Photo: danny kearney · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of Irish towns: half of Malin is over 53.6
9% of homes are holiday homes; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 0.2%. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White Irish at 89% in Malin. The town has fewer households of parents with children than 92% of Irish towns, at 22%. In 2022, the Census found 154 residents here, living in 67 households.
A growing town: +15% since 2016, faster than 81% of Irish towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Across Co. Donegal’s towns the median is +6%, and across Ireland’s towns +8%.
In Malin, 36% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 9.7% of residents, against 12% across Ireland’s towns. The wider picture: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Malin sits below 99% of Irish towns for students among residents 15 and over (4.4%)
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (3.1%), Malin is below 98% of Irish towns. On average, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Malin sits above 99% of Irish towns for one-person households (42%)
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Households average 2 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Across the comparison, 24% of households are one person living alone across Ireland’s towns. 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Few flats: only 7.5% of households in Malin live in one
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
Broadband reaches 83% of households; 8.5% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). Fewer households without a car or van than in 70% of Irish towns: 12%.
The middle household earns €40,080 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €40,080 gross, 33% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). In Co. Donegal overall, the median comes to €42,500.
Residents with another country’s citizenship: 9.1%, a lower share than 82% of Irish towns
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
The largest groups were born in the UK (17%) and outside the EU and UK (5.3%). Residents with another country’s citizenship: 15% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. Few places have as many residents born outside Ireland: 24% here, more than in 58% of Irish towns.
0.8% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, fewer than in 74% of Irish towns
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
In all, 28 residents aged 3 and over (22%) can speak Irish. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of daily speakers of Irish outside education is 1.1%.
12% of residents said they have no religion, below 84% of Irish towns
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 89% of Malin · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (9.5%), Asian or Asian Irish (0.9%) and Other, including mixed (0.9%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across Ireland’s towns: 17%. 77% of residents said they are Catholic, a higher share than in 79% of Irish towns.
Above 96% of Irish towns: 43% of residents 15 and over are married
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns, against 3.2% in Malin. For comparison, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher make up 33% in Malin, less than in 55% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate: 8.8% of adults. To put it in context, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns. Primary level or earlier: 25%, against 9.7% across Ireland’s towns.
Every neighbour of Malin has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malin | 154 | — | 53.6 | 36% | 22% |
| Carndonagh | 2,768 | 5.6 km | 37.4 | 16% | 45% |
| Moville | 1,390 | 18.3 km | 44.8 | 24% | 37% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Donegal’s towns of 2,500 or more and over the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Malin’s residents
What is the population of Malin?
Malin had 154 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 15% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Malin?
The median age is 53.6. 14% are under 18 and 36% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Malin?
22% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (28 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Malin?
89% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 24% were born abroad and 9.1% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Malin?
77% are Catholic, 12% have no religion and 11% another religion; 25% didn’t say.
Is Malin good for families?
22% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 14% of residents are under 18. Schools near Malin are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Malin?
Median gross household income in Malin was €40,080 in 2022, against €42,500 across Co. Donegal and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).