Northern Ireland Racial Equality Indicators Baseline Report 2014 - 2017

The Executive Office today published ‘Northern Ireland Racial Equality Indicators Baseline Report 2014 - 2017’. The report presents data measuring the progress of the Racial Equality Strategy 2015 - 2025 on four key outcome areas: equality of service provision; combating prejudice, racism and hate crime; participation, representation, and belonging; and, respecting cultural diversity.

Some of the key findings for the period 2014 - 2017 include:

Equality of service provision

The percentage gap between white and minority ethnic young people has, generally, narrowed across: all school leaver destinations; those gaining five GCSEs (Grade A*-C); and those leaving with no formal qualifications.

There has been no significant change in the proportion of respondents thinking it important that public bodies take into account the needs of minority ethnic communities (2014: 68.9%; 2017: 71.1%).

Combating prejudice, racism and hate crime

There has been a significant decrease in the proportion of respondents reporting they are prejudiced against people from minority ethnic communities (2014: 24.8%; 2017: 19.7%).

The number of racial incidents reported has increased (2014: 982; 2017: 1,054); the number of racial crimes reported has decreased (2014: 691; 2017: 660).

Participation, representation and belonging

There has been a 14.1 percentage point decrease in respondents who think minority ethnic people participate in public life (2014: 84.4%; 2017: 70.3%).

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of respondents reporting a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood (2014; 88.1%; 2017: 90.5%) and to Northern Ireland (2014: 79.7%; 2017: 87.1%).

Respecting cultural diversity

There has been a significant increase in the proportion of respondents who agree that the culture and traditions of the minority ethnic community add to the richness and diversity of Northern Ireland (2014: 60.9%; 2017: 70.7%).

Overall, since 2014 there has been no significant change in the proportion of respondents agreeing that the culture of Irish Travellers is more respected than it once was (2014: 20.3%; 2017: 21.3%).

The report is available on The Executive Office website via the Statistics and Research Branch section.

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

Notes to editors: 

Media enquiries to The Executive Office Press Office on 028 9037 8142. Out of office hours please contact the duty press officer on 028 9037 8110.

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