How many people around the world claim Irish ancestry?
The Irish Government's working estimate is around 70 million people worldwide: roughly ten times the population of the island of Ireland. It is an estimate, not a count. No world census asks the question, and countries count differently: the United States asks about ancestry, Canada asks about ethnic origin, Australia asks about ancestry, and Britain's censuses mostly record country of birth, so the Irish-born there are counted but their children largely are not. What the figure captures is real, though. A small island sent out so many people, over so many centuries, that their descendants now form one of the largest diasporas of any European country relative to the population at home.
Useful pages: Irish in USA · The Irish surnames map · Trace your Irish roots · Coming home · Irish around the world
Sources
- Government of Ireland: Global Irish diaspora policy and the worldwide ancestry estimate, gov.ie
More in Irish in USA and the diaspora
- What is the Foreign Births Registration, and who qualifies?
- What documents do I need for a Foreign Births Registration application?
- Does my child qualify if I register my own foreign birth after they are born?
- What is the difference between citizenship by descent and the Foreign Births Register?
- Can I claim Irish citizenship through a great-grandparent?