The following statistics on the population of Limerick come from the national census returns. These numbers can include a number of errors as the early returns were filled in by the local constabulary as a large portion of the general population was illiterate. There could be variants in the numbers as individuals could be omitted or counted twice if they were staying somewhere other than their normal place of residence on the night of the census returns.

The census was carried out every ten years from 1821 until 1911.

Population Changes 1821-1911

Population changes of the entire Limerick City and County:

Year Males Female Total Percentage change
1821 136,916 140,561 277,477 ———
1831 153,625 161,730 315,355 + 13.65
1841 161,997 168,032 330,029 + 4.65
1851 127,387 134,745 262,132 – 20.57
1861 105,712 111,565 217,277 – 17.11
1871 93,112 98,824 191,936 – 11.66
1881 88,311 92,321 180,632 – 5.89
1891 78,607 80,305 158,912 – 12.02
1901 72,456 73,642 146,098 – 8.06
1911 72,229 70,840 143,069 – 2.07

Due to the War of Independence and Irish Civil War, it was not possible to carry out a census of Ireland in 1921. The census was carried out every ten years from 1926 to 1946. It was then carried out every five years from 1946 onwards.

Limerick Population 1926-2006

Population of entire county, including city.

Year Population Year Population Year Population
1926 140,343 1966 137,347 1991 161,956
1936 141,153 1971 140,459 1996 165,042
1946 142,559 1979 157,407 2002 175,304
1951 141,239 1981 161,661 2006 183,863
1961 133,339 1986 164,569

Native language distribution

Irish Speakers Limerick city and county 1851 and 1891:

Limerick City Limerick County
Year Number of speakers Percentage of local population Number of speakers Percentage of local  population
1851 76,982 37.4% 4,204 7.9%
1891 15,927 13.1% 1,135 3.1%

This number is those who self identified as Irish speakers. It is possible that bilingual individuals in other household were not recorded as Irish speakers as the head of the household completed the form.