Ireland's population could grow to just over 7 million people by 2057 under a growth scenario projected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Guided by a group comprised of CSO officials and other experts from outside agencies and using the 2022 census as a base, the statistics agency examined three different potential population growth scenarios over the period from 2023 to 2057.
However, the CSO said the data is not an attempt to forecast the future of population and migration patterns in Ireland, but rather how the population could evolve under different scenarios.
The three different scenarios found that at the upper end, the population could have reached 7.005 million in 24 years’ time.
Alternatively, under a different scenario, it may grow to 6.446 million by then.
While at the lower end projected, the number of people living here may have risen to 5.734 million by 2057.
"The key change in each of these scenarios is the net migration per annum," the CSO said.
"Assumptions regarding fertility and mortality remain constant across the three scenarios."
The research examines the differences in population growth based on low, medium and high migration levels.
Under the high migration assumption, net migration would start at 75,000 in 2022 and decreasing incrementally to 45,000 a year by 2027, remaining at this level to 2057.
This scenario would see the population grow by 1,821,478 or 35.1% over the 35 year period to 2057.
The second medium level assumption would also see net migration starting at 75,000 in 2022, before decreasing incrementally to 30,000 a year by 2032 and remaining at this level to 2057.
This would lead to a population increase of 1,262,297 or 24.4% over the period to 6.45 million people.
While under the low-level assumption, migration would start at 75,000 in 2022 and decrease incrementally to 10,000 per annum by 2032, before remaining at this level to 2057.
This would result in the population increasing by just 549,685 or 10.6% to 5.73 million people in 2057.
The CSO also found that under all three scenarios, there would be a shift from the current situation of there being more births than deaths, to one where the opposite is the case by the 2040s, with the timing dependent on the scenario that is chosen.
The research also found that as Ireland's population ages, the number of people aged 65 and over will increase significantly over the period.
Indeed by 2030, the number of individuals in that category will have reached over 1 million, it said.
The study also looks at the implications of population growth for the labour force and found under all scenarios it would grow, by varying degrees.
Under the high net migration scenario, the labour force is projected to increase by just over 610,000 or 22.6% by 2037 to 3,307,000 persons.
The labour force is also projected to increase by just over 485,000 or 18.0% to 3,182,100 people by 2037 under the medium net inward migration scenario.
