Migration in Ireland - statistics & facts
Migration is one of the defining features of Ireland's history and national identity. It is estimated that the number of people with Irish descent is far greater than the present-day population of the Republic of Ireland, with large diasporas in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. One of the most significant waves of migration occurred between 1845 and 1855, when around a million Irish left their homeland for the United States, spurred on by the devastation wrought by the Great Famine. Ireland's population has only recently begun to approach its pre-famine size, with migration to the country being the key component of population growth in the last few decades.
