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7,000 fewer Catholics in Donegal
13.10.17
DONEGAL has seen a drop
of more than 7,000 in the number of Catholics in the
county, new Census data shows.
The figures show that while Catholicism remains
Donegal's predominant religion, there has been a
significant fall in the number since the last census
in 2011.
Catholics currently account for 81.9% (130,317
people) of Donegal’s population compared to 137,639
people five years previously. The average age of
Catholics in the county is just over 38 years.
As with the State overall, the next largest group in
Donegal are those with no religion. |
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Religion and Irish Travellers in
Donegal. |
In 2011, 5,161 people
described themselves as having no religion while by
last year's official headcount, this had increased
to 8,172 people or 5.1% of the county’s population.
The average age of those with no religion is about
37 years.
The top five in Donegal was completed by 6,756
Church of Ireland members; 5,877 Presbyterians and
747 Muslims.
Meanwhile, the latest tranche of Census 2016 data
shows that there were 588 Irish Travellers
enumerated in the county on census night in April
2016. This was a fall of 136 on the 724 Travellers
enumerated in 2011. This represents less than
1-in-200 of Donegal's population. Nationally,
Travellers accounted for less than 1-in-100 of the
total population.
There were more male (306) than female (282)
Travellers in Donegal on census night last year with
almost half aged under 20 years. |
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