THE NUMBER of Catholics living in Northern Ireland outnumber that of Protestants for the first ti...
The number of Catholics living in Northern Ireland outnumber that of Protestants for the first time, census 2021 figures show.
The numbers for 2021 reveal 45.7% of the population are Catholic, compared to 43.5% who are Protestant.
The previous census in 2011 showed Protestants outnumbered Catholics by 48% to 45% after falling below 50% for the first time.
The state of Northern Ireland was established with the intent of maintaining a pro-British Protestant "unionist" majority as a counterweight to the newly independent and predominantly Catholic Irish state to the south.
The shift could drive support for the region to split away from Britain and join a united Ireland.
31.9% of people also identified as 'British-only', while 8% identified themselves and 'British and Irish.
The proportion saying they were "Irish only" was 29.1% while those identifying as "Northern Irish only" was 19.8%.
In the 2011 census, 40% said they had a British-only national identity, 25% said they had an Irish-only identity and 21% viewed their identity as being only Northern Irish.
The 2021 figures also showed 9.3% of the population as belonging to no religion, up from 5.6% in 2011.
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It's been on the cards from the minute Northern Ireland came into being 101 years ago.
I keep thinking of that scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life, but done with Northern Irish accents.
(subtitles have nothing to do with this scene, ignore them)
