Urban population in Ireland
Ireland: Urban population was 3.54 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Ireland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population in Ireland is 3.54 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 20.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Ireland peaked at 3.54 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.27 million, in 1960.
That places Ireland 118th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.38 million | 1.27 million | 1.50 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.70 million | 1.53 million | 1.86 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.97 million | 1.89 million | 2.00 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.09 million | 2.00 million | 2.21 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.51 million | 2.25 million | 2.80 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.95 million | 2.82 million | 3.15 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.37 million | 3.20 million | 3.54 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More climate change data for Ireland
- Population growth 1.6% (2025)
- Population, total 5.48 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 2.0% (2025)
- Urban population 64.6% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 23.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.67 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 3.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 14.2% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 4.0% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 2.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Ireland?
- Urban population in Ireland was 3.54 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 3.54 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.27 million in 1960.
- How does Ireland rank for urban population?
- Ireland ranks 118th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.