Laois has one of the fastest growing population figures in the country, results of the Census 2016 have confirmed.
The total population in the county was 84,697 in 2016.
The population of Laois jumped by 5.1 per cent in the five year period since the last census.
It rose by 4,138 in that time.
The national average is 3.8 per cent. Only Fingal (8%), Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (5.7%), Meath (5.9%) and Cork City (5.4%) saw their population increase more than Laois.
Laois also has the third highest amount of children per family – 1.4 in the country. Only Meath and Louth, both with an average 1.5 children per family, has more.
Leinster enjoyed the greatest growth, with Dublin on a par with Laois, increasing by 5.1 per cent.
Laois has the highest proportion of men to women in the entire country. 102-100. In some age categories it’s higher.
Over half the population in Laois is single, with 45,545 people of all ages classed as single.
Laois also has the fifth lowest average age profile in the country.
The amount of people living in rented accommodation in the county was also low. Laois fell into the second lowest category, 24.6 to 26 per cent of people living in rental accommodation.
There are 29, 107 private households in Laois with an average 2.9 persons per household.
A total of 9,033 were in the over 65 age category in the county. Of these, a total of 2,373 were living alone.
Religion
A total of 69,877 were classed as Roman Catholic in Laois, an increase of 455 or .7%.
There was a bigger percentage increase in the Church of Ireland (incl. Protestant) population, whith stood at 3,368, up by 106, or 3.2%.
There was a significant increase of other religions in the county, to 4,303, a jump of 955 people, or 28.5%. This excluded the main religions of Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist and Jewish.
However, the number of people with no religion almost doubled in the five years since the last census. 4,755 people now class themselves as having no religion.
This was an increase of 2,174, up by 84.2%.
There were just 780 Travellers in Laois. There are just 9.3 Irish Travellers for every 1,000 people in Laois.
Some interesting figures from the 2016 Census report just released. Laois population now stands at 84,697. Up 5% – above national average
— Laois Today (@LaoisToday) 6 April 2017
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