Census stats show the make-up of Longford/Westmeath constituency

People living in the Longford/Westmeath constituency are more likely to work in manufacturing or construction, are more likely to be married and also tend to volunteer in sport more than the national average. The social, educational and working habits of those living in the constituency as recorded by the last census in 2006, have been broken down and examined by the Oireachtas library. This is in order to help TDs learn more about what makes their voters tick and identify what services are needed and where. Overall, according to the census stats, people in Longford/Westmeath are pretty much a reflection of the national way we are. The figures show that Longford/Westmeath has a higher than average population growth, the average age of a person is 35.4 years, while people are more likely to have left education earlier and with fewer qualifications. There are slightly more males than females and people are 3% more likely to be married compared to the national rate. However, they are also more likely to be separated/divorced or widowed. There are fewer families with adult children and more families with adolescents and younger children than the national average. Of the 105,014 people living here, 89% identify themselves as Irish, above average. There are proportionally more Polish and Lithuanian nationals in Longford-Westmeath than nationally, but fewer Asian or Asian Irish. There are also slightly more individuals than average identifying themselves as White Irish Travellers. It"s thought that many people in their 20s and 30s move away for employment elsewhere. Those here work more in agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction and manufacturing than the national average. There are proportionally fewer employed in commerce and trade than the average while there are more women looking after the home and family. People in Longford-Westmeath spend less time travelling to work or school than the national average. Men are more likely to volunteer to sporting organisations than the national average while women are less likely to volunteer to social and charitable organisations than the national average Nationally 23% of men finished their education aged 21 years or above compared to 19% of Longford/Westmeath men while 21% of women completed education aged 21 years or above, 3% below average. People in Longford/Westmeath also want the security of owning a home, with more houses owned outright than the national average. People are more likely to live in a house or bungalow (93.1%) than people elsewhere in the State (89.2%) and less likely to live in a flat/apartment or bedsit. Only 66.1% of those registered to vote turned out to vote in the 2007 general election, however, there appears to be more people on the register than are eligible to vote.