The Irish population is moving away from cities and into satellite towns, according to statistics released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The statistics from the 2006 census point to a decline in the increase of population in urban areas, with only Galway city's population increase exceeding the national increase in the inter-censal four year period from 2002 to 2006.
Of the overall population growth between 2002 and 2006, less than one-fifth of the growth occurred in city areas. The country's overall population saw an increase of 322,645 in the inter-censal period.
The combined population of the five cities covered - Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford - increased by 4.2 per cent between 2002 and 2006 compared with the national population increase of 8.2 per cent.
Large and small towns countrywide saw the largest percentage increase in the country. The number of large towns, with a population of 10,000 or more, increased from 28 to 34 in four years. The combined population of these 34 towns increased by 11.6 per cent in the four years.
Twenty-two of these large towns are located in Leinster, with towns in the Dublin commuter belt experiencing significant increases in population. The population of Swords rose by 6,832 to 33,998 between 2002 and 2006, while Balbriggan's rural population rose by 141 per cent from 3,663 to 8,828 during the same period.
Smaller towns - those with a population of between 1,500 and 9,999 - experienced a population increase of one fifth. These towns are dispersed throughout the country.
The average population density in the country is 60 persons per square kilometre. Dublin city far surpasses this average with 4,304 people per square kilometre, followed by Cork city which has a population density of 3,015 per square kilometre.
The lowest density of inhabitants is in Leitrim - 18 people per square kilometre - closely followed by Co Mayo with 22.