List of districts in Northern Ireland by religion or religion brought up in facts for kids
This article lists the different areas, or districts, in Northern Ireland based on the main religions of the people living there. It looks at whether people are Catholic or Protestant, or if they were raised in one of these religions. This helps us understand the different communities across Northern Ireland.
Understanding the Census Questions
Every ten years, a big survey called a census takes place. It counts everyone and asks questions about them. In 2001, the Census Office for Northern Ireland (CONI) added a new question. They wanted to get a better idea of the number of Protestants and Catholics.
Before, they only asked "Religion?". But many people didn't answer this. So, they added "Religion brought up in?". This helped include people who might not practice a religion anymore but were raised in one. By combining these answers, they learned about the religious background of most people.
In the 2011 census, they continued this. However, they changed the name of the information. Instead of "community background," they called it "religion or religion brought up in." This is because not all Protestants support unionist ideas, and not all Catholics support nationalist ideas. These figures just show the religious make-up.
Northern Ireland's Changing Districts
Northern Ireland used to have 26 local areas, or districts. But in 2015, these were changed. They became 11 larger "super districts." The first elections for these new districts happened in 2014. The councillors elected then started their work officially in April 2015.
The table below shows the religious make-up of these new districts. These numbers are based on the 2021 census. It's important to remember that these are averages for the whole district. Within a district, some smaller areas might have many more people from one religion than another. For example, in Belfast and Derry and Strabane, some small areas are almost entirely Protestant, while others are almost entirely Catholic.
| District | Catholic | Protestant and other Christian |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim and Newtownabbey | 31.4% | 54.7% | 12.4% |
| Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon | 43.8% | 46.7% | 8.2% |
| Belfast | 48.7% | 36.4% | 11.6% |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | 40.1% | 51.1% | 7.9% |
| Derry and Strabane | 72.4% | 23.1% | 3.5% |
| Fermanagh and Omagh | 64.3% | 30.7% | 4.1% |
| Lisburn and Castlereagh | 27.2% | 58.3% | 12.8% |
| Mid and East Antrim | 19.7% | 67.3% | 12.1% |
| Mid Ulster | 64.7% | 30.2% | 4.4% |
| Newry, Mourne and Down | 72.1% | 22.0% | 5.2% |
| Ards and North Down | 13.6% | 67.9% | 17.1% |
See also
- Demographics of Northern Ireland
- List of districts in Northern Ireland by population
- List of districts in Northern Ireland by area
- List of districts in Northern Ireland by national identity
- Local government in Northern Ireland
- Religion in Northern Ireland
