Photo: Ian Hawfinch · CC BY-SA 2.0More holiday homes than 98% of Irish towns: 8.4% of homes
The median age in Na Forbacha is 41.9, higher than in 89% of Irish towns. This Co. Galway town is home to 868 residents in 265 households, by the 2022 Census. Across Na Forbacha, 1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. 92% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, against 78% across Ireland’s towns.
What stands out about the people of Na Forbacha
Irish spoken every day, in the Gaeltacht
17% of residents speak Irish every day outside education, more than in 99% of Irish towns; 67% can speak it. Na Forbacha is in the Gaeltacht. Irish speakers ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
A larger share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 99% of Irish towns: 17%
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
Na Forbacha is in the Gaeltacht, the districts where Irish is the community language. Speakers of Irish: 548 residents, 67% of those aged 3 and over.
A growing town: +15% since 2016, faster than 82% 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.
The median change is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +7% across Co. Galway’s towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 16% in Na Forbacha, more than in 64% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
No age band is larger than 60–64: nearly one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across Ireland’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 11%. The wider picture: 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Galway 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
58% of residents belong to the professional, managerial and technical classes
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
At 8.4%, residents who moved in within the year sit close to the figure across Ireland’s towns. 10% of residents 15 and over are students.
In Na Forbacha, 52% of households are parents with children, more than in 84% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The average household has 2.9 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. As a yardstick, 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns. In Na Forbacha, 20% of households are one person living alone.
Households without a car or van make up 5% in Na Forbacha, less than in 96% of Irish towns
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
Connected households: 93% on broadband; 4.7% offline (typical: 7.6%). One household in every 20 has no car or van. Na Forbacha has fewer households in flats than just over four fifths of Irish towns, at 6.8%.
€68,460 a year: where the middle household sits
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €68,460 gross, 14% more than the Ireland median (€60,120). Co. Galway comes in at €59,640 at the median.
Only 6.7% of residents are citizens of another country in Na Forbacha
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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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.
Another language is spoken at home by 7.3%, most often Spanish (1.3%); 1.2% speak English not well or not at all. Lower than in nearly four fifths of Irish towns: 16% of residents were born outside Ireland. The wider picture: 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns.
77% of residents said they are Catholic, a share 79% of Irish towns don’t reach
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: 92% of Na Forbacha · Co. Galway’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (6.2%), Other, including mixed (1%) and Asian or Asian Irish (0.5%). As a reference point, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. At 20%, the share of residents with no religion is higher than in 66% of Irish towns.
45% of residents 15 and over are married, a share 98% of Irish towns don’t reach
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.
6.5% of residents give unpaid care, against 5.4% across Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
57% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, a share 88% of Irish towns don’t reach
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
25% of Na Forbacha’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 2.4% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Adults with a degree or higher make up 36% across Ireland’s towns.
Around Na Forbacha, 1 of 6 towns have a higher median age
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Na Forbacha | 868 | — | 41.9 | 16% | 52% |
| Bearna | 2,336 | 3.7 km | 42.4 | 16% | 48% |
| Knocknacarra | 18,398 | 7.0 km | 38 | 11% | 44% |
| Salthill | 5,445 | 9.0 km | 40.4 | 20% | 27% |
| Rahoon | 3,486 | 9.1 km | 35.2 | 11% | 39% |
| Taylor's Hill | 3,141 | 9.2 km | 31.8 | 14% | 36% |
| Maigh Cuilinn | 2,279 | 9.7 km | 38.1 | 13% | 51% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Galway’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).
- Speaking Irish. CSO asks everyone aged 3 and over whether they can speak Irish and how often; “daily outside education” leaves out speaking it only at school.
- 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 Na Forbacha’s residents
What is the population of Na Forbacha?
Na Forbacha had 868 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 15% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Na Forbacha?
The median age is 41.9. 23% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Na Forbacha?
67% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (548 people), and 17% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Na Forbacha?
92% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 16% were born abroad and 6.7% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Na Forbacha?
77% are Catholic, 20% have no religion and 3.6% another religion; 3% didn’t say.
Is Na Forbacha good for families?
52% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Na Forbacha are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Na Forbacha?
Median gross household income in Na Forbacha was €68,460 in 2022, against €59,640 across Co. Galway 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).