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Greater Dublin Area
Metropolitan area
Map of Dublin and its hinterland, showing: Dublin city (red), city and suburbs (orange), Dublin Metropolitan Area (Yellow), Greater Dublin Area (NTA) (Green)
Maximal definition: 1. Dublin city, 2. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 3. South Dublin, 4. Fingal, 5. Meath, 6. Kildare 7. Wicklow
Country	Ireland
Area
• Total	6,986 km (2,697 sq mi)
Population
• Total	2,082,605
• Density	300/km (770/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1:00
Eircode (post code zones)	D01-D17, D02-D24, A41, A45, A63, A67, A82, A83, A84, A85, A86, A91, A92, A98, C15, K32, K45, K56, K67, K78, R56, W91, Y14, Y21
Area codes	01, 041, 042, 045, 046, 0402, 0404

The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. At the expansive end, it has been defined as including all of the traditional County Dublin and three neighbouring counties, while more commonly it is taken as the contiguous metropolitan area of Dublin plus suburban and commuter towns. The area is defined for strategic planning, and, for example, transport, and it is not a formal administrative or political unit.

Definitions

Planning usage

The 2003 Regional Planning Guidelines referred to the Greater Dublin Area as a planning district separated into a "metropolitan area" and a "hinterland area".

The "metropolitan area" included both suburbs and commuter towns, covering the area from Swords and Malahide in Fingal, to Greystones in County Wicklow in the south, and as far west as Kilcock in County Kildare. This area differs from the Garda "metropolitan region" scope, in that it stretches approximately 20 km further west, but not as far north.

The Dublin Metropolitan Area is now defined as:

The Dublin "Hinterland" area is aligned with the Draft National Planning Framework, which defines city regions or urban hinterlands as those EDs where at least 15% of the workforce (Full POWCAR) are employed in the Dublin Metropolitan Area (NTA boundary).

Dublin Transport Authority

At the broader end of definitions, the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 defines the Greater Dublin Area as including the counties of Dublin (Dublin City, South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and Fingal), Meath, Kildare, and Wicklow; as of 2022, its estimated population is 2,073,459.

Former boundaries

The urban part of Dublin and surrounding areas has been defined by various statutory instruments, mainly those referring to the Garda Síochána and Courts of the Republic of Ireland. The city, three other counties within the traditional County Dublin, and three neighbouring counties, were grouped together in the order creating the Dublin Transportation Office, giving functions and representations to the office in this area, although not using the term. The office was purely advisory and had no executive powers. The term was later defined in section 3 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. On 1 December 2009 the DTO became the National Transport Authority, with a remit expanding beyond the Greater Dublin Area.

Garda usage

The Garda used the term the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR) which was formerly the jurisdiction, within the eastern part of Ireland, of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, which was subsequently merged into the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The term originated from the Police Forces Amalgamation Act 1925, which amalgamated the Dublin Metropolitan Police and Garda Síochána as one national police force.

This jurisdiction covered parts of the old County Dublin (except the northern part around Swords) as well as the County Kildare town of Leixlip and the County Wicklow towns of Bray, Greystones and Enniskerry. Swords was covered by the Meath Garda Division. In this way, it differed from the usual definition of County Dublin and did not even conform to the looser definition of the Greater Dublin Area.

The definition no longer applies, as during 2008 the Garda divisions were realigned along Regional and county boundaries. As of 2009, the Dublin Metropolitan Region is co-extensive with the combined area of the city of Dublin, and the counties of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. Leixlip was moved to the County Kildare Division and became the district headquarters for the new Leixlip District. Bray moved into the new County Wicklow Division and became district headquarters for the Bray District.

Population

The population of the Dublin City and County (Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown) and Outer Greater Dublin (Meath, Kildare and Wicklow) as of the 2022 census was 2,082,605 persons. This equates to 40.5% of Ireland's population. Estimates published by the Central Statistics Office suggest that the population will reach 2.4 million by 2026. The figures are based on a regional breakdown of previously published national population projections and assume that current demographic trends will continue.

The CSO also uses the narrower definition which comprises Dublin City and its suburbs within the 3 local Dublin authorities. The boundaries for suburbs are not legally defined, but drawn and revised by the CSO in accordance with United Nations recommendations. The population distribution of the Greater Dublin Area as of the 2011, 2016 and 2022 censuses was as follows:

Historical

Population of the Greater Dublin Area, 1841–2022

Census year	Population	Population change since previous census		Percentage of population of Ireland
1841	683,232	?		10.5%
1851	740,597	57,365	in 10 years	14.5%
1861	698,050	-42,547	in 10 years	15.9%
1871	663,131	-34,919	in 10 years	16.4%
1881	652,569	-10,562	in 10 years	16.9%
1891	628,539	-24,030	in 10 years	18.1%
1901	640,093	11,554	in 10 years	19.9%
1911	669,625	29,532	in 10 years	21.3%
1926	685,242	15,617	in 15 years	23.1%
1936	774,791	89,549	in 10 years	26.1%
1946	827,725	52,934	in 10 years	28.0%
1961	906,347	78,622	in 15 years	32.2%
1971	1,062,220	155,873	in 10 years	35.7%
1981	1,290,154	227,934	in 10 years	37.5%
1986	1,336,119	45,965	in 5 years	37.8%
1991	1,350,595	14,476	in 5 years	38.3%
1996	1,405,671	55,076	in 5 years	38.8%
2002	1,535,446	129,775	in 6 years	39.2%
2006	1,662,536	127,090	in 4 years	39.2%
2011	1,801,040	138,504	in 5 years	39.3%
2016	1,904,806	103,766	in 5 years	40.0%
2022	2,082,605	177,799	in 6 years	40.4%

Gallery

• Upper O'Connell Street in central Dublin city
• Dún Laoghaire harbour in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown
• Central Tallaght in South Dublin
• Main Street in Swords, Fingal
• Killegland Street in Ashbourne, County Meath
• National University of Ireland at Maynooth, County Kildare
• Bray Daly railway station in Bray, County Wicklow

See also

• Belfast metropolitan area
• Derry Urban Area
• List of metropolitan areas in Europe

References

1. "Draft Regional Report – Greater Dublin Area" (PDF). Regional Planning Guidelines. Dublin and Mid-East Regional Authorities. December 2003. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
2. "DUBLIN Strategic Planning Area (SPA) Socio-Economic Evidence Baseline Report" (PDF). Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly. November 2017. pp. 121–124. Retrieved 14 March 2022. The Dublin Metropolitan Area (DMA) is aligned with the Draft National Planning Framework Appendix 3 (32) which states that in Dublin the Metropolitan Area is as set out in the NTA Transport Strategy for the GDA 2016-2035.
3. "Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016 - 2035" (PDF). p. 5. Land use planning in the Greater Dublin Area, which covers the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, is guided by the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022
4. "Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010 2022" (PDF). Appendix A8. Definition of Metropolitan and Hinterland Area{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
5. ^ Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, s. 3: Greater Dublin Area (No. 15 of 2008, s. 3). Enacted on 16 July 2008. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
6. The Dublin Transportation Office (Establishment) Order 1995 (S.I. No. 289 of 1995). Signed on 7 November 1995. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 14 March 2022.
7. Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 (No. 27 of 2009). Enacted on 27 November 2009. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
8. Police Forces Amalgamation Act 1925, s. 3: Dublin Metropolitan Area (No. 7 of 1925, s. 3). Enacted on 2 April 1925. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
9. Bauress, Henry (14 October 2008). "New 24-hour Leixlip garda station opens". Leinster Leader. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
10. "Bray to become Garda HQ for County Wicklow". Bray People. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
11. "CSO Ireland – Regional Population Projections 2011–2026". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
12. "Appendix 2: Dublin Area" (PDF). Census 2006 Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area: Appendices. Central Statistics Office. 26 April 2007. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2007. The description Greater Dublin Area in the 2006 Census denotes Dublin City and its suburbs
13. Central Statistics Office (Ireland) (26 April 2007). Census 2006 Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area: Appendices. Appendix 2, p.163: Towns (i) Towns with Legally Defined Boundaries. where urban areas have extended beyond the legally defined town boundary, the Central Statistics Office draws up new boundaries defining the suburban areas of Cities/Boroughs ... for census purposes ... in conformity with United Nations recommendations, as the continuation of a distinct population cluster outside its legally defined boundary in which no occupied dwelling is more than 200 metres distant from the nearest occupied dwelling ... The suburban boundaries were reviewed for each subsequent census. A comprehensive review was carried out as part of the processing phase of the 2006 Census.
14. "Population of each Province, County and City, 2016". CSO.ie. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
15. "Population of each County and City, 2011". CSO.ie. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
16. "Central Statistics Office – Census of Population Database". Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2010.

External links

• Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly
• Dublin Regional Authority
• Greater Dublin population to reach two million, from RTÉ News
• Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area
• Cities/Towns Boundaries CSO page with links to Shapefile data for the boundary of the CSO-defined Greater Dublin Area; readable by Geographic information systems

v t e Regions of County Dublin
County seats: Dublin Dún Laoghaire Tallaght Swords
Cities	Dublin
Towns and villages	List of towns and villages in County Dublin
Counties	Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Fingal South Dublin
Other regions	Northside Southside Greater Dublin Area County Dublin
Civil sub-divisions	List of subdivisions of County Dublin List of townlands of County Dublin List of Dublin postal districts
Baronies of Dublin	Balrothery East Balrothery West Castleknock Coolock Dublin Dublin City Nethercross Newcastle Rathdown Uppercross

• Metropolitan areas of Ireland
• Leinster