Leitrim's young people among Ireland's eager to move Down Under
Leitrim took second place, with 280 searches per 10,000 young people and an escape index of 77.1 out of 100 with the result all the more striking as it’s Ireland's least populous county and home to the smallest cohort of 18- to 35-year-olds anywhere in the country.
Leitrim is among the top three counties in Ireland where young people are leaving to find another life in Australia.
New research from USIT, Ireland's leading specialist in student travel, work abroad and intern/trainee programmes, has revealed which Irish counties are the most desperate to escape Down Under, by analysing Google search demand against the number of young people living in each county.
Leitrim took second place, with 280 searches per 10,000 young people and an escape index of 77.1 out of 100 with the result all the more striking as it’s Ireland's least populous county and home to the smallest cohort of 18- to 35-year-olds anywhere in the country. Even with that tiny base, the appetite for Australia among its young people is the second strongest nationally.
The pull of Australia is the strongest it has been in over a decade. Around 13,500 people moved from Ireland to Australia in the year to April 2025, up 27% on the year before and almost three times the 2023 figure, according to the CSO. It is the highest number since 2013, and much of it comes down to young people heading off on a working holiday visa.
To map the trend county by county, USIT looked at a full year of Google searches across various keyword-related terms, from "working holiday visa Australia", "work travel visa Australia" and "visa whv Australia" to "jobs in Australia", "moving to Sydney", "cost of living Australia" and more.
Instead of the usual per 100,000 people approach, USIT measured each county's search demand against the number of people aged 18 to 35 living there using census data. They are the ones who can actually make the move, since Australia's main working holiday visa (subclass 417) is open to Irish citizens up to the age of 35. Focusing on them gives a fairer, like-for-like comparison of where young people are keenest on a life Down Under.
At the top of the table is Longford, where Australia-related searches run at 363 for every 10,000 residents aged 18 to 35, comfortably the highest rate in the country. It is a striking result for one of Ireland's smaller midlands counties. With a relatively modest population of young adults, the sheer concentration of interest in working holidays and life Down Under puts Longford in a league of its own.
Galway, Dublin and Wexford also featured in the top five.
"Every year we see thousands of young people from every corner of Ireland take the leap and head to Australia, and this research shows just how widely that ambition is shared," said Lisa Collender, Head of Ireland & Advocacy at USIT.
For more information please visit: https://www.usit.ie/blog/these-irish-counties-are-the-most-desperate-to-escape-to-australia/