Cavan sees population rise

A mix of natural increase and migration have led to Cavan's population rising.

Cavan’s population has risen by over 5,000 according to the latest census results.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) this morning released the preliminary results of the 2022 Census, held on April 3.

It shows the Breffni county has a population of 81,201 people, up from 76,176 in 2016. That’s a rise of 6.6% over the six year period.

Every county saw an increase, with the country seeing its highest population since 1851. 5,123,536 people call Ireland their home according to the preliminary results.

That’s an increase of 361,671 since 2016. The CSO says natural increase made up 171,338 of the change, while the estimate for net migration is 190,333.

The neighbouring counties of Longford and Meath saw the highest population growth rate over the past six years, at 14% (46,634) and 13% (220,296) respectively. Monaghan’s figure was up by 5.6% to 64,832.

Donegal, Kilkenny, Kerry and Tipperary all saw the lowest growth rates at 5%.

All counties saw an increase in migration between 2016 and 2022. Cavan saw 2,149 people move to the county from abroad over the period.

Natural increase - the number of people born in the county - accounted for an increase of 2,876 in Cavan.

The local county accounted for one of the lowest increases in housing stock in the country. A rise of just 3% placed Cavan close to the bottom of the table along with Tipperary, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal. By contrast, Kildare and Meath saw their stock increase by 12%.

Vacancy rates remain high in rural counties in particular. Cavan’s figure stands at 11.8%. A breakdown shows 4.7% of local homes were listed as vacant in both the 2016 and 2022 censuses.