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The Census 2021 figures, published on Thursday, show that 45.7% of the population said they were either Catholic or brought up as a Catholic.

The figures for Protestants (and other Christian faiths) was 43.5% while 1.5% were from other non-Christian religions.

The 2011 Census recorded 48% of the population as being either Protestant or brought up Protestant, down five percentage points on 2001. The Catholic population stood at 45% in the last census, up one percentage point on 2001.

The 2021 Census showed 9.3% of the population as belonging to no religion – this figure is up from 5.6% in 2011.

The census also included a question on people’s sense of national identity.

Census 2021 showed that 31.9% said they were “British-only” and 8% deemed themselves “British and Northern Irish”.

The proportion of the population that said they were “Irish only” was 29.1% while those identifying as “Northern Irish only” was 19.8%.

In Census 2011, 40% said they had a British-only national identity, 25% said they had an Irish-only identity and 21% viewed their identity as being only Northern Irish.

The Census showed a 63.5% increase in the number of people in Northern Ireland who hold an Irish passport.

The number of people who held an Irish passport rose from 375,800 in 2011 to 614,300 in 2021.

Brexit will undoubtedly have been one factor in that surge, with people seeking an Irish passport to retain EU rights lost when the UK left the bloc.

The number of people holding a UK passport in Northern Ireland was one million in the latest census, down from 1.07 million in 2011.

DUP North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett has said the census demands a shared future and demonstrates that Northern Ireland is made up of three minorities.

He said: “The census publication should be about investment and shaping the public services that Northern Ireland needs in the future rather than a border poll or a sectarian head count. To draw political conclusions based on the number of Protestants and Catholics is simplistic and lazy.

“For the last twenty years there has been a trend towards a Protestant minority, a Catholic minority and a minority who don’t identify as either. Rather than focus on a divisive border poll we should ensure that Northern Ireland builds first class public services and a genuine shared future.

“Sinn Fein calls for a divisive border poll on the back of this census publication shows their main focus is removing Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom rather than a shared future. We warned about this before the last election. It should be noted however, that over the last 20 years, the number of people voting for border poll parties has decreased. Our focus must be on making Northern Ireland work and ensuring we have the best foundation to build for the next generation.

“Unionists and nationalists should work together for the betterment of Northern Ireland. The approach of the pro-protocol parties where they have tried to ignore the fact that every unionist MP and MLA rejects the Protocol, is not a basis for moving Northern Ireland forward.”

The Ulster Unionist Party’s Mike Nesbitt MLA said: “We obviously need to examine the Census findings closely and give them the detailed analysis they deserve.

“Our initial assessment is that the evidence vindicates the stance taken by the Ulster Unionist Party since 1998, recognising that we need to build a Northern Ireland in which everyone has a stake and can see a future for themselves and their families.

“Northern Ireland is changing and a modern pluralist society is developing here. We are confident that the Union with GB offers the best future for the people of NI and the task in hand now is to continue to make that case.

“Whilst much of the focus will be on the religious head count, it has been obvious for many decades that not all Catholics are nationalists or republicans, and not all Protestants vote for unionist parties.

“The situation regarding identity and nationality is more complex than some like to portray and the Ulster Unionist Party is focused on increasing the number of people who support and vote for the Union, regardless of religious affiliation or background. That is the challenge for the future.”

TUV leader Jim Allister said: “The fact that the Catholic population in Northern Ireland has flourished presents a telling contrast with the near extinction of the Protestant population in the Republic.

“Those who make a read across from the Catholic population to support for Irish unity demonstrate for them just how sectarian that project is.

“The rise in the number of people identifying as Catholics has been going on for decades and yet the nationalist vote in this year’s Assembly election is almost identical to that in the first Assembly election in 1998.

“The Union is a union with benefits for all, ranging from free medical care to financial wherewithal when it comes to Covid or energy crisis assistance.”

Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said the census indicated that “historic change is happening”.

“Today‘s census results are another clear indication that historic change is happening across this island and of the diversity of society which enriches us all,” he said.

“There is no doubt change is under way and irreversible. How that change is shaped moving forward requires maturity to take the challenges which face our society.

“We can all be part of shaping a better future – new constitutional future and a new Ireland.

“But we must prepare for it. The Irish government should establish a citizens’ assembly to plan for the possibility of a unity referendum.

“A period of planning is critical. That planning, and dialogue, and engagement needs to happen now, and it must include people from all backgrounds and communities.

“The partition of Ireland has been a failure. We can build a better future together, for every person who lives on this island.”

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the census figures represented a “seminal moment” in the history of the island of Ireland.

“The census figures published today reveal that, by any measure, the constitution of the North has been transformed utterly 100 years on from partition.

“That is a moment of true change because it reflects a sustained period of lasting change.

“As we have built a more inclusive and diverse society, we have together shattered the bonds of an oppressive state which engrained discrimination against a Catholic minority in its every outworking for far too long.

“We are never going back to state-sponsored discrimination against any religious minority. I hope that all those who lived through decades of discrimination and who experienced the sharp end of that oppressive state are able to breathe a sigh of relief today.

“The significance of this transformation should not be downplayed or diminished out of fear or insincere politicking. I acknowledge that today’s figures may generate feelings of insecurity for some.

“But it is my honest hope that we can all now take a moment of serious and sincere reflection about the scale of change we have experienced and commit to a conversation about the powerful potential for change in the future.”

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