Good Relations Indicators 2023 Report
Date published:
The Good Relations Indicator report published by The Executive Office today presents a range of statistics relating to community relations, including numbers of hate crimes, attitudinal data on Protestant/Catholic relations and attitudes towards mixing in schools, neighbourhoods and the workplace.
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 2023, unless otherwise stated.
Some of the key findings include:
Our Children and Young People
- 40% of adults and 31% 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 2022 figure of 37% for young people (2023: 31%; 2022: 37%) but there was no significant difference in the change for adults.
- In 2023, 63% of young people have been involved in shared education with another school. Of those who have been involved in shared education, 50% have ‘done projects’ with pupils from other schools; 54% have ‘shared classes’; and 27% ‘shared sports facilities or equipment’ where the pupils are from a different religious background.
Our Shared Community - 90% of adults in 2023 think that leisure centres in their area are ‘shared and open’ to both Catholics and Protestants; 90% think this about parks; 94% think this about libraries and 96% think this about shopping centres.
- 86% of adult respondents prefer a mixed religion workplace; 73% a mixed religion neighbourhood; and 67% mixed religion schools.
Our Safe Community
- 45% of adult respondents see town centres as safe and welcoming places for people of all walks of life. There is no significant change in this measure since 2022.
- In 2023, 65% of adult respondents feel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ safe going to events held in a GAA club; 54% to events held in an Orange Hall; 81% to events held in a Protestant Secondary School; and 79% to events held in a Catholic Secondary School.
Our Cultural Expression
- 70% of adult respondents in 2023 think that the culture and traditions of Catholic communities add to the richness and diversity of Northern Ireland society; 65% think this about Protestant communities; and 65% think this about Minority Ethnic communities.
Northern Ireland Good Relations Indicators – December 2024
• Since 2022 there has been no significant change in the proportion of adults who feel they have an influence on decisions in their neighbourhood (20%) or on Northern Ireland decisions (14%).
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:
Daniel Nelson-Donaghy – Assistant Statistician
Statistics and Research Branch, The Executive Office
E4.15 | Castle Buildings | Stormont | Belfast | BT4 3SR
Email: teostatisticsresearch@executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk
Tel: (028) 90522280 | DD: 22280