Background Information on Northern Ireland Society
- Population and Vital Statistics

Population and Vital Statistics

Total population of Northern Ireland = 1,685,267 (Census 29 April 2001)
Total population of Republic of Ireland = 3,917,336 (Census 28 April 2002)
Total population of Ireland = 5,602,603

• NISRA, Census web site {external_link}
• Central Statistics Office Ireland, Census 2002 web site {external_link}
• The first report based on the 2001 Census was published on 30 September 2002. According to the report the population of Northern Ireland on Census Day (29 April 2001) was 1,685,267 (1.685 million). There were 821,449 males and 863,818 females. The population of the United Kingdom on Census Day 2001 was 58.789 million. Northern Ireland therefore constitutes 2.87 per cent of the total UK population. The age structure of the Northern Ireland population is the youngest in the UK. Children aged under 16 represent 24 per cent of the Northern Ireland population compared to 20 per cent in the UK as a whole. Conversely, Northern Ireland has proportionately fewer people of pensionable age (16 per cent of the population) compared to the UK (18 per cent).
  The contents of the Census 2001 Population Report can be downloaded from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) web site {external_link}.
• The second report of the 2001 Census was published on 19 December 2002. The report provided information on the religious breakdown of the population. Based on two census questions, religion and religion brought up, the breakdown was reported as 43.76% Catholic, 53.13% Protestant, 0.39% Other, 2.72% none. (Where 'Protestant' represented 'Protestant and other Christian, including Christian related'; and where 'Other' represented 'Other religions and philosophies'). [Following the 1991 Census it was estimated that 41.5 per cent of the population was Catholic (based on revised figures).]
• The population in Northern Ireland has been increasing steadily for the past number of years, and according to future projections, it will continue to do so for the next 20 years or so. It has also a relatively young population, with 54.6% being under the age of 35, and 24.7% of whom are under 16 years of age.
• In 1997, Northern Ireland had the lowest proportion of pensioners (males over 65 years and females over 60 years) of any other region in the UK, and the lowest proportion of persons aged 65 years or over. In Northern Ireland, only 12.8% of the population are aged over 65 years, compared with 15.7% for the UK as a whole, and an EU average of 15.8%.
• Over the ten years from 1987-1997, live births per 1000 of the population in Northern Ireland fell from 17.7 in 1987 to 14.5 in 1997. This rate of 14.5 (per 1000 of the population) in Northern Ireland in 1997 compares with 14.3 in the Republic of Ireland, 12.3 in England and Wales, and 11.6 in Scotland for the same year.
• For the same period from 1987-1997, deaths per 1000 of the population in Northern Ireland fell from 9.7 in 1897 to 8.9 in 1997. This figure of 8.9 (per 1000 of the population) in Northern Ireland in 1997 compares with 10.7 in the UK as a whole, 8.6 in the Republic of Ireland, 10.6 in England and Wales, and 11.6 in Scotland for the same year.

Sources:
The following tables provide further breakdowns of the populations statistics available for Northern Ireland. Much of this material has been derived from the Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics (1996, 1999, 2002), Regional Trends (1996) and the Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts (1997, 2000), the Economic Outlook and Business Review, (1999), and Census Reports.

Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Age (2001 )
Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Age (1996 estimates)
Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Religious Denomination (1991 and 2001 census returns)
Catholic population in Northern Ireland - Census returns and estimates 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001
Towns in Northern Ireland with 1,000 or more persons within Local Government Districts (1991 census returns)     [table on separate page]
Breakdown of Population by District Council (1987-1996)
Percentage of Catholics in each District Council area for 1971, 1981, 1991, and 2001 (adjusted figures based on census data)
    See also the following maps:
    Catholics and Protestants as a percentage of the population, district council areas, 1991
    Distribution of Catholics at Ward Level, Maps for Greater Belfast and Northern Ireland (2001)
Household Sizes in Northern Ireland (compared to Britain)
Emigration Figures for Northern Ireland, 1991-1996
Table NI-POP-10: Migration to and from Northern Ireland, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2000
Population Projections for Northern Ireland, 1996-2026
Births, Deaths and Marriages in Northern Ireland, 1988-1996

See Also:

Counties of Ireland - Population, Major Towns/Cities, Land Area, and Rank by Area, (1996 Estimated Figures)

Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Age (2001 Census)

Note:
* 45-64 for males; 45-59 for females
** 65 and over for males: 60 and over for females
Source: Northern Ireland Census 2001 Population Report and Mid-Year Estimates (2002); p.7

Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Age (1996 Estimates)

Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1998, p.9

Population in Northern Ireland: Breakdown by Religious Denomination (1991 and 2001 census)

Notes:
.. Not available
1. Other Christian (including Christian related)
2. Other religions and philosophies
3. Persons with no religion or religion not stated

Source: Irish Almanac and Yearbook of Facts 1997; and
Northern Ireland Census 2001 Key Statistics (2002), Table KS07a

Catholic population in Northern Ireland - Census returns and estimates 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001

Source: The Religion Reports of the Northern Ireland Census; and
Northern Ireland Census 2001 Key Statistics (2002), Table KS07a and Table KS07b

Notes:

1. There was a high level of non-enumeration during the 1981 census mainly due to protests in Catholic areas about the Republican hunger strikes.
2. Since 1971 there has been a large increase in the number of people who are unwilling to state their religion (during the 1991 census people were also offered the option of answering 'none' to the question on religion in addition to simply not completing the question).
3. The number of people who were willing to state that they were Catholic represents the absolute minimum figure for Northern Ireland. Adjustments on this baseline figure are required to arrive at a more accurate figure for the total number of Catholics in the region.
4. Various estimates have been made over the years of the 'true' size of the Catholic population in Northern Ireland.
5. The estimate for 1961 is simply based on the assumption that 20 per cent of non respondents to the question on religion are Catholic.
6. The estimate for 1971 is based on Compton, P. (1978) Northern Ireland: A Census Atlas.
7. The estimate for 1981 is based on Compton, P. and Power, J. (1986) Estimates of the Religious Composition of Northern Ireland Local Government Distiricts in 1981.
8. The estimate for 1991 is based on work in progress by Compton, P. and Power, J. being carried out for the Fair Employment Commission (FEC).
9. The 2001 Census included an additional question about community / religious background which allowed those initially recorded as 'persons with no religion or religion not stated' to be ascribed to the main religious groupings.

Breakdown of Population by District Council
1987-1996 figures, usually resident home population (Thousands); and 2001 Census (Number)

Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 1998, p.8; and
Northern Ireland Census 2001 Population Report (2002), Table P2

Notes:
[1] based on adjustments by Compton (Compton, Paul. 1978, Northern Ireland: A Census Atlas. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.)
[2] based on adjustments by Compton and Power (Compton, Paul. Power, John. 1986, 'Estimates of the Religious Composition of Northern Ireland Local Government Districts in 1981 and Change in the Geographical Pattern of Religious Composition between 1971 and 1981'. The Economic and Social Review, 17, 2 Spring: 87-105.)
[3] based on adjustments by Compton (unpublished estimates supplied by The Equality Commission, 1999)
[4] based on the additional question about community / religious background in the 2001 Census which allowed those initially recorded as 'persons with no religion or religion not stated' to be ascribed to the main religious groupings.

Source of unadjusted figures:
1971 Census Religion Report
1981 Census Religion Report
1991 Census Religion Report
Northern Ireland Census 2001 Key Statistics (2002), Table Table KS07b

    See also the following maps:
    Catholics and Protestants as a percentage of the population, district council areas, 1991
    Distribution of Catholics at Ward Level, Maps for Greater Belfast and Northern Ireland (2001)

Household Sizes in Northern Ireland
(compared to Britain)

Note: .. not available
Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1998, p.18; and
Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 2002, Table 2.1

Emigration Figures for Northern Ireland, 1991-1996
(to the nearest 1,000)

Source: Regional Trends, 1998, p.46

Population Projections for Northern Ireland, 1997 - 2026

Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1998, p.13

Births, Deaths and Marriages in Northern Ireland, 1988-1996
(Registered)

Source: Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1998, p.10; and
Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics 2002, Table 1.7