How Many Irish live outside of Ireland?
Mom and her furrends were talking about St Patrick's Day and EVERYONE in the group had some Irish blood and wondered how many people of Irish decent there are who don't live in Ireland? So I, Marvelous asked my Favorite AI!
They told Me:
The number Marvelous, is very large: worldwide estimates suggest 50–80 million people claim Irish ancestry and therefore live outside of Ireland.
🌍 The scale of the Irish diaspora
Ireland has one of the largest diasporas relative to its population. With only about 7 million people living on the island today, the global Irish-descended population is roughly 10 times larger.
A few of the biggest communities include:
- United States — ~33 million
- United Kingdom — ~6 million
- Canada — ~4.6 million
- Australia — ~2.5 million
- Argentina — ~700,000
- New Zealand — ~600,000
These numbers include people who identify as having Irish heritage, not just those born in Ireland.
🇮🇪 Why the diaspora is so large
Several major waves of emigration shaped this global community:
- The Great Famine (1840s) pushed millions to leave.
- Economic hardship in the 19th and early 20th centuries continued the trend.
- Even in recent years, Ireland still sees more people emigrating than returning in some periods
About 4.4–4.6 million people in Canada identify as having Irish ancestry. This makes Irish heritage one of the country’s largest cultural backgrounds, representing roughly 12–13% of the Canadian population.
🇨🇦 Where Irish ancestry is most common in Canada
Irish Canadians are spread across the country, but several provinces have especially large communities:
- Ontario — ~2.1 million
- British Columbia — ~675,000
- Alberta — ~597,000
- Quebec — ~446,000
- Nova Scotia — ~202,000
- New Brunswick — ~136,000
- Newfoundland & Labrador — ~106,000
These numbers reflect people who self‑identify as having full or partial Irish ancestry, not necessarily Irish-born residents.
🌱 Why the Irish presence in Canada is so strong
Irish immigration to Canada dates back centuries, with major waves during:
- The early 1800s, including the Peter Robinson settlers
- The Great Famine (1845–1852)
- Ongoing migration throughout the 19th and 20th centuries
This long history means many Canadians today have deep Irish roots.
🇺🇸 Irish Ancestry in the United States
About 36 million people in the United States identify as having Irish ancestry, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau ancestry data. That’s roughly 11% of the entire U.S. population, making Irish heritage one of the country’s largest self‑reported backgrounds. Irish‑American identity is especially strong in the Northeast, where historic migration patterns shaped entire regions.
- New Hampshire — 20%
- Massachusetts — 18%
- Vermont — 17%
- Maine — 16%
- Rhode Island — 16%
- Pennsylvania — 15%
- Delaware — 14%
- Connecticut — 13%
These states reflect the legacy of 19th‑century immigration, particularly during and after the Great Famine, when millions of Irish families settled in port cities and industrial hubs.
🌱Why the Irish presence is so large in the U.S.
Several long-running migration waves shaped today’s Irish‑American population:
- Early colonial‑era arrivals beginning in the 1600s
- Massive famine‑era migration in the 1840s and 1850s
- Continued movement throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Strong cultural continuity, with Irish identity passed down through generations
Because of this deep history, many Americans with Irish roots are several generations removed from Ireland but still proudly identify with their heritage.
WOW!
That explains why there are so very many Leprachauns running through the forests of BC and Washington!
AND why St Patrick's Day is a world wide celebration!
It has been raing a lot around here the last week and today there is s a HUGE Rainbow!
I wonder if the Leprachaun left a pot of gold behind? I'm gonna go check!
PS. Mom has Irish on both sides of her family tree! There is also British, Welsh, French and several other different heritages! Me, I am 90% felis catus and 10% unknown so for today I'm declaring that 10%
IRISH!
