How Many Irish Are Celebrating Australia Day In Oz Right Now?

Considering it's Australia Day we thought we'd look at the country which hosts the majority of our recent expats. Celebrated each year on the 26th January, Australia Day marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at that site by Governor Arthur Phillip. For most it's just a great excuse to grab a few beers and hit the beach.

For most of us in Ireland, we've either spent a few years over in Oz or have family or friends that did, and maybe still do reside there. The thought of Australia conjures up images of long sandy beaches, barbeques on Christmas Day, wallabies, kangaroos and koalas. It's no wonder that so many Irish have decided to make this idyllic location it their permanent home. Here we look at some of the figures in relation to emigration between Ireland and Australia, and see just how many Irish now live down under.

• From April 2013 - April 2014, 10,000 Irish people moved to Australia according to the CSO.

• Australia has a population of 21,505,717 according to the 2011 Australian Census, and 2,087,800 of them identify themselves as having Irish ancestry.

• 67,316 people listed the Republic of Ireland as their country of birth, which had risen 50,260 from the 2006 census, increasing by 33%.

• The average age of an Irish emigrant in Australia surprisingly is 43, which bucks the notion of 20 somethings head over on the piss.

• We're Coming Back are an organisation that are campaigning to get voting rights for citizens abroad, as they believe emigrants will return when work prospects improve at home.