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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
David Kent

Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for first ever time, census shows

For the first time since the creation of Northern Ireland, there are more Catholics than Protestants living there, a new census has revealed.

Figures published on Thursday morning show that 45.7% of the population of Northern Ireland are Catholic, compared to 43.5% who are Protestant.

9.3% of the population said they belong to no religion.

READ MORE: All we know as gardai quiz woman over death of two kids in Westmeath car blaze

It's the second set of information we've received from census 2021 for the north. Back in May, we learned that the population of the country is now 1.9 million - the highest it's ever been and a rise of 5% since the last census in 2011.

The Stormont Parliament Building (Tim Graham/Getty Images)

The total population was 1,903,100 with slightly more females than males.

This was the first census to be held since Great Britain decided to leave the European Union in 2016 five years ago.

Many will see the statistics and point to the need for a border poll, though others will note that national identity remains key.

In that regard, 42.8% of the population identify as British, 33.3% Irish and 31.5% Northern Irish.

Further figures will be issued in the coming months relating to people's marital status, sexual orientation, household makeup, health and disability.

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