HC Deb 14 January 1998 vol 304 cc242-4W
Mr. Barnes

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the latest estimates by the Registrars General of Populations of those aged 17 years and over, plus 63 per cent. of those aged 16 years, for each district council area and parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland, together with the equivalent electoral registration figures also expressed as a percentage of these population figures and in ascending order. [22294]

Mr. Paul Murphy

Mid-year estimates of the population of Northern Ireland broken down by age are available for Health Board areas only. Consequently the population counts for district council areas and parliamentary constituencies are taken from the 1991 Census of Population. For district council areas, the most comparable figures for electoral registration relate to September 1991.

District councils
District council area (boundaries as at the time of the 1991 Census of Population) A Population aged 17 and over plus 63 per cent. of population aged 16 years B Electors registered for elections to the UK Parliament C B as a percentage of A
Antrim 32,679 30,226 92.5
Limavady 20,608 19,284 93.6
Lisburn 72,538 69,478 95.8
Omagh 31,889 30,982 97.2
Down 41,656 40,658 97.6
Coleraine 38,000 37,144 97.7
Armagh 37,019 36,225 97.9
Derry 64,643 63,313 97.9
Castlereagh 48,405 47,517 98.2
Moyle 10,700 10,511 98.2
Newtownabbey 56,057 55,162 98.4
Belfast 212,332 209,165 98.5
North Down 55,272 54,483 98.6
Ballymena 42,671 42,095 98.7
Larne 22,536 22,320 99.0
Ballymoney 17,725 17,611 99.4
Carrickfergus 24,683 24,530 99.4
Craigavon 54,855 54,525 99.4
Ards 49,086 49,095 100.0
Strabane 25,271 25,318 100.2
Cookstown 21,581 21,639 100.3
Newry and Mourne 57,870 58,208 100.6
Banbridge 24,704 24,893 100.8
District councils
District council area (boundaries as at the time of the 1991 Census of Population) A Population aged 17 and over plus 63 per cent. of population aged 16 years B Electors registered for elections to the UK Parliament C B as a percentage of A
Magherafelt 25,391 25,612 100.9
Fermanagh 38,636 39,115 101.2
Dungannon 31,854 32,357 101.6
Northern Ireland 1,158,660 1,141,466 98.5

Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1996. The table details the population aged 17 and over plus 63 per cent. of the 16–year-old population at the time of the 1991 Census of Population in each of the current parliamentary constituencies, together with the most up-to-date information on their respective electorates. Information on the number of registered voters in each constituency prior to 1996 is not available. Because the two sets of data relate to different time points, it is not appropriate to determine the ratio of the number of registered voters to the population count.

Post-1996 Parliamentary constituencies, ordered by number of electors
Parliamentary constituency (post-1996) 1991 Census population aged 17 and over plus 63 per cent. of population aged 16 years
West Tyrone 57,160
East Antrim 56,103
East Londonderry 58,609
Mid Ulster 55,895
Belfast East 64,638
Belfast West 61,647
North Down 61,846
Belfast South 69,110
Belfast North 68,542
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 61,566
Foyle 64,643
South Antrim 68,570
Strangford 64,641
South Down 68,368
Upper Bann 68,424
Newry and Armagh 68,014
Lagan Valley 69,787
North Antrim 71,097
Northern Ireland 1,158,660
Post-1996 Parliamentary constituencies, ordered by number of electors
Parliamentary constituency (post-1996) 1997 Registered electors
West Tyrone 59,088
East Antrim 59,634
East Londonderry 59,690
Mid Ulster 59,825
Belfast East 62,342
Belfast West 62,541
North Down 63,796
Belfast South 64,083
Belfast North 65,229
Fermanagh and South Tyrone 65,572
Foyle 68,608
South Antrim 70,342
Strangford 70,791
South Down 71,008
Upper Bann 71,334
Post-1996 Parliamentary constituencies, ordered by number of electors
Parliamentary constituency (post-1996) 1997 Registered electors
Newry and Armagh 71,725
Lagan Valley 72,096
North Antrim 73,381
Northern Ireland 1,191,085