Census 2011 statistics providing estimates of the number and characteristics of the non-UK born short-term resident population of Northern Ireland.

Source agency: Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: 2011 Census Northern Ireland

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Census 2011 Microdata Teaching File for Northern Ireland data collection forms part of the statistical outputs from the 2011 UK Census. The Teaching File is an open access dataset constructed from the safeguarded microdata sample of individuals (see SNs 7769 and 7770 for background information). Converted by the UK Data Service Census Support Service, it is an SPSS/Stata version of the spreadsheet Microdata Teaching File for Northern Ireland produced by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), drawn from data collected in the 2011 Census. The file was produced by NISRA with a variables list and a user guide – all of which are considered the essential and definitive companions to the data. The original spreadsheet format Microdata Teaching File is an open government file and is available from the NISRA 2011 Census Microdata Teaching File webpage.

More information about the teaching file and Census 2011, including forms and links to other Census data, are available both on the NISRA site or via the UK Data Service Census Support webpages.


Main Topics:

Topics covered include: age, economic activity, ethnicity, health, industry, marital status, occupation, religion, whether UK born.

The UK censuses took place on 27 March 2011. They were run by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA), National Records of Scotland (NRS), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for both England and Wales. The UK comprises the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Statistics from the UK censuses help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics and underpin funding allocation to provide public services. This is the home for all UK census data.

The aggregate data produced as outputs from censuses in the United Kingdom provide information on a wide range of demographic and socio-economic characteristics. They are predominantly a collection of aggregated, or summary counts of the numbers of people, families or households resident in specific geographical areas possessing particular characteristics drawn from the themes of population, people and places, families, ethnicity and religion, health, work, and housing.

Aggregate data for Census 2011 cover the full range of geographies employed within the census, from the smallest (output areas with an average of 150 persons in England and Wales) to the nation as a whole.

• Access data through InFuse
• Census aggregate data guide

Citation: Office for National Statistics. (2019). 2011 Census: Aggregate Data. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 7427, http://doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2011-2

As of the 2011 Census, 3.7 percent of the population of Northern Ireland were able to speak, read, write and understand Irish, compared with less than one percent for Ulster-Scots.

Workplace Zones (WZs) are a new output geography, initially produced using workplace data from the 2011 Census for England and Wales rather than the UK as a whole. They are designed to supplement the Output Area (OA) and Super Output Area (LSOA and MSOA) geographies that were introduced with the 2001 Census, and have been constructed from OAs, or sub-divisions of these called postcode-level building-blocks (PCBBs). While OAs are designed to contain consistent numbers of persons based on where they live, WZs are designed to contain consistent numbers of workers, based on where people work. Following publication of WZs for England and Wales, coverage has subsequently been extended to include Scotland and Northern Ireland using 2011 Census data to create a UK set of WZs produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of National Records of Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). WZs are designed to be a more suitable output geography for publishing workplace statistics.

Table shows estimates of resident population by 5 year age band from the 2011 Census of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. England Wales local authorities, counties and regions, plus districts of Scotland and Northern Ireland and total UK population are included. 1) For the 2011 Census, a usual resident of the UK is anyone who, on census day 2011, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months. 2) The age of a person is derived from their date of birth. It is their age in years on their last birthday up to and including census day 2011. Dates of birth that imply an age over 115 are treated as invalid and the person's age is imputed. 3) Council area boundaries as at 1 April 2011. 4) Scotland figures in this table may not add exactly because they have been rounded to the nearest hundred. 5) Scotland has not published data by 5 year bands above 80, so all people aged 80+ are included in the 80-84 age group. Sources: Table qs103ew (England and Wales) Table A1 (Scotland) Table QS104NI (Northern Ireland)

The UK censuses took place on 27 March 2011. They were run by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA), National Records of Scotland (NRS), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for both England and Wales. The UK comprises the countries of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Statistics from the UK censuses help paint a picture of the nation and how we live. They provide a detailed snapshot of the population and its characteristics and underpin funding allocation to provide public services. This is the home for all UK census data.

The 2011 Census Microdata Individual Safeguarded Sample (Local Authority): Northern Ireland data collection forms part of the statistical outputs from the 2011 Northern Ireland Census. A safeguarded microdata sample of individuals has been identified as a key Census user requirement, and was highlighted as part of a report specifying microdata products from the 2011 Census written by an expert user, Dr. Jo Wathan from the University of Manchester.

The purpose of a safeguarded sample of individuals is to be able to disseminate a detailed microdata file without onerous licensing conditions, by reducing the overall amount of detail compared to the secure samples. Whilst supplying sufficient detail on core variables to fulfil the intended aim of the microdata products, the safeguarded sample is a valuable multi-purpose research file that will be used on a wide range of projects. (For Censuses prior to 2011, these data may have been referred to as 'Samples of Anonymised Records', or SARSs.)

This safeguarded sample is of 5% of the total population at Local Authority level (Northern Ireland), and contain a similar level of detail to the equivalent End User Licence Census 2001 Microdata samples. A similar Northern Ireland dataset at Regional level is held under SN 7769. These samples have a low risk of disclosure; but not nil. Registered UK Data Service Census users can download the data to their laptops after agreeing terms and conditions that include constraints on data management under remote storage conditions.

Further information can be found on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) Census microdata webpage.

Corresponding Regional and Local Authority level data for England and Wales are held under SNs 7605 and 7682, and for Scotland under SNs 7834 and 7835.

Workplace Zone (WZ) centroids are point features that represent the ‘master postcodes’ for WZs. The centroid, or ‘master postcode’ was selected using an algorithm which calculates the postcode centroid within a WZ which has grid references closest to the worker-weighted centre of the DZ. These centroids / ‘master postcodes’ can be used to link WZs to other (higher level) geographies and produce a 'best-fit' match. They have been created by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), based on the WZ boundaries which were produced on behalf of NRS by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). WZs were a new output geography for Census 2011, initially produced using workplace data from the 2011 Census for England and Wales rather than the UK as a whole. They are designed to supplement the Output Area (OA) and Super Output Area (LSOA and MSOA) / Data Zone (DZ) geographies that were introduced with the 2001 Census, and have been constructed from OAs, or sub-divisions of these called postcode-level building-blocks. While OAs are designed to contain consistent numbers of persons based on where they live, WZs are designed to contain consistent numbers of workers, based on where people work. Following publication of WZs for England and Wales, coverage was subsequently extended to include Scotland and Northern Ireland using 2011 Census data to create a UK set of WZs produced by the ONS on behalf of NRS and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). WZs are designed to be a more suitable output geography for publishing workplace statistics.

Table qs103ew (England and Wales) Table A1 (Scotland) Table QS104NI (Northern Ireland)

This dataset contains gridded human population with a spatial resolution of 1 km x 1 km for the UK based on Census 2011 and Land Cover Map 2015 input data. Data on population distribution for the United Kingdom is available from statistical offices in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and provided to the public e.g. via the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Population data is typically provided in tabular form or, based on a range of different geographical units, in file types for geographical information systems (GIS), for instance as ESRI Shapefiles. The geographical units reflect administrative boundaries at different levels of detail, from Devolved Administration to Output Areas (OA), wards or intermediate geographies. While the presentation of data on the level of these geographical units is useful for statistical purposes, accounting for spatial variability for instance of environmental determinants of public health requires a more spatially homogeneous population distribution. For this purpose, the dataset presented here combines 2011 UK Census population data on Output Area level with Land Cover Map 2015 land-use classes 'urban' and 'suburban' to create a consistent and comprehensive gridded population data product at 1 km x 1 km spatial resolution. The mapping product is based on British National Grid (OSGB36 datum). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/0995e94d-6d42-40c1-8ed4-5090d82471e1

Between 1821 and 1921, the entire island of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, after both islands were united by the Act of Union in 1800. This graph shows only the population of the six counties of Ireland that would go on to become Northern Ireland. The population was just under 1.4 million in 1821 and grew to 1.7 million in the next twenty years.

Between 1845 and 1849 the Great Famine devastated the overall population of Ireland, causing the deaths of approximately one million people, and causing a further million to emigrate. Although the famine affected the population of the west and south of Ireland much more severely than the north, the population of the six counties still fell by over 200,000 people between 1841 and 1851. The population then continued to fall, reaching it's lowest point in the 1890s where it was 1.2 million. The Northern Irish population then grows slowly until the mid to late 1900s, during which time the state of Northern Ireland was founded in 1921. The population the reaches over 1.54 million in the 1960s, before it falls again in the 1970s. This drop in population coincides with the outbreak and the most violent decade of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, which was a conflict that dominated Northern Irish daily life for decades. However, from 1981 onwards the population grows by 70,000 to 12,000 every ten years, surpassing it's pre-famine level in the 1990s.

This statistic shows the distribution of national identities as reported by residents of Northern Ireland on March 29, 2011, the day of the last National Census. 48.4 percent of the population described themselves as British, whereas just under 30 percent described themselves as Northern Irish.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in Northern Ireland by ethnic group.

The census collected information on the usually resident population of Northern Ireland on census day (21 March 2021). Initial contact letters or questionnaire packs were delivered to every household and communal establishment, and residents were asked to complete online or return the questionnaire with information as correct on census day. Special arrangements were made to enumerate special groups such as students, members of the Travellers Community, HM Forces personnel etc. The Census Coverage Survey (an independent doorstep survey) followed between 12 May and 29 June 2021 and was used to adjust the census counts for under-enumeration.

This table reports the categories for which there are 10 or more usual residents. Where there are fewer than 10 usual residents for any category, these have been reported in a residual group which may or may not contain 10 or more usual residents in total.

All ethnic groups are classified within one of the five groups: White, Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other. 'Irish Traveller' is included in 'Other'; this is changed from Census 2011 when 'Irish Traveller' was included in 'White'.

Quality assurance report can be found here

The data are based on the 2011 Census Microdata Teaching File, with the first 18 variables in the OriginalTeachingFileData worksheet exactly the same as those found in the original file. This can be downloaded from: http://www.nisra.gov.uk/Census/2011_results_specialist_products.html. It is also available on the Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service (NINIS) website.The final 8 variables found in the SYLLS_Synthetic_NILS_Spine worksheet, are synthetic data. Those variables corresponding to a 2001 state are based on the transitional probabilities taken from the NILS, accurate to 10 year age groups.

Background

The main population base for published statistical tables from the 2011 Census in Northern Ireland is the usual resident population base as at Census day, 27 March 2011. By way of background, for 2011 Census purposes a usual resident of the United Kingdom (UK) is anyone who, on Census day, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and had intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

Against this background, the 2011 Census Microdata Sample of Anonymised Records (SARs) Teaching File comprises a sample of 19,862 records (approximately 1 per cent) relating to people who were usually resident in Northern Ireland at the time of the 2011 Census. For each individual, information is available for seventeen separate characteristics (for example, sex, age, marital status) to varying degrees of detail. Both the size of the sample and the content of the records in the file have been harmonised, wherever possible, with the equivalent SARs teaching file that the Office for National Statistics simultaneously released for England and Wales.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the teaching file, which comprises unit-record level data as opposed to statistical aggregates, is as an educational tool aimed at:

• encouraging wider use of Census data by facilitating another way of examining Census data, for example through the building of statistical models, over and above that already available through the raft of standard tabular output released to date;
• providing a broad insight into the sort of detail that is generally included in a SARs product, along with data formats and any associated metadata. This will enable users (arguably those less experienced at using SARs products) to ‘play’ with the data and increase their knowledge and skills in readiness for accessing the more detailed SARs products that are planned and will be available in, for example, a safe setting; and
• assisting with the teaching of statistics and geography at GCSE and higher levels.

Prior to 1921, the six counties that make up modern-day Northern Ireland were a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the separate state of Northern Ireland did not exist until after the partition of Ireland in 1921. From 1821 until 1841, both the male and female populations grew by 130,000 each, until the Great Famine of 1845 to 1849 caused a sharp decline in the population in the 1840s. This decline continued until 1891, and the male population of the six counties fell at a slightly higher rate than the female population. The number of men fell by 310,000 between 1841 and 1891, and the number of women fell by 300,000. From 1891 to 1937 growth remains quite low, particularly among women, and then from 1937 the growth rate increases again. There is one more decade where the population dropped, which coincides with the most violent period of the Northern Irish Troubles. This was in the 1970s, where the number of men and women fell by approximately 30,000 each.