Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for first time [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for first time

Demographic shift shown in census was expected but will still deliver psychological blow to unionists

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
@rorycarroll72
Thu 22 Sep 2022 09.48 BST

Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for the first time, a demographic milestone for a state that was designed a century ago to have a permanent Protestant majority.

Results from the 2021 census released on Thursday showed that 45.7% of inhabitants are Catholic or from a Catholic background compared with 43.48% from Protestant or other Christian backgrounds. The 2011 census figures were 45% Catholic and 48% Protestant. Neither bloc is a majority.

The demographic tilt was expected but will still deliver a psychological hit to unionists, who for decades relied on a supposedly impregnable Protestant majority to safeguard Northern Ireland’s position in the UK.

Diarmaid Ferriter, a historian and author, said: “It’s been long coming. They have already witnessed the loss of their political supremacy. Seeing the loss of their numerical supremacy is another blow.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/22/catholics-outnumber-protestants-northern-ireland-census