Ireland (Somali diaspora)

How many Somalis live in Ireland?

Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) counted 2,419 people born in Somalia in the April 2022 census (CSO, Census 2022, table F5014). Of these, 842 were Irish citizens (CSO, F5014). The census also counted 1,185 people holding Somali citizenship (CSO, Census 2022, table F5006).

Language gives a wider view. 2,150 people spoke Somali at home in 2022, and 1,106 of them were Irish citizens (CSO, Census 2022, table F5004). That number grew from 1,192 in 2011 and 1,495 in 2016 (CSO, table F5029).

UNHCR counts by protection status. At the end of 2025 it recorded 3,281 Somali refugees and 2,264 Somali asylum seekers in Ireland (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API, Ireland, 1990 to 2025). Many of them arrived after the 2022 census.

Where in Ireland do Somalis live?

Most live in and around Dublin. In 2022, Dublin City had 347 Somali citizens, Fingal 183 and South Dublin 147 (CSO, Census 2022, table F5001). Outside Dublin, Cork City had 70 and Louth 68 (CSO, F5001).

Somali citizens in Ireland are young. In 2022, 641 of 1,185, or 54%, were aged 20 to 34 (CSO, F5006). Men outnumbered women, 672 to 513 (CSO, F5006).

How did Somalis come to Ireland?

The first Somali refugees arrived in the early 1990s. UNHCR Ireland recorded a Somali teacher who arrived in 1991, stayed in a Red Cross hostel in Dublin and found no other Somalis in the country (UNHCR Ireland, World Refugee Day archive). UNHCR counted 141 Somali refugees in Ireland in 1999 (UNHCR API).

Numbers stayed small for two decades. The count was 672 in 2007 and fell to 205 in 2018 (UNHCR API).

Ireland also resettled Somali families. Six Somali families came to Arklow, County Wicklow, under the state's refugee resettlement programme in 2013 (Co. Wicklow Citizens Information Service and partners, Summary Report, 2018). Twenty more family members joined them through family reunification, most of them under 22 (Wicklow report, 2018).

For the routes people took, see Migration routes and Why and how Somalis left.

Why have numbers risen since 2022?

New asylum claims rose sharply. Somali refugees and asylum seekers in Ireland grew from 674 refugees and 1,637 asylum seekers in 2022 to 3,281 and 2,264 in 2025 (UNHCR API).

In 2025 Somalia was the top nationality for international protection applications in Ireland, with 2,021 of 13,162, or 15.4% (IrishCentral, 15 January 2026, citing the International Protection Office). Total applications fell by 29.1% from 2024, while the Somali share grew (IrishCentral, 2026).

For what each protection status means, see Refugee papers and status.

How do Somalis in Ireland get on with English and work?

Most Somali speakers in Ireland speak English well. In 2022, 849 of 2,150 Somali speakers said they spoke English very well and 623 well (CSO, F5004). 428 said not well and 118 not at all (CSO, F5004).

The Arklow study found that young people aged 12 to 24 struggled most to adapt to the Irish school system (Wicklow report, 2018). Mothers worried about helping younger children with an unfamiliar curriculum (Wicklow report, 2018).

Who speaks for Somalis in Ireland?

• The Somaliland Community of Ireland was co-founded in 1997 as a network for people from Somaliland (UNHCR Ireland, World Refugee Day archive).
• County Wicklow services: the Citizens Information Service in Arklow has worked closely with the town's Somali community since about 2014 (Wicklow report, 2018).
• Research: a Trinity College Dublin study, "From Catastrophe to Marginalisation," examined the needs of Somali refugees in Ireland (Moreo and Lentin, Trinity College Dublin).

What do Somalis in Ireland face now?

• Waiting for decisions: 2,264 Somali asylum seekers were waiting at the end of 2025 (UNHCR API).
• Integration support: the Arklow study found resettled families still needed significant support five years after arrival (Wicklow report, 2018).
• Language: 546 Somali speakers in 2022 spoke English not well or not at all (CSO, F5004).

How are Somalis in Ireland tied to home?

Family reunification brought relatives from the Horn of Africa to join resettled families (Wicklow report, 2018). Worldwide, Somalis abroad sent home US$3,134 million in 2025, about 24% of the economy (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). For the full picture, see Life after leaving.

What else has been reported?

• Applications, 2023: Somalis made 1,098 international protection applications in Ireland in 2023, fourth by nationality, out of 13,277 in total (Government of Ireland, International Protection in Numbers).

Related pages

• Somali diaspora hub
• Life after leaving
• Refugee papers and status
• Somali refugees by the numbers
• London (Somali diaspora)
• Somalis elsewhere in the UK

Sources

1. Central Statistics Office (CSO). Census of Population 2022, tables F5001, F5004, F5006, F5014 and F5029, via the PxStat API. ws.cso.ie. Checked 2026-11-12.
2. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to Ireland, 1990 to 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
3. IrishCentral (O'Shea, K.). "Ireland asylum applications 2025," citing the International Protection Office. 15 January 2026. irishcentral.com. Checked 2026-11-12.
4. Co. Wicklow Citizens Information Service, Wicklow LCDC and Wicklow CYPSC (Daly, S.). "Summary Report" on Somali refugee resettlement in Arklow. 2018. wicklow.ie. Checked 2026-11-12.
5. UNHCR Ireland. World Refugee Day, "1990s: Somalia." Archived page. webarchive.archive.unhcr.org. Checked 2026-11-12.
6. Moreo, E. and Lentin, R. "From Catastrophe to Marginalisation: The Experiences of Somali Refugees in Ireland." Trinity College Dublin. tara.tcd.ie. Checked 2026-11-12.
7. Central Bank of Somalia. "Annual Report 2025." 2026. centralbank.gov.so. Checked 2026-11-12.
8. Government of Ireland. "International Protection in Numbers". https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/collections/international-protection-in-numbers/. Checked 2026-11-12.