Ireland was one of only six EU countries to see a positive ‘replacement rate’ in 2022, where births still outnumber deaths, according to Eurostat.

Migration was responsible for a far bigger proportion of Ireland’s population surge in 2022 than so-called ‘natural change’ the bloc’s statistics agency said.

Net migration in Ireland was responsible for an increase of almost 112,000 people in the population last year, while ‘natural change’ was responsible for adding 22,500 people. In 2012, births exceeded deaths by over 42,000.

The figures come after a Eurobarometer survey this week, carried out in June, found that Irish people are more worried about housing and immigration than their EU counterparts.

Previous Eurostat figures show Ireland has one of the EU’s youngest and fastest-growing populations, even though first-time mothers here are older than in most other countries.

The latest Eurostat data shows net migration was the main driver of population growth across the EU last year, including in France, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and Sweden – the other five EU countries that saw a positive replacement rate in 2022.