The visual, which differs from census data from 1841 with figures from 2020, highlights what historians and economists describe as one of Europe’s most significant population transformations, rooted in famine, migration and the long-term pull of urban growth.

The above map serves as a reminder of the devastation caused by the Great Famine, which reduced the population by millions through death and mass emigration.

In 1841, population density was highest in rural, agriculturally dependent counties. County Cork alone recorded 855,000 residents, while Galway, Mayo, Tipperary and Donegal each exceeded 300,000.

These figures highlight how densely settled rural Ireland was before the Great Famine, a period that, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), resulted in more than 1 million deaths and another 1 million emigrants, beginning a population collapse from which many counties have never recovered.

By 2020, the distribution looks almost reversed. Dublin emerged as the dominant centre, with more than 1.35 million people in its greater metropolitan area, nearly triple its 1841 population and far surpassing that of any other county.

Meanwhile, rural counties that once formed the core of Ireland’s population have dramatically smaller numbers: Mayo, for example, which held over 388,000 people in 1841, recorded around 130,000 in 2020. County Cork’s population, though still high, stands around 540,000, significantly lower than its pre-famine peak.

One visual breakdown shows that in countries like Ireland, France and the Netherlands, the tax portion of a 20-cigarette pack reaches as high as 90 % of its retail price.

Why this matters

According to the Commission’s guidance , EU Member States must apply a minimum excise duty on cigarettes equivalent to €90 per 1,000 cigarettes and at least 60 % of the weighted average retail selling price of cigarettes in that country.

In practice, most countries go beyond this baseline. A recent overview by the Tax Foundation notes that the tax share of the retail price in many states exceeds 80 %.

For example, according to data compiled via the “Taxes as a Share of Cigarette Price” dataset, many EU countries show tax shares of over 80 %.

Key take-aways

The EU is considering a revision of the Tobacco Tax Directive to raise the minimum excise duty (to €215 per 1,000 cigarettes) and increase the share of tax for new nicotine products like heated tobacco and e-liquids.

There are concerns that overly high taxes may drive illicit cigarette markets, something noted in several EU states.

From a public-health standpoint, higher taxes are one of the tools used to curb smoking, especially in younger or lower-income populations where price sensitivity is stronger.

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Fertility rate — the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime — must be about 2.1 births per woman to maintain population size without immigration.

New data reveal vast swaths of Europe, East Asia, and the Americas have rates far below this replacement threshold, while much of Sub-Saharan Africa has women having four, five, or even six children on average.

Globally, fertility has more than halved since the 1950s, when the average woman had around five children. Today, the global average is about 2.3, according to the UN’s World Population Prospects.

Even Latin America, which once had some of the world’s highest fertility rates, is now approaching sub-replacement levels. The United States sits around 1.6 , well below replacement, and countries such as South Korea, Singapore, and Italy have dropped even lower, in some cases near or below 1.1 children per woman.

The implications are profound. Populations in countries with sustained low fertility begin to shrink, workforces contract, and the share of elderly citizens rises, putting pressure on pensions, healthcare systems, and economic growth. Italy reported just 370,000 births in 2024, the lowest in its history, leaving its fertility rate around 1.18.

Greece recently announced a €1.6 billion family support package in an effort to reverse its decline, warning that its population could fall below 8 million by 2050 if trends continue. Meanwhile, India, the world’s most populous country, has crossed a historic threshold, with its fertility rate now at 1.9, below replacement for the first time.

A 'The World in Maps' illustration highlights in green those with metro systems and in red those without. Countries like Iceland, Ireland, Cyprus, and Slovakia are among those without such networks.

For instance, Bucharest in Romania has a fully functional metro system with five lines, 64 stations, and over 80 km of track. The Sofia Metro in Bulgaria also operates four lines and about 52 km of network, handling significant daily ridership. Helsinki, though smaller in population, hosts the world’s northernmost metro system, in operation since 1982.

On the flip side, Ireland remains among the largest countries without a conventional metro system. However, that may soon change: the proposed MetroLink project in Dublin aims to introduce rapid transit on a city scale.

Metro systems are more than symbols of modernity. They shape urban mobility, reduce congestion, lower carbon emissions, and often become essential infrastructure in high-growth cities. With growing climate concerns, rising urban populations, and demand for reliable transit, countries without metro systems face increasing pressure to invest.

European Union funding programmes are responding. The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has allocated record sums to sustainable, safe, and smart transport infrastructure: over €7 billion across 134 projects in mid-2024.

Many of these focus on rail, multimodal hubs, and upgrades to urban transport nodes. More recently, nearly €2.8 billion has been approved for 94 transport projects aiming to boost connectivity across the EU, improve cross-border rail, and modernise urban transport.

These investments are occurring as the global railway rolling stock market is projected to nearly double from about $3.87 billion in 2024 to $6.43 billion by 2034, driven by both infrastructure expansions and the demand for digital, energy-efficient, rapid transit systems.

According to data compiled by 24/7 Wall St. from the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps programme, a joint project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, more than one in four adults in these counties drink excessively far above the national average of fewer than one in five.

Digging deeper, 41 of these top 50 “drunkest” counties are in Wisconsin, making the Badger State by far the most concentrated region on the list.

Even outside public perception of Wisconsin as “ America ’s beer capital,” the data shows this trend extends well beyond social stereotypes; Outagamie County, home to Appleton, ranks number 1, where about 31% of adults report binge or heavy drinking.

In a broader metro-area analysis, 7 of the 10 drunkest U.S. cities, including Appleton, Green Bay, and Madison are located in Wisconsin.

Why it matters

1. Health risks soar.

Excessive alcohol use is a major preventable risk factor your health—linked to chronic illnesses like liver disease, cancer, heart disease, and mental-health issues, alongside accidents and impaired driving.

2. Wisconsin leads—and that spotlight demands awareness.

While the state appears on top in statistics, it also raises questions about cultural norms, access to treatment, and alcohol policies across the region.

3. Geography plays a role.

The regional clustering suggests local customs, social environments, and even economic factors influence drinking behaviors.

Professor Mehari Fisseha, a human rights advocate and international law and diplomacy scholar based in Ireland, joined Ismail Akwei on the Global South Conversation to discuss how entrenched the neglect and abuse of children is in Ireland under the watch of Tusla. 

“...even my own family member was taken from the family members, and then this child was given a wrong medication and then he was sexually molested, physically beaten up. I mean, a lot of things happened to these kids. I mean, there are lots of children in the country that are actually sexually molested,” he said.

“Between 2019 until 2024, 1265 children have been missing. So where are these children? The Minister for Children said we cannot find these children; some of them died, and some of them are nowhere to be found. Is this not crime against humanity?” he questioned.

Recently, another investigation has been opened to find a child who is presumed dead after he was reported missing in North County Dublin, prompting a press conference on September 3, 2025, by Minister for Children Norma Foley, who has asked Tusla to conduct well-being checks on cases closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to RTE , Ireland’s National Television and Radio Broadcaster, the Minister described the case as "hugely disturbing". This latest case comes just one year after schoolboy Kyran Durnin was first reported missing from his Drogheda home, also presumed dead.

Professor Mehari Fisseha has called for unity among families who have experienced injustice to speak up against the actions and inactions of Tusla as he does.

“They have to come together, and these are their children. They have to come together and fight for justice…I am an academician. I'm a human rights law expert and a professor. I will never keep quiet because if I do that, that is unethical…I will fight for social justice, I will fight for human rights, I will fight for African children and African people . In general, I will fight for humanity, whether it's a white, green, yellow, or red child. I will fight for justice, he said. 

Our attempt to reach Tusla at the time of this publication was unsuccessful.

Watch the interview attached to this story.