2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland

NISRA has today (28 June 2018) published the Mid-2017 Population Estimates for Northern Ireland and areas within Northern Ireland. This release contributed to a concurrent release of 2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for the UK by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Population and migration estimates are available by age and gender for various current and former geographies in Northern Ireland, ranging from Local Government Districts to Super output Areas and former Electoral Wards.

The key findings are:

• The Northern Ireland population at 30 June 2017 was estimated to be 1.871 million, an increase of 8,700 people (0.5 per cent) since mid-2016. 
• The increase can mainly be attributed to natural growth of 7,700 people (i.e. 23,600 births minus 15,900 deaths) and net inward migration of 1,200 people (i.e. 22,100 people moving here to live and 20,900 people leaving to live elsewhere).  The level of emigration (i.e. people leaving NI to live elsewhere) and immigration (i.e. people coming here to live) both decreased in the year ending mid-2017, by 6.5 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively.
• The statistics also point to the continuing ageing of the population with the number of those aged 65 and over increasing by 1.8 per cent in the year ending mid-2017 to reach 303,000 people (16.2 per cent of the population).  Within this group, the population aged 85 and over increased by 1.9 per cent to reach 37,200 people (2.0 per cent of the population).  By way of contrast, the number of children aged 0 to 15 years increased by just 0.7 per cent to reach 390,700 children (20.9 per cent of the population).
• The population in all 11 Local Government Districts (LGDs) increased over the year ending mid-2017, ranging from 0.19 per cent in Belfast LGD to 1.03 per cent in Lisburn & Castlereagh LGD.
• Over the same period, all eighteen Parliamentary Constituencies experienced population growth, ranging from 0.2 per cent in each of Belfast West and East Antrim to 1.1 per cent in Lagan Valley.
• Population growth in Northern Ireland in the year ending mid-2017 was lower than the level of growth in the rest of the UK (0.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively).

Further information including links to statistical tables, infographics, population pyramids and interactive maps is available at:  https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/2017-mid-year-population-estimates-northern-ireland 
 

Share this page