NI population tops 1.8 million

Today, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) published the first, in what will be a series of reports detailing the outcomes of the 2011 Census. This first publication focuses on the number of people who live in Northern Ireland, broken down by age and gender.

Sammy Wilson said: “The Census is the single largest statistical exercise conducted by Government. While it takes considerable time to plan, implement and process, the results will be of great importance in planning the future development of Northern Ireland.

“The Census, which is undertaken every 10 years, provides essential statistical information about the population across all of Northern Ireland. This is used by a variety of organisations including government, businesses and professional research and consultancy bodies.

“This fundamental information will inform a whole range of central government functions and allocation of resources. Knowing how many people live in Northern Ireland allows us to work out the types of services that we need to develop in the future.

“Over the course of the coming months further reports will be published. The more detailed information from the 2011 Census will assist and help to inform Ministers when making important decisions on long term policy initiatives that will have a direct impact on the people of Northern Ireland, including health and education to name but two.

“I would like to take this opportunity to again thank the public for participating in the 2011 Census, and to thank all those who worked on this exercise including the 1,900 strong field force of enumerators and supervisory staff and the Census Office staff who have undertaken the processing and reporting of the returns.”

The Northern Ireland 2011 Census Outputs Prospectus, which sets out the publication schedule and content of future releases, is available here.