The number of Catholics in Northern Ireland exceeds that of Protestants for the first time

Sep. 22 () –

Northern Ireland already has more people who identify themselves as Catholics than as Protestants, an unprecedented shift in the demographics of the British territory that connects with the marked political division between republicans and unionists.

Historically, Ulster has been divided between unionists, mostly Protestants and supporters of integration into the United Kingdom, and Republicans, mainly Catholics and advocates of the unification of the island of Ireland. This last group had among its exponents the IRA, protagonist of the conflict that ended in 1998.

The May elections in Northern Ireland placed Sinn Féin, the political heir of the IRA, for the first time, and now the census drawn up on the almost two million inhabitants places the Catholic population slightly above the Protestants.

Specifically, 45.7 percent of Northern Irish citizens identify themselves as Catholic or have grown up in this religion, six tenths more than in the 2011 census, while Protestants represent 43.48 percent, almost five points less. , reports the BBC.

In relation to national identity, 31.9 per cent of the population identify only as British, 29.1 per cent as Irish and 19.18 per cent as Northern Irish. 47 per cent have only a British passport, while 27 per cent move exclusively with an Irish one.

The census carried out in 2021 is the first since the municipal reorganization of 2015 and since the referendum to leave the European Union, held in 2016. Its publication coincides with a moment of political stagnation in Northern Ireland, due to the inability of Sinn Féin and of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to reissue an alliance that guarantees compliance with the 1998 peace accords.