Committees

The experiences of minority ethnic and migrant people in Northern Ireland

Inquiry

Data from the Northern Ireland Census 2011 illustrates that 1.8% (32,400) of the population belonged to non-white minority ethnic groups; and 2% (35,700) had been born in the 12 countries that had joined the EU since 2004. Northern Ireland was the least ethnically diverse region in the UK. 

Since then, trends in people’s attitudes towards minority ethnic and migrant people, and levels of racist incidents and crimes, have fluctuated. Some 30 per cent of people believed that racial prejudice was increasing in 2019, compared with 49 per cent in 2016 and 2017; 24 per cent believed it was decreasing in 2019, compared with 11 per cent in 2016.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee is conducting an inquiry to investigate and explore the experiences of minority ethnic and migrant people and communities in Northern Ireland today.

Read the full terms of reference here, and the evidence heard so far under the 'publications' tab below.