Northern Ireland Mid-Year Population Estimates from 1971 to 2024

Northern Ireland population estimates produced by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) using the cohort-component method. The data covers mid-year estimates from 1971 to 2024 and is based on Census data updated with births, deaths, and migration information. Estimates are geographically referenced using address and postcode data.

Use Cases

• Modeling population change over time based on the 53-year time series.
• Analyzing demographic components like births, deaths, and migration as described in the methodology.
• Mapping population distribution based on the geographic referencing using UPRNs and postcodes.
• Assessing the impact of migration patterns, with consideration for the noted data deficiencies for young adult males and outflows.

Strengths

• Covers a 53-year time period from mid-1971 to mid-2024.
• Geographic referencing uses detailed address (UPRN) and postcode mapping.
• Methodology is explicitly described as the cohort-component method, updating Census data with components of change.

Limitations

• Migration data is known to be deficient in recording young adult males and outflows from Northern Ireland.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

Collection Method

Cohort-component method applied to Census estimates, updated with births, deaths, and migration data.

Time Range

Mid-1971 to mid-2024

Freshness

Data includes estimates up to mid-2024.

Geography

Northern Ireland