Attitudes to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland 2022

Date published: 26 October 2023

This report analyses data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey, examining public attitudes to refugees and asylum seekers in Northern Ireland.

Key Findings

• The proportion of respondents who agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland has increased significantly between 2018, the first year of the current time series, and 2022 (from 54% to 70%).
• Fifty-one percent of respondents to the 2022 survey agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country – a significant increase compared with 2019 (39%), the first year of the current time series.
• The proportion of respondents who agreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country" has increased significantly over time, from 65% in 2019 (the first year of the current time series) to 76% in 2022.

The report and associated data tables are available on the Statistics and Research section of the Executive Office website.

Further information relating to the collection and production of the statistics can be obtained by contacting: