Demographic situation
The total land area of the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland (UK) is 241,930 km2.
Source: UK Profile in The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 2019.
Population estimates
The population of the UK in November 2019 was estimated to be 66,740,229, of which the population of Northern Ireland was 1,880,800.
For further information on population statistics for the UK from the annual official set of mid-year estimates, see the parallel article for England. This article also provides comparative mid-year population estimates for 2000, 2005, 2017 and 2019.
Labour market statistics
For information on estimates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity in the UK, provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (the national statistical institute of the UK), and derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), see the parallel article for England.
Languages
English is used in Northern Ireland by custom and practice.
Irish and Ulster Scots are officially recognised minority languages.
Figures from the March 2011 Census show that, of those living in Northern Ireland aged 3 years and over, 11% had some ability in Irish (compared with 10% in 2001), while 8.1% had some ability in Ulster Scots. English was not the main language for 3.1% of residents, with the most prevalent main language other than English being Polish.
The language of instruction in schools is English, except for in a small number of Irish-medium schools and Irish-medium units within English-medium schools. Irish-medium pre-school education is also available.
In 2017/18 (Table 1b of Annual Enrolments at Schools and in Funded Pre-school Education in Northern Ireland 17-18), there were 30 grant-aided Irish-medium schools in Northern Ireland, and 10 Irish-medium units within English-medium schools. Irish-medium schools adopt an approach called ‘immersion’ education, whereby a child whose first language is English is taught through the medium of Irish.
The Department of Education has a statutory duty under the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education, and seeks to respond positively to parental demand for such schools. It also set up Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta (CnaG) as the representative body for Irish-medium Education in 2000 to promote Irish-medium education.
Religions
In Northern Ireland there is no established religion; the Church of Ireland was disestablished (in both parts of the island of Ireland) by the Irish Church Act 1869.
The population of Northern Ireland is predominantly Christian. According to the 2011 Census:
- 48% of the population belonged to, or had been brought up under, the Protestant or another non-Catholic Christian faith
- 45% of the population were either Catholic or brought up as Catholic
- 5.6% neither belonged to, nor had been brought up in, a religion.
There are small Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish communities in addition.
Northern Ireland’s publicly funded school system reflects the historic influence of the church on education. There are controlled schools owned by the state, Catholic maintained schools owned by the Catholic Church, and formally integrated schools which aim to achieve equal numbers of pupils from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds - the two main religious traditions. Although, historically, the education system has reflected the religious divides in society, in 2017/18, around 23,000 pupils are enrolled in formally integrated schools (Table 2c in ‘Annual Enrolments at Schools and in Funded Pre-school Education in Northern Ireland 17-18). In addition, there are many controlled and Catholic maintained schools that have mixed intakes from the two main religious communities, but do not have integrated status. The school population is also increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse.
All grant-aided schools must provide religious education according to a common core syllabus, which includes a requirement at Key Stage 4 (age 14 to 16) for pupils to study the Christian church from both a Protestant and a Roman Catholic perspective.
Grant-aided schools must also provide a daily act of collective worship.
Shared education
The Shared Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 places a duty on the Department of Education, and on bodies including the Education Authority and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools to encourage, facilitate and promote shared education. This is defined in the Act as:
- the education together of (a) those of different religious belief, including reasonable numbers of both Protestant and Roman Catholic children or young persons, and (b) those who are experiencing socio-economic deprivation and those who are not, through
- the working together and co-operation of two or more relevant providers (e.g. grant-aided schools or other providers of educational services to children and young people).
The Act, which is supported by Sharing works: A Policy for Shared Education (2015), seeks to ensure opportunities for children and young people to be educated together, through shared classes and other forms of collaboration between schools and other relevant education settings attended by pupils of different religious denominations and socio-economic backgrounds.
Article last reviewed December 2020.