Over one in three are 'poor' in city

This compares to North Down at the other end of the scale - there 14 per cent of people are income deprived. The data were revealed by top statisticians briefing politicians on the process of measuring deprivation at Stormont.

Dr David Marshall of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) was taking the Stormont Finance Committee through its work combining census information and administrative records to find out more about local economic demographics.

He stated: "Parts of north and west Belfast, parts of Derry local government district, parts of south Armagh and parts of west Tyrone tend to be the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland."

He pointed out that a crescent of comparative privilege exists from Belfast's leafy suburbs outwards.

"A semicircle of areas around Belfast represents the least deprived areas," he commented.

Dr Marshall also said a number of the areas deprived five years ago were still deprived when measured against today's relative deprivation measures.

He said the results showed 440,000 people were income deprived across Northern Ireland - around 25 per cent of the population - but in Londonderry the percentage was much higher.

"In Derry local government district, which has the highest level of income deprivation, 38 per cent of people are income deprived. In North Down local government district, only 14 per cent of people are income deprived: there is a twofold to threefold variation," he said.

Dr Marshall also pointed out to committee members that whilst 38 per cent of people living here are poor 40 per cent of people living here - whilst not necessarily income deprived - are deemed to live in one of the most spatially concentrated areas of income deprivation.

"Around 40 per cent of the population who live in the local government districts of Belfast, Strabane and Derry are in the most deprived super output areas," he said.

"That means that, in those areas, deprivation is very highly concentrated spatially, whereas in areas such as Magherafelt, Ballymoney and North Down it is around 2 per cent to 3 per cent.

"That is a significant variation. It does not mean that 2 per cent to 3 per cent of the population of North Down is deprived; it means that the spatial concentration of the population is different in those areas."

The NISRA provided evidence on Multiple Deprivation Measures: Outcome of Consultation, on June 2, 2010.