The population has reached its highest level this century, according to the 1996 census which records a total population of 3,626,087, an increase of more than 100,000 in five years.
Based on current trends, the population should exceed four million within 20 years, according to officials of the Central Statistics Office, speaking yesterday at the announcement of the census results.
These reveal large increases in the number of single people and broken marriages. More than 53,000 people in the State are separated, more than twice the number five years ago. One in 20 of those who married are separated.
Almost 17,000 women described themselves as deserted, compared to 6,363 men. The number of divorced people rose to 9,800, from 6,100 in 1991. The census was taken before divorce was introduced in Ireland this year.
In common with trends elsewhere in Europe, the Irish population is ageing at a rapid pace. The average age is now 33.6 years, compared to 30.8 years in 1981. South Dublin has the youngest population, and Leitrim the oldest.
But if the typical Irish household is getting smaller, there are many more of them. The number of households is growing more than three times faster than the population, a statistic which helps explain the explosion in demand for new housing.
The biggest increases are in households comprised of people living alone (up 16.5 per cent), couples without children (21.5 per cent) and lone-parent households (15.9 per cent). Almost half those living alone are old people last year, there were 107,000 pensioners in this category.
Large families are in decline, with the average number of children per family now standing at only 1.8.
The census reveals that more than 31,000 family units consist of cohabiting couples. Since many of the people involved are aged over 30, it concludes that cohabitation is a permanent union rather than just a precursor to marriage.
In 1996, there were 130,000 lone-parent families. In almost half of all lone-parent families a widowed person was the parent, and four-fifths of lone-parent families are headed by women.
Women outnumber men by about 25,000, notably in the older age groups - for every 100 women aged 85 years and over, there are only 44 males.
Nearly six out of 10 people now live in urban areas, the census shows, and one in four lives in the greater Dublin area.
Galway's reputation as the fastest-growing city in Europe is confirmed with a population increase of 12.6 per cent. Kildare (10.1 per cent) and Dublin Fingal (9.8 per cent) are also growing rapidly. The only areas with decreasing population are Longford, Cork and Limerick county boroughs, and Leitrim.
The drift towards living on the eastern seaboard continues, though not as fast as before. Leinster now accounts for 53.1 per cent of the population, compared to 38.7 per cent in 1926.
About 40,000 people in the State were born in Northern Ireland, and 150,000 in Britain. Almost 400,000 people said they had lived outside Ireland for at least a year, three-quarters of them in the UK.
Last year's census was enumerated on April 28th, 1996, and cost £16 million to produce. Further results will be released in stages over the coming months.
