THE percentage of people living in Belfast who were raised Catholic has remained the same when compared to the 2011 census data.
Figures from the 2021 Census that have been released by NISRA show that 49 per cent of those living in the city said that they were brought up Catholic, the same percentage of respondents as the 2011 figure.
Despite this, the percentage of people in the city who selected Catholic as their religion has increased by one per cent from 42 per cent in 2011 to 43 in 2021.
The percentage of people living in the city who were brought up in Protestant and other Christian religions has fallen by six per cent from 42 per cent in 2011 to 36 per cent in 2021.
Meanwhile, the number of people in the city who were raised in a religion other than Christianity has increased by one per cent to three per cent in 2021 and the number selecting no religion has jumped from seven per cent in 2011 to 12 per cent in 2021.
Given how this jurisdiction was created and governed for half a century, the census is a moment of real historical resonance - to deny so is disingenuous.
— Matthew O'Toole (@MatthewOToole2) September 22, 2022
Of course this society transformed some time ago, visible not least in my own diverse constituency of South Belfast...
The number of people in the city who identify as solely British has fallen from 35 per cent in 2011 to 27 per cent in 2021 and the number identifying as solely Northern Irish as fallen to 17 per cent from 19 per cent in 2021.
When it comes to those who identify as solely Irish, that figure has jumped from 31 per cent in 2011 to 35 per cent in 2021.
The percentage of people in Belfast who identify as both British and Irish has fallen to below one per cent while those who identify as British and Northern Irish has increased from five per cent in 2011 to seven per cent.
The number of people who say they are both Irish and Northern Irish has doubled to two per cent from one per cent in 2011 while those who say they are British, Irish and Northern Irish has halved from two per cent in 2011 to one per cent.
Elsewhere, the number of people in Belfast with just a British passport has fallen from 56 per cent in 2011 to 43 per cent. The number holding solely an Irish passport has jumped from 22 per cent in 2011 to 29 per cent while the number holding both a British and Irish passport has jumped from two per cent in 2011 to six per cent in 2021.
Knowledge of the Irish language in the city has increased from 13 per cent in 2011 to 15 per cent in 2021 alongside knowledge of Ulster Scots which has gone from five per cent to seven per cent.
Ethnicity figures also show that the white population of Belfast has fallen from 97 per cent in 2011 to 93 per cent in 2021.
The 2021 census figures also show show that the percentage of the population brought up as Catholic has overtaken Protestant for the first time.
Further data, including how the figures compare to the rest of the North can be found on NISRA's new Explorer App which is available on their website.
