Good Relations Indicators 2019 Report

Date published: 4 August 2022

All figures relate to 2019, unless otherwise stated. The publication monitors indicators for the four key priorities of the T:BUC Strategy: our children and young people; our shared community; our safe community; and, our cultural expression.

Some of the key findings include:

Our Children and Young People

• 39% of adults and 44% of young people think that relations between Protestants and Catholics are better now than they were five years ago. There was a significant decrease on the corresponding 2018 figure of 43% for adults but there was no significant difference in the change for young people.
• 54% of young people have ‘done projects’ with pupils from other schools; 52% have ‘shared classes’; and 26% ‘shared sports facilities or equipment’, where the pupils are from a different religious background.

Our Shared Community

• 90% of adults think that leisure centres in their area are ‘shared and open’ to both Catholics and Protestants; 92% think this about parks; 95% think this about libraries and 96% think this about shopping centres.
• 88% of respondents said they would prefer a mixed religion workplace; 77% a mixed religion neighbourhood; and 61% mixed religion schools.

Our Safe Community

• 63% of respondents said that they see town centres as safe and welcoming places for people of all walks of life. This is a significant decrease of 4 percentage points since 2018.
• 91% of respondents say they feel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ safe going to events held in a Protestant secondary school; 89% to events held in a Catholic secondary school; 70% to events held in a GAA club; and 66% to events held in an Orange Hall.

Our Cultural Expression

• 76% of respondents think that the culture and traditions of Protestant communities add to the richness and diversity of Northern Ireland society; 73% think this about Catholic communities; and 61% think this about Minority Ethnic communities.
• Since 2018 there has been a significant increase in the proportion of adults who feel they have an influence on decisions in their neighbourhood (6 percentage point increase to 25%) and Northern Ireland decisions (6 percentage point increase to 22%).

The report is available on the Executive Office Statistics and Research Branch website at: https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/topics/statistics-and-research/good-relations

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