31 | Longford | 39,000 | 35.7 | Leinster | 13.40% |
| 32 | Leitrim | 31,796 | 19.9 | Connacht | 9.84% |
| Average | 199,974 | ||||
| Total | Ireland | 6,399,152 | 75.8 |
^ a: indicates that this county is a non-traditional administrative county
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, irish and/or population:
“Religious literature has eminent examples, and if we run over our private list of poets, critics, philanthropists and philosophers, we shall find them infected with this dropsy and elephantiasis, which we ought to have tapped.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The advice of their elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935)
“Irishness is not primarily a question of birth or blood or language; it is the condition of being involved in the Irish situation, and usually of being mauled by it.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien (b. 1917)
“[Madness] is the jail we could all end up in. And we know it. And watch our step. For a lifetime. We behave. A fantastic and entire system of social control, by the threat of example as effective over the general population as detention centers in dictatorships, the image of the madhouse floats through every mind for the course of its lifetime.”
—Kate Millett (b. 1934)