Catholics outnumber Protestants for first time

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