Ireland is becoming multicultural, middle-class and middle -aged according to the socio-economic results of last year's c ensus, writes Paul Tansey.
The latest population figures show that while a rising proportion of the adult population is working, there is still a high degree of involvement in community activities, with one in six of the adult population engaged in some form of voluntary work.
The most notable change in Ireland's social and economic landscape between the censuses of 2002 and 2006 has been the growth in the number of foreign nationals living and working in the country.
Between 2002 and 2006, the population of foreign nationals aged over 15 years almost doubled, from 190,000 to 367,000. Foreign nationals now account for more than one in nine of all adults living in Ireland.
Almost all of those coming to Ireland from abroad are seeking employment, and most of them find it. On census day 2006, there were 244,500 foreign nationals at work in Ireland compared to just 107,100 four years earlier.
Foreign nationals now account for one in every eight people at work in Ireland.
Of all the net jobs added to the Irish workforce between 2002 and 2006, almost half were filled by foreign nationals.
The number of foreign nationals living and working in Ireland had been underestimated significantly in previous surveys.
The Quarterly National Household Surveyfor the second quarter of 2006 - undertaken at broadly the same time as the last census - indicated that the foreign national adult population at the time numbered 283,000, while those at work were estimated at "just under 200,000". Thus, the census has added 84,000 to the numbers of foreign nationals aged over 15 years living in the country in the spring of 2006 and over 46,000 to the numbers of foreign nationals employed at that time.
The second striking feature of these census results is the changing role of women in Irish society.
More women are joining the labour force, larger numbers of women are working in paid employment and fewer women are remaining at home to look after the family.
Women now comprise more than two out of every five members of the national workforce.
Women's participation in the labour force has risen remarkably rapidly over the last ten years. Between 1926 and 1981, about 30 per cent of all adult women participated in the labour force.
By 1996, the female labour force participation rate had edged above 40 per cent. The census results for 2006 show that, for the first time ever, more than half of all adult women - 52.8 per cent - have joined the labour force.
Conversely, the number of women who describe themselves as primarily looking after the home and family has fallen steadily. Between 2002 and 2006, the number of women stating that they were engaged principally on home duties has declined by 51,000 to 378,000.
As a result of the sustained economic boom and rising levels of educational attainment, Ireland is becoming a more middle-class country.
Those enumerated in the census are assigned to socio-economic groups on the basis of the occupation of the person in the family on whom they are deemed to be dependent. For those where occupations could be clearly identified, almost two in five of the population in 2006 lived in households headed by employers, managers or professionals. On the same basis, just 15 per cent of the population now comprises semi-skilled and unskilled workers and their families.
The high level of car ownership provides an illustration of the increasing prosperity. The census estimates that there are now some 1.96 million cars on Ireland's roads. Four out of five households throughout the country own at least one car, while in rural areas, almost 90 per cent of households own at least one car. Many, however, may plead that a private car is not a luxury, but a necessity. This is borne out by the fact that almost two out of every three workers drive to work with only 9 per cent taking a bus or train.
However, contrary to urban myth, average commuting distances and times have not lengthened appreciably since the last census. The average commuting distance to work has remained broadly similar at 15.8km, while the duration of the average commute has risen only marginally - from 26.8 minutes to 27.5 minutes - since 2002.
But if Ireland is becoming more middle-class, it is also on the cusp of middle-age. Data from earlier volumes of the 2006 census shows that the average age in Ireland is now 35.6 years, a year-and-a-half older on average than in 1996.