Good Relations Indicators 2021 Report

Date published: 31 October 2023

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.

All figures relate to 2021, unless otherwise stated.

Some of the key findings include:

Our Children and Young People

• 36% of adults and 27% of young people in 2021 think that relations between Protestants and Catholics are better now than they were five years ago. These are significant decreases on the corresponding figures of 40% in 2020 for adults (2021: 36%; 2020: 40%) and 44% in 2019 for young people (2021: 27%; 2019: 44%).
• In 2021, 61% of young people have been involved in shared education. Of those who have been involved in shared education, 57% of young people have ‘done projects’ with pupils from other schools; 49% have ‘shared classes’; and 28% ‘shared sports facilities or equipment’ where the pupils are from a different religious background.

Our Shared Community

• 87% of adults in 2021 think that leisure centres in their area are ‘shared and open’ to both Catholics and Protestants; 87% think this about parks; 92% think this about libraries and 95% think this about shopping centres.
• 89% of adult respondents said they would prefer a mixed religion workplace; 77% a mixed religion neighbourhood; and 69% mixed religion schools.

Our Safe Community

• 50% of adult 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 2020 (2021: 50%; 2020: 54%).
• In 2021, 81% of adult respondents say they feel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ safe going to events held in a Protestant secondary school; 81% to events held in a Catholic secondary school; 65% to events held in a GAA club; and 52% to events held in an Orange Hall.

Our Cultural Expression

• 70% of adult respondents in 2021 think that the culture and traditions of Catholic communities add to the richness and diversity of Northern Ireland society; 64% think this about Protestant communities; and 66% think this about Minority Ethnic communities.
• Since 2020 there has been a significant decrease in the proportion of adults who feel they have an influence on decisions in their neighbourhood (2021: 17%; 2020: 24%) and Northern Ireland decisions (2021: 14%; 2020: 18%).

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

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