1966 census of Ireland

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1966 census of Ireland

 196117 April 1966 (1966-4-17)1971 

Ireland - Terrain and transportation (1961).jpg
Map of Ireland, 1961
General information
CountryIreland
Results
Total population2,884,002 (Increase2.svg 2.3%)
Most populous county Dublin (795,047)
Least populous county Longford (28,989)

The 1966 census of Ireland was held on 17 April 1966. It was organised by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and reported a total population of 2,884,002, which was a 2.3% increase in a span of five years. The total population rebounded from a record low of 2,818,341 recorded in the 1961 census, although northern and western regions continued to steeply decline in population. [1] The census results were released gradually across seven volumes between 1967 and 1970.

Contents

Information collected

For each household surveyed, the 1966 census requested the number of rooms in the dwelling occupied by the household, as well as ten primary pieces of information on each individual present, which were: [2]

Release schedule

The seven volumes and their release schedule are as follows:

Results

Population

The total population of the Republic of Ireland according to the 1966 census was 2,884,002 of whom 1,449,032 (50.24%) were male and 1,434,970 (49.76%) were female. The population breakdown by province and county, [3] and by city, [4] are outlined below. While the total national population increased by 2.3% since the 1961 census, there were large regional variations, with northern and western counties in particular continuing a steady trend of depopulation. County Dublin experienced rapid growth of over 10% during this period, while every county in Connacht and Ulster [note 1] recorded a population decrease.

By province

Province Flag Irish namePopulation (1966)Density (km2) Counties
Connacht Flag of Connacht.svg Connachta
Cúige Chonnacht
401,95022.75
Leinster Flag of Leinster.svg Laighin
Cúige Laighean
1,414,41571.412
Munster Flag of Munster.svg Mumhain
Cúige Mumhan
859,33434.86
Ulster (part of) Flag of Ulster.svg Ulaidh
Cúige Uladh
208,31325.83

By county

RankCountyPopulationDensity (km2)ProvinceChange since
previous census
1 Dublin 795,047862.3LeinsterIncrease2.svg 10.7%
2 Cork 339,70345.2MunsterIncrease2.svg 2.7%
3 Galway 148,34024.1ConnachtDecrease2.svg -1.0%
4 Limerick 137,35749.8MunsterIncrease2.svg 3.1%
5 Tipperary 122,81228.5MunsterDecrease2.svg -0.8%
6 Mayo 115,54720.7ConnachtDecrease2.svg -6.3%
7 Kerry 112,78523.5MunsterDecrease2.svg -3.2%
8 Donegal 108,54922.3UlsterDecrease2.svg -4.6%
9 Wexford 83,43735.3LeinsterIncrease2.svg 0.2%
10 Clare 73,59721.3MunsterDecrease2.svg -0.1%
11 Waterford 73,08039.3MunsterIncrease2.svg 2.3%
12 Louth 69,51984.2LeinsterIncrease2.svg 3.2%
South Tipperary 68,96930.6MunsterDecrease2.svg -1.6%
13 Meath 67,32328.7LeinsterIncrease2.svg 3.4%
14 Kildare 66,40439.2LeinsterIncrease2.svg 3.1%
15 Kilkenny 60,46329.2LeinsterDecrease2.svg -2.0%
16 Wicklow 60,42829.8LeinsterIncrease2.svg 3.3%
17 Roscommon 56,22822.1ConnachtDecrease2.svg -5.0%
18 Cavan 54,02228.0UlsterDecrease2.svg -4.5%
North Tipperary 53,84326.3MunsterIncrease2.svg 0.3%
19 Westmeath 52,90028.8LeinsterIncrease2.svg 0.1%
Dún Laoghaire Borough 51,7722,876LeinsterIncrease2.svg 8.3%
20 Offaly 51,71725.8LeinsterIncrease2.svg 0.4%
21 Sligo 51,26327.9ConnachtDecrease2.svg -4.3%
22 Monaghan 45,73235.3UlsterDecrease2.svg -2.9%
23 Laoighis 44,59525.9LeinsterDecrease2.svg -1.1%
24 Carlow 33,59337.5LeinsterIncrease2.svg 0.8%
25 Leitrim 30,57219.2ConnachtDecrease2.svg -8.7%
26 Longford 28,98926.6LeinsterDecrease2.svg -5.4%
TotalIreland2,884,00241.0Increase2.svg 2.3%
Average110,923

By city

CityPopulation
Dublin 650,153
Cork 125,283
Limerick 58,082
Waterford 29,842
Galway 26,295

Viewing the returns

The census returns of 1966 were published by the Central Statistics Office and are available online. The website is freely accessible, with no charge for viewing any of the material.

See also

Notes

  1. This refers to the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland and does not apply to the six counties of Northern Ireland, which are in a separate jurisdiction and were not part of this census.

References

  1. "Volume 1 - Population - Entire Volume" (PDF). CSO. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  2. "Volume 1 - Population - Entire Volume" (PDF). CSO. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  3. "Population of each Province, County and County Borough in 1961 and 1966, actual and percentage change in the population, 1961 to 1966 and females per 1,000 males" (PDF). CSO. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  4. "Alphabetical list of towns, with populations" (PDF). CSO. Retrieved 23 July 2024.