The number of immigrants to Ireland fell by 26,000 in the 12 months prior to the end of April.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people who moved to Ireland during that period totalled 83,800, down from 109,500 for the year ending April 2007.
The population of the State rose from 4.34m to 4.42m, despite the fall in immigration and a slight increase in emigration. 45,000 people decided to move abroad.
The figures also show that Australia is becoming increasingly popular with Irish emigrants.
Of the almost 20,000 that opted against a fresh start in the UK, US or a fellow EU member state, over half, 11,300, opted to move 'down under' or to the Oceania region.
The highest birth rate since 1980 helped the growth in population, with an estimated 72,300 newborns recorded.
That means the excess of births over deaths has increased three-fold since the low point of 16,600 at the end of April 1994.
The increase in population has not been evenly distributed across the country.
Counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow saw growth of 3.6%, with Dublin showing the smallest increase of 0.6%.
