Kilkenny’s population rises to over 100,000 for first time in 150 years

By COLIN BARTLEY

THE number of people living in Kilkenny city and county has broken the 100,000 mark for the first time in over a century and a half.

Figures contained in a new report published by the Central Statistic Office, titled ‘Population and Migration Estimates’, show a population increase of 5,400 in the South East region over the 12 months up to the end of April 2019.

Kilkenny’s population stood at 99,232 at the last Census in 2016. But the latest figures from the CSO mean the population is back over the 100,000 mark for the first time since the 1870s.

The population of the South East currently stands at 435,800.

Nationally, the population rose by 64,500, or 1.32% and now stands at 4,921,600. The last time the population was this high was in 1851 when the country was still dealing with the effects of the Great Famine.

The figures also reveal Brexit is having an impact on our population trends, with significantly more people from the UK coming to live here than in the opposite direction. According to the CEO, 19,700 people from Britain moved to Ireland in the 12 months to April 2019, with just 11,600 Irish people making the move across the water.

During the same period, a total of 88,600 people moved to Ireland, while just 54,900 left the country – a net migration of 33,700.

The statistics also reveal the number of women in Ireland now outnumber men by almost 50,000.