In today’s Irish Independent, Dan O’Brien has an interesting article looking at how the number of those in Ireland aged in their 20s has declined compared to five years ago. This is due to a mix of trends, migration, and birth rates. It compares people who were born from 1980 to 1989 with those born from 1985 to 1994.

The below graph instead looks at people who in 2014 were in their 20s (i.e. those born from 1985-1994). Jack Charlton’s children rather than the Popes. This isolates the effects of migration, and removes changes due to changes in birth rates. Unsurprisingly, during the recession there is a fall in those born from 1990 to 1994 due to migration (these people are now aged 20 to 24).

There is also a jump during the boom of those born from 1985 to 1989 (during 2007, the peak of the boom these people were aged 18 to 22), which is likely due to inward migration.

For biological reasons more boys than girls are born. However, as men seem more likely to migrate than women (but only slightly), the gender imbalance for those born in the late 1980s has shifted, with more women in this age group than men.

The original CSO data is available here.