Rural population in Ireland
Ireland: Rural population was 1.94 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population in Ireland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Ireland recorded 1.94 million for rural population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.0% on the previous year and up 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Ireland peaked at 1.94 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.42 million, in 1970.
That places Ireland 106th out of 215 regions 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 | 1.49 million | 1.43 million | 1.56 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.46 million | 1.42 million | 1.51 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.54 million | 1.52 million | 1.55 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.52 million | 1.51 million | 1.54 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.64 million | 1.56 million | 1.74 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.77 million | 1.74 million | 1.83 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.89 million | 1.84 million | 1.94 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More agriculture & rural data for Ireland
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 7.63 billion current US$ (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 1.1% (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Rural population 35.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.3% (2024)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 1.1% (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 1.1% (2025)
- Land under cereal production 258,930 hectares (2024)
- Cereal production 1.90 million metric tons (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Ireland?
- Rural population in Ireland was 1.94 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.94 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.42 million in 1970.
- How does Ireland rank for rural population?
- Ireland ranks 106th out of 215 regions with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.6%. 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 Rural 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
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.