Population Distribution and Density (Ireland)

Current population 4.7 million

unevenly distributed

Prior to Famine:

Over 6 million

Rural Areas: High Population Densities

1845-1848 The Great Famine

Death and High Levels of Emigration

Dramatic reduction of population densities in rural areas.

Early 20th Century

Internal Migration

Rural to Core Regions e.g. Dublin

Key Stat: between 1926 and 2002 Dublin 122% increase in population, Mayo 23% decrease

Rural Depopulation

Rural to Urban (West to East)

Employment, Access to Services, Better way of life.

1970s Counter Urbanisation

Smaller Urban Areas (Athlone and Mullingar)

Space and low density of housing

Improved infrastructure improved development

Urbanisation

Cork, Limerick, Galway increased populations

Dublin grew even stronger

Growth of Leinster and urbanisation (2nd half of 20th Century) dominated population distribution.

Population Densities:

67 ppl per square km