Census 2022: 425,974 people live alone in Ireland, and what it means for meeting people

What the census counted

Every five years, Ireland's Central Statistics Office runs a census, and one of the things it counts is how people live. The Census 2022 report on households, families and childcare was published on 31 August 2023 and includes a section on private households and people living alone.

According to the CSO, there were 425,974 people living alone in Census 2022. That was an increase of 7% (26,159 people) since 2016, and it accounted for 8% of all people living in private households.

This is a count of where people live, not of how they feel. Living alone is not the same as being lonely, and plenty of people who live alone have busy social lives. The figures tell us about households, and nothing more.

The figures in one place

Source: CSO, Census of Population 2022 Profile 3, Households, Families and Childcare, published 31 August 2023.

What it tells us, and what it does not

The headline is growth. The number of people living alone rose by 7% in six years, so one-person households are becoming a bigger part of the picture across the country. They are concentrated where the population is highest, with Dublin City and County Cork at the top.

The age figures are a reminder that this is not only about young adults. More than a quarter of people aged 65 or over lived alone, and the share rises to 44% for those over 85. People living alone are a mix of ages and circumstances, from students and young professionals to widowed older people.

A caution. The census counts households on one night. It does not tell us why someone lives alone, how often they see friends or whether they want to meet someone. We have not drawn conclusions about loneliness or dating from these figures, because the release does not.

What it means for meeting people

For anyone living alone, the practical point is that you are far from the only one. More than 400,000 people in Ireland live alone, which means there are plenty of others with the same free evenings and the same wish for an easy way to make a plan.

That is a reason to favour low-pressure ways to meet. A coffee, a walk, a group event or a chat before you meet can all work better than a big, formal date, and they are easy to organise from home. If you meet someone new, choose a public place and tell a friend where you are.

Easy ways to meet people if you live alone

1. Pick one weekly activity, such as a walk, a class or a club, and go regularly.
2. Say yes to one group plan a month, even a small one.
3. Meet new people in public, and share your plans with a friend.
4. On Cravnn you can start a group chat with people you have met and share your live location with trusted contacts using Meet Safe.

Keep going

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