New knowledge about Ireland

Abstract

Ireland, an emigration state par excellence, was the last country in Western Europe to become an important destination for migrants. In the period from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, Ireland transformed itself from one of the poorest EU countries with high levels of unemployment and emigration to a centre for high-tech industry and impressive growth rates. In the 1990s the country began receiving a significant number of immigrants for the first time in its history, and by 1996 immigration exceeded emigration. By the time of the 2011 Census, non-Irish nationals represented 12% (or 544,360) of the population and included 196 different nationalities.