2023 in numbers: Standout statistics from the CSO review of the year

The year in numbers from the CSO paints a picture of the state we are in, free from interpretation or spin. It tells us that:

• Despite soaring energy prices, the median or mid-point annual electricity bill was €909 in 2022, down 28 per cent from €1,268 in 2021 thanks to Government interventions and a decline in electricity usage. There wasn’t such good news for gas customers with the median bill climbing by 31 per cent to €972 in 2022.
• Ireland’s population exceeded five million for the first time in 171 years, climbing 8 per cent since the last Census in 2016. Over 5.1 million people were recorded as living here in the Census, up 83 per cent on 1961.
• More than 4.3 million people living in the State in 2022 had either Irish or dual-Irish citizenship while 12 per cent or 631,785 people, were non-Irish citizens with almost half of those from other EU countries. The number of immigrants was estimated to have grown from 107,800 between April 2021 and April 2022 to 141,600 people between April 2022 and April 2023. The number of emigrants also rose from 56,100 to 64,000 people in the same period. Of the 64,000 emigrants, 30,500 were Irish citizens. When combined with a total of 29,600 returning Irish citizens, there was close to zero net migration.

Some 45 per cent of all new cars licensed were electric, plug-in hybrid, or hybrid, up to October 2023

• The number of new dwelling completions rose in six of the eight regions of Ireland in the 12 months to the end of September. The largest relative increase was in Dublin at 36.7 per cent, with rises in the Midlands recorded as 25.9 per cent and 14.9 per cent in the border regions. The Residential Property Price Index reached its highest-ever level, 5.1 per cent greater than at the peak of the property boom in April 2007.
• About 80 per cent of people used the internet in 2023 for shopping, banking, or booking/ordering services online last year, although email was the most popular online activity at 93 per cent.
• More than 700,000 people indicated on their Census form that they undertook voluntary work with nearly 300,000 volunteering in a sporting organisation.
• Some 45 per cent of all new cars licensed were electric, plug-in hybrid, or hybrid, up to October 2023.
• At the end of September average weekly earnings were €907.72, up by almost 33 per cent when compared with €682.79 recorded ten years earlier.
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