Ireland–Australia Migration
Since 2008

Data sources and coverage

This analysis draws on two complementary official datasets, each measuring a different dimension of Ireland–Australia migration.

CSO migration flow data (Ireland)

Annual migration flows are taken from the Central Statistics Office Population and Migration Estimates (table PEA18), a model-based series primarily derived from the Irish Labour Force Survey and supplemented by administrative sources including visa data. The dataset provides estimates of emigrants by destination country and immigrants by country of previous residence. Australia is separately identified from 2008 onwards, enabling bilateral Ireland–Australia analysis across 2008–2025 (the 2025 figure refers to the 12 months to April 2025). The data record migration events rather than unique individuals: Someone who emigrates, returns, and emigrates again is counted on each move.

ABS resident population data (Australia)

Long-run settlement is assessed using Australian Bureau of Statistics Estimated Resident Population (ERP) by country of birth. The ABS also publishes median age and sex ratio by country of birth, which allow demographic comparison across cohorts. ERP by country of birth is modelled and periodically revised between Census years, meaning year-to-year changes are not purely flow-driven. The series runs from 1996 to 2025, providing historical context for the post-2008 migration profile. The 2025 figures are preliminary.

Australian citizens in Ireland

The Ireland Census of Population 2022 recorded 3,481 Australian citizens usually resident in Ireland. This small stock helps interpret immigration flows from Australia to Ireland as largely reflecting returning Irish citizens or third-country nationals rather than Australian citizens settling in Ireland.

Migration flows 2008 to 2025

The flow data shows a distinct crisis-era peak, a prolonged trough through the late 2010s, and a renewed rise from 2024. Immigration from Australia runs at a more stable baseline, with notable spikes in several years that produced positive net migration from Australia to Ireland.

Source: CSO Population and Migration Estimates (PEA18), persons in April, both sexes combined. 2025 refers to the 12 months to April 2025.

• Emigration to Australia peaked at 17,400 persons in 2012, at the height of the post-crisis labour market contraction in Ireland.
• Flows declined steadily to a trough of 2,500 in 2021, reflecting pandemic travel restrictions and the recovery of the Irish labour market.
• Emigration rose sharply in 2024 (10,600) and 2025 (13,500). 2025 is the highest annual level since 2013.
• Immigration from Australia averaged roughly 6,500 per year across the period, with peaks in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025.
• Several years between 2016 and 2021 recorded positive net migration from Australia to Ireland, as return flows outweighed fresh departures.

Source: CSO Population and Migration Estimates (PEA18), persons in April, both sexes combined. Totals may not sum exactly due to independent rounding of each series to one decimal place.

Net migration and the two-way corridor

Across 2008–2025, cumulative gross emigration to Australia of approximately 154,000 was partially offset by cumulative gross immigration from Australia of approximately 117,000, producing a cumulative net outflow of around 36,000 persons. The gap between gross and net flows reflects the scale of return migration in the corridor.

Long-run settlement: ABS resident population

The Australian Bureau of Statistics Estimated Resident Population series allows the flow data to be checked against an independent measure of settlement. Between 2008 and 2025, the Ireland-born resident population in Australia rose from 62,180 to 105,620, an increase of approximately 43,400 persons.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth (release reference 30 June 2025). 2025 figures are preliminary.

The series shows four distinct phases. From the mid-1990s to 2007, the stock is broadly stable at around 54,000 persons, reflecting a long-established but largely static diaspora. From 2008 to 2013, the stock rises sharply to 96,360, coinciding precisely with the crisis-era emigration surge. From 2014 to 2022, the stock plateaus and drifts modestly lower, consistent with return migration offsetting new arrivals. From 2023 onwards, the stock rises again: From 94,610 in 2023 to 103,030 in 2024 (+8,420), and on to 105,620 in 2025 (+2,590). The 2025 figure is a new historical high and indicates that the recent emigration pickup recorded by the CSO is already translating into measurable settlement in Australia.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth (release reference 30 June 2025). 2025 figures are preliminary.

Linking flows and stocks

Placing the CSO and ABS series alongside each other produces the clearest single result in this analysis. Cumulative net outflow from Ireland to Australia over 2008–2025 was approximately 36,000 persons. Over the same window, the Ireland-born resident population in Australia grew by approximately 43,400. The two figures are close, with the stock increase slightly exceeding the cumulative net outflow.

Source: CSO PEA18 (cumulative net, 2008–2025, absolute); ABS Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth (2025 minus 2008).

This is a different conclusion to what might be inferred from the gross flow alone. While 154,000 emigration events is a large gross number, the vast majority of those events are offset either by return migration within a few years or by the same individual being counted on multiple moves. Once the data are aggregated to the net level and compared to an independent stock measure, the persistent footprint of post-2008 emigration to Australia is visible but modest, at around 43,000 additional Ireland-born residents.

Ireland and Northern Ireland: A demographic comparison

The ABS records Ireland-born and Northern Ireland-born residents separately, which allows a useful comparison of two distinct migration cohorts.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth (release reference 30 June 2025). 2025 figures are preliminary.

• Ireland-born residents show strong post-2008 growth, from 62,180 to 105,620 (+70%). The cohort has a median age of 40.6 years and a sex ratio of 110 males per 100 females in 2025, consistent with labour-driven economic migration.
• Northern Ireland-born residents represent a more stable stock, fluctuating between 22,000 and 28,000 across the period and standing at 26,670 in 2025. The cohort has a notably higher median age of 56.0 years and a sex ratio of 105 males per 100 females, consistent with a longer-established legacy diaspora.

The contrast suggests that post-2008 Ireland-to-Australia migration has been economically reactive and demographically selective, while the Northern Ireland-born population reflects a settled diaspora shaped by earlier UK–Australia migration policies, including the assisted-passage schemes that operated from the 1950s into the 1970s.

Short-term travel as supporting context

ABS statistics on short-term visitor arrivals to Australia by country of residence (cat. no. 3401.0) provide useful supporting context. The series runs back to 1991 and captures travel movements rather than long-term migration, but the shape of the series reveals how mobility between Ireland and Australia has evolved.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures (cat. no. 3401.0), Table 5, series A85375568K. Annual totals computed from monthly data.

• Arrivals rose steadily from 9,590 in 1991 to 71,130 in 2008, reflecting the gradual opening of the working holiday maker corridor and broader globalisation of travel.
• Volumes remained in the 55,000 to 67,000 range through the 2010s, with no corresponding spike during the crisis-era emigration peak, suggesting short-term travel and long-term migration respond to different drivers.
• COVID-19 travel restrictions produced a near-complete collapse: 17,080 arrivals in 2020 and just 1,890 in 2021, the lowest level in the series.
• The post-pandemic rebound has been exceptional: 79,190 in 2023, 86,500 in 2024, and 95,890 in 2025, each year setting a new historical high. 2025 is more than double the pre-pandemic 2019 level.

The post-pandemic surge in short-term arrivals coincides with the sharp rise in CSO emigration estimates for 2024 and 2025, and with successive ABS resident stock increases of 8,420 in 2023 to 2024 and a further 2,590 in 2024 to 2025. Taken together, these three independent series point in the same direction: A fresh wave of Irish movement to Australia is underway, with measurable effects already visible in both flow and stock data.

Conclusions

The combined CSO and ABS evidence points to three main findings for Ireland–Australia migration since 2008.

• Net outflow is modest relative to gross flows: Approximately 36,000 net persons over 2008–2025, against 154,000 gross emigration events. The large gap reflects the scale and persistence of return migration.
• Net outflow is largely captured in settled residency: The 43,400 increase in the Ireland-born resident population in Australia over 2008–2025 is close to, and slightly above, the corresponding cumulative net outflow. Post-2008 emigration to Australia has, in aggregate, resulted in settled residency rather than transient movement.
• The corridor is genuinely two-way and cyclical: Several years between 2016 and 2021 recorded positive net migration from Australia to Ireland, and immigration from Australia remained elevated even through periods of strong outflow. Flows respond to relative economic conditions in both countries.

The renewed emigration surge of 2024 and 2025, combined with the rise in the Ireland-born resident population in Australia from 85,720 in 2022 to a new high of 105,620 in 2025, indicates that a fresh cohort is now building and is already visible in the resident stock. On current evidence, the most plausible expectation is that the continued net outflow recorded by the CSO for 2024 and 2025 will be reflected in further increases in the Ireland-born resident stock in subsequent ABS releases.

Methodology and sources

The analysis uses publicly available official data from the Irish Central Statistics Office and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. All CSO figures are drawn from the PEA18 release filtered to both-sexes Australia-specific rows. All ABS figures are drawn from the Estimated Resident Population by Country of Birth release. No reconciliation between the two series is attempted.

Key caveats: CSO estimates record migration events rather than individuals and rely on survey and administrative inputs subject to revision. ABS ERP is modelled and periodically rebased against Census data. Net migration figures compound measurement error on both inflow and outflow series. Individual yearly values should be treated as indicative rather than precise.

Central Statistics Office (Ireland)

Australian Bureau of Statistics