Donegal population tops 180,000 for first time in 130 years

The population of Donegal has edged past 180,000, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) - the highest level recorded in more than 130 years.

The CSO estimated the county’s population at 180,400 in April 2025, up from 179,300 just a year earlier. At the time of the 2022 Census, 167,084 people were recorded as living in Donegal.

The annual CSO estimates, based on births, deaths, and migration trends, show Donegal’s population has grown by 8% in the three years since the last census, compared with a 6% rise nationally.

Read more: Census reveals Donegal localities with the youngest and oldest populations

Across the State, the population is now put at 5.46 million, an increase of 78,300 in the past year. That growth comes partly from a natural rise - 18,600 more births than deaths - and partly from net inward migration, with 59,700 more people arriving in Ireland than leaving.

Donegal’s population is now at its highest since the 1891 Census, when 185,636 people were counted in the county. The peak came in 1841, on the eve of the Great Hunger, when 296,488 people lived in Donegal.

Following the catastrophe of the famine, the county's population fell steadily for more than a century, bottoming out at 104,552 in 1971.

Since then, however, the trend has been upwards - and the latest figures suggest the county’s population is growing strongly.