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NISRA and Northern Ireland official statistics

NISRA is Northern Ireland's official statistics agency, part of the Department of Finance, producing the census, population estimates and economic statistics and placing statisticians in every Northern Ireland department. Departmental releases such as hospital waiting times, school leavers and house prices, and the PSNI's recorded crime statistics, are produced to the same Code of Practice. Fact-checkers use these sources because many UK-wide statistics cover only Great Britain or measure Northern Ireland differently.

Covers: Northern Ireland · Release calendar

What it publishes

• The census, run by NISRA every ten years, with Census 2021 results including religion, religion brought up in, national identity and language.
• Annual mid-year population estimates for Northern Ireland and its 11 council areas, with migration and natural change.
• The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index (NICEI), a quarterly measure of economic output, and Northern Ireland Economic Trade Statistics on sales to Great Britain, Ireland and other markets.
• A monthly Labour Market Report combining Labour Force Survey estimates, the claimant count, HMRC payroll data and redundancies.
• Department of Health quarterly waiting times for outpatients, inpatients, diagnostics, cancer and emergency care.
• PSNI monthly police recorded crime statistics, plus domestic abuse, hate motivation and security situation statistics.
• The Northern Ireland House Price Index from Land & Property Services and Department of Education statistics on enrolments, attendance and school leavers' qualifications.
• Public finance information from the Department of Finance and independent analysis from the Northern Ireland Fiscal Council.

Key datasets

• Mid-year population estimates
  Population of Northern Ireland and each council area by age and sex, with components of change and long back series.
  Updated: Annual
• Census 2021 main statistics
  Summary census tables on population, religion, identity, language, health, housing and work for Northern Ireland and small areas.
  Updated: Every ten years
• NI Composite Economic Index
  Quarterly real change in Northern Ireland output, with private and public sector components and comparisons with UK GDP.
  Updated: Quarterly
• Labour Market Report
  Employment, unemployment and inactivity rates, claimant count, payrolled employees and pay, jobs and redundancies for Northern Ireland.
  Updated: Monthly
• Hospital waiting times statistics
  Department of Health waits for first outpatient appointments, inpatient and day case treatment, diagnostics, cancer and emergency care, by trust and specialty.
  Updated: Quarterly
• PSNI police recorded crime statistics
  Recorded crime by offence type and policing district, with monthly updates and financial year bulletins from 1998/99.
  Updated: Monthly
• Northern Ireland House Price Index
  Average prices and index by council area and property type, based on HMRC stamp duty data and consistent with the UK House Price Index.
  Updated: Quarterly
• Northern Ireland Economic Trade Statistics
  Sales and purchases of Northern Ireland businesses within Northern Ireland, to and from Great Britain, Ireland, the rest of the EU and the rest of the world.
  Updated: Annual
• Qualifications and destinations of school leavers
  Highest qualifications and next destinations of leavers from grammar and secondary schools, by sex, free school meal entitlement and area.
  Updated: Annual
• NI Fiscal Council public expenditure databank
  Compiled data on Northern Ireland public spending and funding from official sources, alongside the Council's sustainability reports.
  Updated: Updated periodically

APIs and downloads

• NISRA Data Portal
  Searchable tables from NISRA and departments, downloadable in formats including CSV and spreadsheet files, with an API. No key needed.
• Census Flexible Table Builder
  Build custom Census 2021 tables by combining variables and geographies, then download them. No registration needed.
• HMRC Regional Trade Statistics
  Quarterly goods exports and imports for Northern Ireland and other UK nations and regions, with a data tool and downloads.

When it publishes

NISRA and departmental statistics are usually published at 9:30am on dates pre-announced in NISRA's release calendar and on GOV.UK. The Labour Market Report is monthly, the NICEI quarterly, population estimates are annual (late summer or autumn), waiting times are quarterly and PSNI recorded crime is updated monthly.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Check whether a 'UK' figure really includes Northern Ireland: many datasets, such as some crime and education series, cover only England and Wales or Great Britain.
2. For economic growth, say whether the figure is the quarterly NICEI or annual ONS regional GDP, because NISRA warns they are not produced on an equivalent basis.
3. For unemployment, read the Labour Force Survey rate alongside the inactivity rate and note whether NISRA marks a change as statistically significant.
4. For waiting lists, name the stage (outpatient, inpatient, diagnostic) and the date, and note that some trusts' data now come from the encompass system.
5. For crime, use the PSNI's financial year or 12-month rolling figure and check whether the latest months are still being validated.
6. For census religion figures, specify whether the measure is current religion or religion brought up in.
7. For public spending, separate the Executive's devolved budget from total identifiable spending in Northern Ireland in HM Treasury's Country and Regional Analysis.

Common mistakes

• Comparing Northern Ireland A&E waiting times directly with other UK nations, although official work has found the clock stops at a different point.
• Treating the NICEI as Northern Ireland's GDP.
• Comparing domestic rates bills with council tax in Great Britain without allowing for the capital value system and the £400,000 cap.
• Mixing census religion measures, or comparing 2021 census results with survey estimates without noting the difference in method.
• Attributing changes in trade flows to a single policy such as the Windsor Framework when the statistics only measure the flows.

What is NISRA?

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency is the principal source of official statistics for Northern Ireland and part of the Department of Finance. It runs the census, produces population and economic statistics, and its statisticians work inside every Northern Ireland department, producing releases such as hospital waiting times and school statistics.

Does the ONS cover Northern Ireland?

For some topics, such as UK GDP, inflation and UK labour market totals, ONS figures include Northern Ireland. For population, the census, births and deaths, and most devolved services, NISRA and Northern Ireland departments produce the official figures, and the ONS uses them for UK totals.

Where are Northern Ireland crime figures published?

The PSNI publishes police recorded crime statistics monthly as official statistics, with figures by offence and policing district. The Department of Justice publishes justice statistics and survey-based estimates of crime experienced by households, and NISRA lists the releases on its crime and justice page.

Questions answered using this source

• What are NHS waiting times in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
• Where can I find UK census data?

Links checked 2026-10-13. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.