Ireland has been recognized as the fastest growing country in the European Union with a growth increase of 8% from 2002 to 2006 making the population estimate 4,062,235. Birth rates have outweighed death rates 2 to 1. For every 1,000 people there are 14.45 births and 7.82 deaths per calendar year. The immigration rate is currently at 4.87 per 1,000 people, an increase similar to the population increase. Of the total population, 40% is said to reside within 100 km of Dublin.
English and Irish [Gaelic] are the two official languages and 88.4% of the population is Roman Catholic. The income per capita, on national average, is $41,000 per year with 10% of the population below the poverty line and 4.3% unemployed. As of 2004, there were 2,019,100 people with home phones and 3.78 million people with mobile phones. The country is host to 36 airports and 95,736 km of roadways.