Cork Population 2023
The population of Cork is 222,333. This figure comes from the latest census results published in 2022.
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland, after Dublin, and the third largest on the island of Ireland, after Belfast.
The wider Cork metropolitan area is larger still, with a 2017 population of 305,222. Metropolitan Cork includes the city itself and its suburbs, plus the towns of Carrigaline, Carrigtwohill, Cobh, Glounthaune, Midleton, Passage West and Ringaskiddy.
Unless otherwise noted, data in this article is from the Central Statistics Office census results for 2022 and 2016.
County Cork Population 2022
Cork is located in the south of Ireland, in County Cork, which is in the province of Munster. The 2022 population of County Cork is 581,231. Read more about the population of Ireland’s counties here.
Cork Population Growth
From its humble beginnings as a monastic residence, Cork because a Viking settlement in around 915AD, and was granted city status by Prince John (later King John of England) in 1185.
The city’s population ebbed and flowed, reaching a 19th century high of 107,016 in 1831, when it looked like it might rival Dublin to the north, before falling to a low of 75,345 in 1891.
The number of people living in Cork stayed relatively static until the 1920s and 1930s when growth re-started, and by 1951 it had shot up to 112,009. Steady growth continued until the late 1970s, where the city reached a population high of 138,267.
Steady decline followed again, with a brief recovery to 125,657 in 2016.
The population of the city of Cork jumped rapidly between the 2016 and 2021 censuses because of the 2019 extension of the Cork city boundary. At a stroke, the towns of Douglas, Rochestown, Ballincollig, Blarney and Glanmire were incorporated into Cork, increasing the formal population of the city by 85,000.
| Year | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 100,658 | N/A |
| 1831 | 107,016 | 6.3% |
| 1841 | 80,720 | −24.6% |
| 1851 | 82,625 | 2.4% |
| 1861 | 79,594 | −3.7% |
| 1871 | 78,642 | −1.2% |
| 1881 | 80,124 | 1.9% |
| 1891 | 75,345 | −6.0% |
| 1901 | 76,122 | 1.0% |
| 1911 | 76,673 | 0.7% |
| 1926 | 78,490 | 2.4% |
| 1936 | 93,322 | 18.9% |
| 1946 | 89,877 | −3.7% |
| 1951 | 112,009 | 24.6% |
| 1956 | 114,428 | 2.2% |
| 1961 | 115,689 | 1.1% |
| 1966 | 125,283 | 8.3% |
| 1971 | 134,430 | 7.3% |
| 1979 | 138,267 | 2.9% |
| 1981 | 136,344 | −1.4% |
| 1986 | 133,271 | −2.3% |
| 1991 | 127,253 | −4.5% |
| 1996 | 127,187 | −0.1% |
| 2002 | 123,062 | −3.2% |
| 2006 | 119,418 | −3.0% |
| 2011 | 119,230 | −0.2% |
| 2016 | 125,657 | 5.4% |
| 2019 | 210,000 | 67.1% |
| 2022 | 222,333 | 5.9% |
Religion in Cork
The largest single religion in Cork is Roman Catholic. In 2016, 78.3% of people reported that they were Catholic. This is a reduction from 2011, where 84.1% of peopler reported that they were Catholic.
In contrast, the number of people with no religion increased from 5.9% in 2011 to 9.8% in 2016.
Detailed data on religion is available in the table below.
| Religion | 2011 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic | 84.1% | 78.3% |
| No religion | 5.9% | 9.8% |
| Church of Ireland | 2.8% | 2.7% |
| Muslim | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| Orthodox Christian | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| Presbyterian | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Apostlic / Pentecostal | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Hindu | 0.2% | 0.3% |
Cork ethnicity demographics
The vast majority (91%) of people in Cork reported they were white in the 2016 census. Of this group, 81% were white Irish and 10% white other. A further 2.5% were asian or asian Irish, and 1.4% were black or black Irish.
