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The largest single group of people born abroad who today live in Britain are those with the longest historical links � those born in Britain's nearest neighbour, and one time part of the UK, the Republic of Ireland. For two centuries, young Irish men and women have come in large numbers to work in Britain � and millions of British citizens have Irish heritage. But these arrivals have slowed dramatically in the past 20 years. Ireland's Celtic Tiger economy has boomed � and the attractions of migrating have diminished. Today, Ireland, one of the first modern nations to witness mass emigration to Britain, North America and the Australias, is today itself becoming a nation attracting immigrants. |  | Concentrations of people born in the Republic of Ireland Map on right shows country as if areas with roughly equal populations were the same size. So, densely populated London takes up much more space than sparsely populated Scottish Highlands. |
 | At-a-glance |
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494,850 people born in the Republic of Ireland were living in Britain in 2001, some 0.87% of the population. 97,433 fewer people born in Ireland lived in Britain in 2001 than in 1991 � a drop of 16%. 6 cities known for their ties to Ireland have seen large decreases in Irish-born over 30 years. 896 local areas devised for these immigration maps � 70% of the total - have seen falls in the Irish-born population. |
Click column titles to sort table by that column.  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | Distribution of people born in the Republic of Ireland |
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 | TOTAL NUMBERS | AS % OF ALL PEOPLE |
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Sort by: | 1991 | 2001 | +/- % | 1991 | 2001 | +/- % |
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| Whole of Britain | 592,283 | 494,850 | -16.45 | 1.08 | 0.87 | -0.21 | | | | East Midlands | 27,846 | 25,712 | -7.66 | 0.70 | 0.62 | -0.08 | | East of England | 48,771 | 46,797 | -4.05 | 0.96 | 0.87 | -0.09 | | London | 214,337 | 157,556 | -26.49 | 3.21 | 2.20 | -1.01 | | North East | 5,920 | 5,719 | -3.40 | 0.23 | 0.23 | 0.00 | | North West | 67,421 | 56,882 | -15.63 | 1.00 | 0.85 | -0.15 | | Scotland | 22,800 | 21,809 | -4.35 | 0.46 | 0.43 | -0.03 | | South East | 71,156 | 64,386 | -9.51 | 0.95 | 0.80 | -0.15 | | South West | 28,381 | 25,980 | -8.46 | 0.62 | 0.53 | -0.09 | | Wales | 13,353 | 12,744 | -4.56 | 0.47 | 0.44 | -0.03 | | West Midlands | 67,086 | 54,357 | -18.97 | 1.30 | 1.03 | -0.27 | | Yorks & Humber | 25,212 | 22,908 | -9.14 | 0.52 | 0.46 | -0.06 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | | Most popular areas |
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 | TOTAL NUMBERS | AS % OF ALL PEOPLE |
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| Area | Regions | 1991 | 2001 | +/- % | 1991 | 2001 | +/- % |
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| Cricklewood | London | 4,818 | 3,740 | -22.37 | 12.40 | 7.32 | -5.08 | | Tollington | London | 4,358 | 2,902 | -33.41 | 8.36 | 4.98 | -3.38 | | Brondesbury | London | 4,336 | 2,846 | -34.36 | 10.13 | 5.59 | -4.54 | | Acton | London | 3,795 | 2,509 | -33.89 | 6.20 | 3.71 | -2.49 | | Hammersmith | London | 3,471 | 2,434 | -29.88 | 5.82 | 3.68 | -2.14 | | Regent's Park | London | 4,257 | 2,408 | -43.43 | 5.30 | 3.31 | -1.99 | | Greenford | London | 2,590 | 2,278 | -12.05 | 4.69 | 3.50 | -1.19 | | Southall E | London | 3,160 | 2,248 | -28.86 | 6.49 | 4.47 | -2.02 | | Ealing Broadway | London | 2,816 | 2,092 | -25.71 | 5.76 | 3.92 | -1.84 | | Luton High Town | East of England | 2,913 | 2,069 | -28.97 | 5.84 | 3.79 | -2.05 |
SEE ALSO   THIS DATABASE WAS ASSEMBLED BY BBC NEWS FROM RESEARCH BY:  The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites |