There were 6.4million visitors in 2005, which was a growth of 8.5% from 2004. Indeed, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin has indicated additional demand for passports from people living here in Northern Ireland," he said. These materials are designed to help users make the most of census data. Download Historical Data Save as Image From: To: Zoom: Historical U.N. Median Age The median age for Belfast residents is 60.1 years young. U2, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, Simple Minds, Elton John, Rogue Male, Katie Melua, Boney M, Paul Muldoon, Stiff Little Fingers, Nanci Griffith, Glenn Patterson, Orbital, James Taylor, Fun Boy Three, Spandau Ballet, The Police, Barnbrack, Gary Moore, Neon Neon, Toxic Waste, Energy Orchard, and Billy Bragg. The city is flanked on the north and northwest by a series of hills, including Divis Mountain, Black Mountain and Cavehill, thought to be the inspiration for Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Belfast is home to the Stormont cricket ground since 1949 and was the venue for the Irish cricket team's first ever One Day International against England in 2006.[234]. [89] Some 13 more frosty nights than Stormont. The data also shows that population ageing has been happening across each of the 11 local councils. Many of Belfast's oldest buildings are found in the Cathedral Quarter area, which is currently undergoing redevelopment as the city's main cultural and tourist area. [142] These two distinct cultural communities have both contributed significantly to the city's culture. "[211] According to The Guardian the bid may have been undermined by the city's history and volatile politics. [31][32] With their American kinsmen, the region's Presbyterians were to share a growing disaffection from the Crown. [168][169] This has led to a period of sustained economic growth and large-scale redevelopment of the city centre. [178] The city's two airports have helped make the city one of the most visited weekend destinations in Europe. National Cycle Route 9 to Newry,[208] which will eventually connect with Dublin,[209] starts in Belfast. Belfast was heavily bombed during World War II. In 2017, the Belfast Interface Project published a study entitled "Interface Barriers, Peacelines & Defensive Architecture" that identified 97 separate walls, barriers and interfaces in Belfast. [36] But also common to this "industrial triangle" were traditions of labour militancy. [189] The Royal Victoria Hospital is an internationally renowned centre of excellence in trauma care and provides specialist trauma care for all of Northern Ireland. Apart from London, this was the greatest loss of life in a night raid during the Blitz. Want the biggest political stories and analysis sent to you every week? Combining current religion and religion of upbringing gives 45.7% who were Catholic, 43.5% who were Protestant, Other Christian or Christian related and 1.5% who were from other non-Christian religions. The Census 2021 population is recorded at 1,903,175 people, up from 1,810,863 people in 2011. [8], 43% of Belfast has a UK passport only, 29% has a Republic of Ireland passport only, 6% has both UK and RoI (Republic of Ireland) passports, 8% have other passports and 14% have no passport. The other listed destinations were Berlin (Germany), Cambodia, Cape Town (South Africa), Cartagena (Colombia), Istanbul (Turkey), the Lassen Volcanic National Park (US), Saqqara (Egypt), the Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail (US), Waiheke Island (New Zealand), Washington, D.C. (US), and Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada). Belfast remains the largest council by population with 345,400 people in 2021 while Fermanagh and Omagh has the smallest council by population with 116,800 people in 2021. 21 October 2019. While the number of households in Northern Ireland was 768,810. In one raid, in 1941, German bombers killed around one thousand people and left tens of thousands homeless. The most recent example of this conflict was known as the Troubles a civil conflict that raged from the late 1960s to 1998. "The religious demography of Northern Ireland in part is driven by age structures," he said. [161] It was not until industry transformed the linen and shipbuilding trades that the economy and the population boomed. [131] U2 played here in 1997. [143], This made it the fifteenth-largest city in the United Kingdom, but the eleventh-largest conurbation. The 2021 census figures also show show that the percentage of the population brought up as Catholic has overtaken Protestant for the first time. See all related documents. [195] It showed that Belfast has 0.70 cars per household compared to figures of 1.18 in the East and 1.14 in the West of Northern Ireland. It was bombed several times during the Troubles but has now been restored to its former glory. In November 2011, Belfast became the smallest city to host the MTV Europe Music Awards. In 1919, workers in all three cities struck for a ten-hour reduction in the working week. Belfast Zoo is owned by Belfast City Council. Introduced in 2018, it is a bus rapid transit system linking East Belfast, West Belfast and the Titanic Quarter from the City Centre. [123], Sitting at the mouth of the River Lagan where it becomes a deep and sheltered lough, Belfast is surrounded by mountains that create a micro-climate conducive to horticulture. The city expanded to the natural barrier of the hills that surround it, overwhelming other settlements. The plentiful supply of cheap labour helped attract English and Scottish capital to Belfast, but it was also a cause of insecurity. Further emboldened by the French Revolution, a more radical element in the town, the United Irishmen, called for Catholic emancipation and an independent representative government for the country. In a demonstration of their resolve not to submit to a Dublin parliament, in 1912 Belfast City Hall unionists presented the Ulster Covenant, which, with an associated Declaration for women, was to accumulate over 470,000 signatures. [63] Since 1973 it has been a local government district under local administration by Belfast City Council. 5.23% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, briefly becoming the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". [71], The River Farset is also named after this silt deposit (from the Irish feirste meaning "sand spit"). [74] The shape of the giant's nose, known locally as Napoleon's Nose, is officially called McArt's Fort probably named after Art O'Neill, a 17th-century chieftain who controlled the area at that time. The rebel tradesmen and tenant farmers were defeated north of the town at the Battle of Antrim and to the south at the Battle of Ballynahinch. FACT [111][112] The district of Ballyhackamore has even acquired the name "Ballysnackamore" due to the preponderance of dining establishments in the area.[113]. 12 January 2022. Our 2022/23 work plan is available here. On 21 March 2023, NISRA will publish the third phase of main statistics results from Census 2021 for a number of census topics, including: Data will be available for Northern Ireland and the 11 Local Government Districts. There are "huge amounts" of foreign investment coming into the country. The company began its association with Belfast in 1936, with Short & Harland Ltd, a venture jointly owned by Shorts and Harland and Wolff. Something went wrong, please try again later. The census happens only once every 10 years. O'Reilly, D. 2010. " In addition 17.4% had No religion, a marked increase on 2011 of 10.1% and points to the increased secularisation of our population. Telephone: +44 (0)300 200 7836. Contents 1 Population 1.1 Population 1.1.1 Sex 1.2 Age 2 Ethnicity 3 Migration 3.1 Country of birth 3.2 Passports held 4 Religion 5 Identity 6 References Population [ edit] Population density of Belfast City Council in 2011 While the overall population increased by 5%, the number of people aged 65 or more grew by nearly 25%. [185] Belfast has approximately 1,300km (808mi) of sewers, which are currently being replaced in a project costing over 100million and due for completion in 2009. In 2021, the number of people resident in Northern Ireland who were themselves born in NI was 1,646,300. In Belfastnotwithstanding the political friction caused by Sinn Fin's electoral triumph in the souththis involved some 60,000 workers, Protestant and Catholic, in a four-week walk-out.[37]. In 2008, Belfast was named a finalist in the Large City (200,001 and over) category of the RHS Britain in Bloom competition along with London Borough of Croydon and Sheffield. [54] In all, over 1,600 people were killed in political violence in the city between 1969 and 2001. Ethnicity figures also show that the white population of Belfast has fallen from 97 per cent in 2011 to 93 per cent in 2021. In 192021, as the island of Ireland was partitioned, up to 500 people were killed in disturbances in Belfast, the bloodiest period of strife in the city until the Troubles of the late 1960s onwards. [55], During the Troubles the Europa Hotel suffered 36 bomb attacks becoming known as "the most bombed hotel in the world". [174] In March 2007, the average house in Belfast cost 91,819, with the average in south Belfast being 141,000. [7] Industrialisation, and the resulting inward migration,[8] made Belfast one of Ireland's biggest cities. [159] This represents a 1.60% increase since the 2001 Census. This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. British Business Bank report reveals external finance among Northern Ireland smaller businesses increased significantly from 45% during Q3 2021 to 56% in Q3 2022, the only UK region to see a rise On Census Day 27 March 2011, considering the population aged 16 to 74 years old: Long-term unemployed are those who stated that they have not worked since 2009 or earlier, Percentage Catholic or brought up Catholic, Percentage born outside the UK and Ireland, When the population of Belfast town began to grow in the 17th century, its economy was built on commerce. [241] It is one of the largest universities in the UK with 25,231 undergraduate and postgraduate students spread over 250 buildings, 120 of which are listed as being of architectural merit. The second phase of main statistics results from Census 202 1 are now available. These population estimates and projections come from the latest revision of the UN World Urbanization Prospects. Draft table layoutsare available to download ahead of the publication. The metro area population of Belfast in 2019 was 627,000, a 0.64% increase from 2018. This service is known as the Belfast Suburban Rail system. The townlands of Belfast are its oldest surviving land divisions and most pre-date the city. In the latest Census, 814,600 people (42.8%) living here identified solely or along with other national identities as British, down from 876,600 people (48.4%) in 2011. It features a criss-cross of escalators and suspended walkways and nine high-tech galleries. Bus and rail public transport in Northern Ireland is operated by subsidiaries of Translink. The Belfast Health & Social Care Trust is one of five trusts that were created on 1 April 2007 by the Department of Health. [248] In 2008, 7.1million tourists visited the city. Conservationists are celebrating a bumper year for barn owls in Northern Ireland. Dr David Marshall, director of Census and population statistics at the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for the first time since the partition of the island, census figures show. There are two independent cinemas in Belfast: the Queen's Film Theatre and the Strand Cinema, which host screenings during the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queen's. Let us know what you think in the comments below. The Royal Courts of Justice in Chichester Street are home to Northern Ireland's Supreme Court. The rest of the Belfast post town is divided in a broadly clockwise system from BT3 in the north-east round to BT15, with BT16 and BT17 further out to the east and west respectively. In 2019 there was also an increase in black, Hispanic, and other non-white races. This group is up from 61,900 people in 2011 (3.4% of the population) to 113,400 people in 2021 (6% of the population). [250], Frommer's, the American travel guidebook series, listed Belfast as the only United Kingdom destination in its Top 12 Destinations to Visit in 2009. [8], Belfast has become in recent decades an ethnically diverse city, although this ethnic diversity is not to the same scale as other cities across the United Kingdom. [110], In its 2018 report on Best Places to Live in Britain, The Sunday Times named Ballyhackamore, "the brunch capital of Belfast", as the best place in Northern Ireland. It was made internationally famous as the setting for the classic film, Odd Man Out, starring James Mason. Sign up to our FREE newsletter. The Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN) Web Service receives funding from both universities and is a rich source of information and source material on the Troubles as well as society and politics in Northern Ireland. Liverpool University Press. [231] Casement Park in west Belfast, home to the Antrim county teams, has a capacity of 32,000 which makes it the second largest Gaelic Athletic Association ground in Ulster. London had the next highest. The provision of certain resources for these schools (for example, such as the provision of textbooks) is supported by the charitable organisation TACA. The Belfast Giants are a huge brand in Northern Ireland and their increasing stature in the game led to the Belfast Giants playing the Boston Bruins of the NHL on 2 October 2010 at the SSE Arena in Belfast, losing the game 51. [148], Despite a period of relative peace, most areas and districts of Belfast still reflect the divided nature of Northern Ireland as a whole. Minority ethnic groups have increased in size and the number of people living here born outside the UK and Ireland is up to around one person in 15, the highest ever recorded. [69], In 1994, a weir was built across the river by the Laganside Corporation to raise the average water level so that it would cover the unseemly mud flats which gave Belfast its name[70] (from Irish Bal Feirste'The sandy ford at the river mouth'). Proportionately the fastest growing group is people with other national identities - typically identities from outside UK and Ireland. [147], As with many cities, Belfast's inner city is currently characterised by the elderly, students and single young people, while families tend to live on the periphery. However, 12.2% of Belfast families live in poverty. Belfast has a high concentration of Irish-speakers. Black taxis are common in the city, operating on a share basis in some areas. The number of people who were recorded as Northern Irish only is broadly stable - standing at 379,300 people in 2011 and 376,400 people in 2021. Because of this, it is less an agglomeration of villages and towns which have expanded into each other, than other comparable cities, such as Manchester or Birmingham. Energy bill support package for Northern Ireland - what you need to know, Household energy bills in NI 'to be capped from November', Northern Ireland Census results announced as population hits all-time high. [177] Visitor numbers rose by 6% to reach 6.8million in 2006, with tourists spending 324million, an increase of 15% on 2005. [44] The new welfare state contributed, in turn, to rising expectations; in the 1960s, a possible factor in new and growing protest over the Unionist government's record on civil and political rights. [166], The rise of mass-produced and cotton clothing following World War I were some of the factors which led to the decline of Belfast's international linen trade. [42], The cost was borne by the British Exchequer. Belfast is situated on Northern Ireland's eastern coast at 543549N 055545W / 54.59694N 5.92917W / 54.59694; -5.92917. Plans to bring in additional water tariffs have been deferred by devolution in May 2007. The study found that bus-based rapid transit produces positive economic results, but light rail does not. However, the establishment of the Shaw's Road Gaeltacht community has inspired use of the language across Northern Ireland. [160], Around this time, the linen trade in Northern Ireland blossomed and by the middle of the 18th century, one fifth of all the linen exported from Ireland was shipped from Belfast. Belfast's 2023 population is now estimated at 696,537. Updated 9:57 AM EDT, Sun July 11, 2021 Link Copied! In the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections in 2022, Belfast elected 20 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), 5 from each constituency. The current metro area population of Belfast in 2022 is 639,000, a 0.63% increase from 2021. Sectarian tension was not in itself unique to Belfast: it was shared with Liverpool and Glasgow, cities that following the Great Famine had also experienced large-scale Irish Catholic immigration. There are other factors as well but those are the two key things.". In line with the ageing population, the average household size across Northern Ireland decreased from 2.54 usual residents per household in 2011 to 2.44 usual residents per household last year. Odd Man Out, starring James Mason of insecurity '' of foreign investment coming into the country & # ;. Increase from 2018 demography of Northern Ireland who were themselves born in NI was 1,646,300 knowledge Ulster-Scots. 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