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Donegal

Land Mass 485,951 ha
% of Ireland 6.90%
Population Density (2022) 34.38 persons per sq km
Donegal

Human Resource

County Population 2022 167,084
Population Change (2016–2022) 5.0%

Top 15 Centres of Population (2022)

Letterkenny, Co Donegal 22,549
Buncrana, Co Donegal 6,971
Ballybofey-Stranorlar, Co Donegal 5,406
Carndonagh, Co Donegal 2,768
Donegal, Co Donegal 2,749
Bundoran, Co Donegal 2,599
Ballyshannon, Co Donegal 2,246
Convoy, Co Donegal 1,702
Lifford, Co Donegal 1,613
Muff, Co Donegal 1,418
Moville, Co Donegal 1,390
Ramelton, Co Donegal 1,288
Greencastle, Co Donegal 1,268
Killybegs, Co Donegal 1,258
An Clochán Liath, Co Donegal 1,247

Source: CSO Census of Population 2022

Highest level of education completed by persons whose education has ceased

2022
No Formal/Primary 17.1%
Secondary 44.1%
Third Level 38.8%

Source: CSO Census of Population 2022

Natural Resources

Average Farm Size (AAU 2020) 27.4 ha
Farming, Fishing & Forestry workers (2022) 3,885

 

Employment

Employed (2022) 67,977
Employment Change (2016–2022) 16.5%
Labour Force Participation Rate (2022) 57.2%

 

Numbers Employed by Sector (2022)

Total 63,911
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 3,885 (6.1%)
Industry & Construction 11,371 (17.8%)
Services 48,655 (76.1%)

*CSO Census of Population 2022, excludes not stated and unemployed

Download the 2-page WDC Insights County Donegal’s Labour Market – Census 2016

Agency Assisted Employment (2022)

Permanent Full Time Employment in Agency Assisted Companies 9,249

Source: DETE, Annual Employment Survey 2022

Local Sustainability

Fertility Rate (2022)* 9.8
Proportion of seats held by women in the 2019 local election** 10.8%
Domestic Building Energy Rating (BER) % Grade B2 and above (2023)*** 9.9%

* Births per year per 1,000 population. Source: CSO Vital Statistics Yearly Summary

**Source: Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Local Elections 2019 Results, Transfer of Votes and Statistics

*** Source: CSO Domestic Buildings Energy Ratings

 

Income and Earnings

Avg. Disposable Income per Person (2021)* €19,253
Mean Annual Earnings 2021** €39,288

* Source: CSO County Incomes and Regional GDP

**Source: CSO Ireland, Earnings Analysis using Administrative Data Sources

Business Economy

Number of Active Enterprises* 11,320
Percentage of Micro-Enterprises (10 or fewer employees) 92.3%
Percentage Change in Number of Enterprises (2019-2021)* 13.8%

Source: CSO Business Demography 2021

* Active enterprises includes all ‘business economy’ enterprises (NACE Rev 2 B to N(-642)) plus Health & Social Work, Education, Arts/Entertainment/Recreation and Other Services.

Labour Catchments in County Donegal (2016)*

Download the 2-page county profile of County Donegal’s Place of Residence and Place of Work, 2011 and 2016

Letterkenny labour catchment 19,717 (2016),    17,886 (2006)
Derry labour catchment 5,056 (2016),    4,581 (2006)
Ballybofey-Stranorlar labour catchment 2,948 (2016),    3,520 (2006)
Donegal labour catchment 3,908 (2016),   3,487 (2006)
Buncrana labour catchment 2,969 (2016),   2,995 (2006)
Killybegs labour catchment 2,299 (2016),   2,653 (2006)
Bunbeg labour catchment 1,493 (2016),   1,939 (2006)
Carndonagh labour catchment 2,352 (2016),   1,737 (2006)

* The labour catchment of a town is that area from which it draws most of its workforce. These figures are the number of workers living in the catchment areas of these towns.