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Belfast · Northern Ireland

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Belfast council area. Every figure carries its own date.

See how Belfast compares with its nearest cities and Northern Ireland.

The figures cover the council areas named below. Some include large rural areas, so their size and circumstances can be very different.

How these cities and figures are chosen

The three nearest other official UK cities, measured in a straight line between the official representative place points, not by road or ferry distance. Cities across national borders are included. The same council area is not counted twice. These are geographical neighbours, not a ranking of similar economies or services. Each figure is compared only when its period, definition, unit and source are compatible. The national reference is the origin city's own nation, not an average of the selected cities.

Distances use official city location points, not council boundaries or driving routes. The selection stays the same when a figure is missing or cannot be compared. Each missing comparison is explained.

Northern Ireland is the national reference for this page. Its figures come from published country totals, not an average of these cities.

If this area has no figure, an available national figure sets the date and measure for the other rows. The local gap remains visible.

Sources and comparison method →

People living in the area

This shows the size of each council area, not how well it is doing.

Mid-2025 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area351,927
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area152,367
BangorArds and North Down local authority area165,407
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area182,884
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture1,928,446
Show the workings and sources

All usual residents

Published mid-year estimate for the whole local authority area. This is not automatically the population of the named city settlement.

Average home price

July 2026 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area£185,000
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area£241,000
BangorArds and North Down local authority area£227,000
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area£221,000
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture£202,000
Show the workings and sources

Homes in the local authority area

Published UK House Price Index average price, all property types and all buyers, not seasonally adjusted. Entire series comes from the 2026-07 official full-file release, preserving its historical revisions and exact area codes. It is a mix-adjusted average, not the median price paid.

Prices are shown to the nearest £1,000 and are not adjusted for inflation.

Average monthly rent

Belfast is unavailable. Other figures use the Northern Ireland measure for June 2026.
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority areaNot availableNo same-geography average monthly private rent in this official feed. Broader rental-market areas are not substituted.
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority areaNot availableNo same-geography average monthly private rent in this official feed. Broader rental-market areas are not substituted.
BangorArds and North Down local authority areaNot availableNo same-geography average monthly private rent in this official feed. Broader rental-market areas are not substituted.
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority areaNot availableNo same-geography average monthly private rent in this official feed. Broader rental-market areas are not substituted.
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture£874
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Homes in the country

Official local housing data feed. House prices are provisional, not seasonally adjusted; rents use the Price Index of Private Rents. Local short-term estimates are variable. Country references use only the explicitly country-coded ctry object, never the local place object.

People aged 65 or over

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area14.7%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area17.6%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area22.1%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area16.7%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture17.2%
Show the workings and sources

All usual residents

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-a02.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.

People reporting bad or very bad health

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area10%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area6.2%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area7.3%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area6.9%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture7.7%
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All usual residents; self-reported, not age-standardised

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-d01.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.

People described their own health in the census. These figures are not adjusted for age, so they do not measure the quality of local health services.

Homes rented privately

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area20.5%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area11.2%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area13.4%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area18%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture17.2%
Show the workings and sources

All households

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-e15.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.

Homes rented from a council or housing association

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area26.3%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area12.3%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area12.6%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area10.8%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture15.3%
Show the workings and sources

All households

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-e15.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.

People aged 16+ with no qualifications

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area23.9%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area17.9%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area19.2%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area23.1%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture23.8%
Show the workings and sources

All usual residents aged 16 and over

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-g01.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.

People aged 16+ with a degree or equivalent

21 March 2021 · matching dates and measures only
Place and area coveredFigure
Belfast (this area)Belfast local authority area34.4%
LisburnLisburn and Castlereagh local authority area39.2%
BangorArds and North Down local authority area34.1%
NewryNewry, Mourne and Down local authority area31.8%
Northern IrelandWhole country · national picture32.1%
Show the workings and sources

All usual residents aged 16 and over

First count table in Ward/LGD/NI worksheets of census-2021-ms-g01.xlsx. Each percentage uses its own table denominator. Census privacy adjustments can make totals differ slightly between tables.