Europe & Central Asia · IE
Generation Alpha & Beta
in Ireland
How many of each cohort Ireland has, how fast the next one is arriving, and what the fertility rate, median age and school system mean for both.
Ireland has approximately 1 million Generation Alpha people (born 2010–2024), about 18.5% of its population, and roughly 99,190 Generation Beta children born since 2025. Its fertility rate is 1.5 and its child population is shrinking, projected -6% by 2040.
Births since 1 January 2025 at Ireland's own rate, less infant mortality. At 151 births a day it climbs steadily rather than visibly.
Born 2010–2024 — 18.5% of the population, aged 2–16 this year.
About 151 births a day, all of them Generation Beta.
Smaller than the Alpha cohort of 1 million.
Size of the Generation Alpha cohort
Share of the population under 15
Total fertility rate
Child population to 2040 (−6%)
Ireland against the world average
Key dates for Ireland
10 compulsory years from age 4.
Born on 1 January 2025, they reach Ireland's starting age of 4.
Under-15s change by −6% against today.
Eighteen years after the cohort opened.
The cohort closes on 31 December 2039; its youngest members enter school here.
School dates follow Ireland's own starting age of 4 and 10 compulsory years, so they differ from the global figures on our Generation Beta page.
Every figure on this page
Ireland in 20 numbers
| Indicator | Ireland | World average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.4 million | — | #119 of 194 |
| Generation Alpha (born 2010–2024) | 1 million | — | #117 of 194 |
| Gen Alpha share of population | 18.5% | — | #117 of 194 |
| Projected Gen Beta births 2025–39 | 800,000 | — | #125 of 194 |
| Births per year | 55,000 | — | #125 of 194 |
| Births per day | 151 | — | #125 of 194 |
| Under-15 share of population | 20% | 25% | #108 of 194 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.5 | 2.2 | #130 of 194 |
| Median age | 39 years | 31 years | #52 of 194 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 82 years | 73 years | #25 of 194 |
| Urban population | 64% | 58% | #99 of 194 |
| Internet use | 95% | 68% | #26 of 192 |
| Secondary school completion | 93% | 60% | #61 of 189 |
| School starting age | age 4 | — | #193 of 194 |
| Compulsory years of schooling | 10 years | — | #76 of 194 |
| Daily screen time, ages 8–12 | 4.4 hours | — | #6 of 42 |
| Cost of raising a child to 18 | $250k | — | #7 of 61 |
| Under-15 population change to 2040 | −6% | — | #93 of 194 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 30 per 100 adults | — | #108 of 194 |
| Mobile connections per 100 people | 110 | — | #103 of 194 |
Rank is out of the 194 countries profiled here and always runs highest first — so #1 on median age is the oldest country, not the youngest. World averages are population-weighted global figures and are shown only where a comparable one exists. Sources: UN World Population Prospects, World Bank Open Data, UNESCO and ITU, via our sources page.
1950 to 2023, with the UN projection to 2030
Ireland birth rate and fertility rate by year
About 53,300 babies were born in Ireland in 2023, and women had 1.60 children on average. Since 1950, births peaked in 2009 at about 76,000. Fertility first fell below the replacement level of 2.1 in 1989. Annual births are 2% lower than in 2000.
Fertility rate (children per woman)
Births per year
Thousands of births. Dashed: UN medium-variant projection.
| Year | Births | Fertility rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 66,900 | 3.50 |
| 1960 | 61,800 | 3.75 |
| 1970 | 64,500 | 3.85 |
| 1980 | 74,100 | 3.21 |
| 1990 | 53,100 | 2.11 |
| 2000 | 54,400 | 1.89 |
| 2010 | 75,700 | 2.06 |
| 2015 | 65,600 | 1.86 |
| 2020 | 56,500 | 1.65 |
| 2021 | 60,100 | 1.78 |
| 2022 | 53,200 | 1.59 |
| 2023 | 53,300 | 1.60 |
| 2025 projected | 52,600 | 1.60 |
| 2030 projected | 54,600 | 1.60 |
UN World Population Prospects 2024, republished by Our World in Data. Years to 2023 are UN estimates, which can differ from a country's own registered counts; later years are the UN medium-variant projection. Every country is ranked on fertility rate by country.
Regional peers
Elsewhere in Europe & Central Asia
Russia
26 million Generation Alpha
Germany
12 million Generation Alpha
United Kingdom
12 million Generation Alpha
France
12 million Generation Alpha
Italy
7 million Generation Alpha
Spain
6 million Generation Alpha
Ukraine
6 million Generation Alpha
Uzbekistan
11.8 million Generation Alpha
Run the numbers yourself
Tools that use this data
Gen Beta by Country Forecast
Where the 2.1 billion Betas will be born, and which countries shrink instead.
Under-15 Share by Country
The countries where Alpha and Beta make up the largest share of the population.
Global Child Population Table
Where the world's children are, ranked by region, with the direction each one is…
Median Age Calculator
What a country's median age implies about its Alpha and Beta share, its dependency…
School-Age Population Forecast
How many children will be of school age in any year, globally or nationally.
Where a tool takes a number it opens prefilled with Ireland's own figure rather than the world one, and every input stays editable. The rest are the same ranked tables for every country.
Frequently asked about Ireland
How many Gen Alpha are there in Ireland?
Approximately 1 million people born between 2010 and 2024 live in Ireland, about 18.5% of the population.
How many Gen Beta children are there in Ireland?
Roughly 99,190 children have been born in Ireland since 1 January 2025, growing by about 6 every hour.
What is the fertility rate in Ireland?
Ireland has a total fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman, against a replacement level of 2.1 and a world average of about 2.2.
At what age do children start school in Ireland?
Compulsory schooling begins at age 4 in Ireland, and runs for 10 years.
Is the child population in Ireland growing or shrinking?
It is shrinking. The under-15 population is projected to change by -6% between now and 2040.
How many babies are born in Ireland each year?
About 53,300 in 2023, according to UN estimates, down from a peak of about 76,000 in 2009 (the highest since 1950). The UN projects about 54,600 in 2030.
How has the fertility rate in Ireland changed over time?
It was 3.50 children per woman in 1950 and 1.60 in 2023. It first fell below the replacement level of 2.1 in 1989.
AlphaBetaMinds (2026). Generation Alpha and Generation Beta in Ireland. Retrieved from https://alphabetaminds.com/countries/ireland
The printed sheet keeps the headline numbers, the world comparison, the key dates, the full indicator table and this citation, and drops the navigation, the tools and the FAQ. It fits a page or two and needs no login.
Free to reproduce, commercially or not, with a credit and a link. Figures are estimates for 2025–2026 and are updated when the underlying sources are.