Population growth continues across all Northern Ireland Local Government Districts

Date published: 29 May 2025

New accredited official statistics published today present the 2023 Mid-year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland's Local Government Districts and other geographical areas.

Key findings:

• Belfast remains Northern Ireland's most populous Local Government District with 350,500 residents, while Fermanagh & Omagh has the smallest population at 117,200 people.
• All eleven Local Government Districts experienced population growth over the decade from 2013 to 2023, with increases ranging from 0.4% in Causeway Coast and Glens to 9.9% in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
• Antrim and Newtownabbey saw the largest population growth (0.8%) in the year ending mid-2023, primarily driven by positive net migration.
• Ards and North Down has the oldest population profile with 23% of residents aged 65 and over, while Mid Ulster has the highest proportion of children (22.9%).
• Belfast has the youngest median age at 36.4 years, compared to Ards and North Down with the highest median age at 45.2 years.
• The median age has increased in all eleven Local Government Districts over the past decade, with five districts seeing increases of over 3 years.

About the publication

The 2023 Mid-year Population Estimates provide comprehensive demographic data for various geographical areas within Northern Ireland, including:

• Population totals, densities and changes over time
• Breakdowns by sex and age (including median ages)
• Components of population change
• Data has also been published for Health and Social Care Trusts (HSCT), Parliamentary Constituencies 2024 (PC2024), Parliamentary Constituencies 2008 (PC2008), District Electoral Areas, Super Data Zones (SDZ) and Data Zones (DZ).

Further information

Read the full report and data tables for NI and LGD: 2023 Mid-year Population Estimates for Local Government Districts

See data tables for other geographies: 2023 Mid-Year Population Estimates for Small Geographical Areas