GENDER BALANCE:THERE ARE now more women than men in the State, reversing the trend seen at the time of the last census in 2006.
The turnaround in the balance of the sexes is attributed to the departure of large numbers of male migrants, who were attracted to Ireland to work in construction during the Celtic Tiger.
The 2011 census figures show there are 43,864 more females than males in the State, which is equivalent to a ratio of 981 males for every 1,000 females.
This is the widest margin of difference between the sexes that has been identified by any census since 1946, when there were 1,031 males for every 1,000 females.
Dublin has the lowest ratio of men to women, with 949 males for every 1,000 females. There are 652,062 women in Dublin compared to 618,541 men.
The midlands was the only region to show more males than females, with 1,002 men for every 1,000 women. There are 40,500 men in Laois, compared with 39,958 women, and 38,480 men in Offaly, compared with 38,326 women.
Officials at the Central Statistics Office said the change in the balance between men and women in the State was probably due to the departure of male migrant workers in the recession, which has dramatically reduced the number of migrants arriving in the State and created a situation where more people are now leaving Ireland than arriving.
“Ireland continued to experience strong net inward migration for the first half of the latest intercensal period followed by a switch to net outward migration over the second half,” says the census.
The preliminary results do not give a year-by-year breakdown of emigration rates, the ratio of men to women or the nationality of those people who are emigrating.
However, the CSO’s population and migration estimates report published last September showed 40,400 men emigrated in the 12 months to April, 2010, compared with 24,900 women. More than half of the 65,300 people who emigrated were non-Irish nationals.
Migration experts agree the collapse of employment in the construction sector is probably the biggest single driver of male emigration. Some of the men leaving are Irish but many are also from central and eastern Europe.
The 2006 census, which showed there were 1,001 men for every 1,000 women, was the first time men had outnumbered women since the 1981 census.
Men outnumbered women in every census between 1911 and 1981. Experts say this was linked to emigration and the agriculture-based economy, where a son was more likely to remain at home.