Key points
- The proportion of respondents who agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland has increased significantly between 2018, the first year of the current time series, and 2022 (from 54% to 70%). The 2022 figure was not significantly higher than the corresponding figure for 2021 (69%), however.
- Between 2021 and 2022, there was a significant increase (from 36% to 51%) in the proportion of respondents who agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country. The 2022 figure was also significantly higher than the figure reported for 2019, the first year of the current time series (39%).
- The proportion of respondents who agreed that it is “our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country” has increased significantly over time, from 65% in 2019 (the first year of the current time series) to 76% in 2022. The 2022 figure was also significantly higher than the corresponding figure for 2021 (73%).
Background and introduction
This publication uses data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey to examine public attitudes to asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland. The NILT survey is an annual, representative survey of the Northern Irish population, aged 18 and above.
The 2022 NILT survey asked respondents to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the following statements on asylum seekers and refugees:
- Thinking about people who come to Northern Ireland to get away from persecution in their own country. How much do you agree or disagree that these asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland?
- Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country.
- I think it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country.
The responses to these three questions are the focus of this publication.
Comparisons over time are made for the full sample as far back as the
data is available. The publication also looks at the responses to each
question broken down by sex, age and religion for 2022. In addition,
analysis by Local Government District (LGD) is also provided, with the
2021 and 2022 datasets combined to ensure the sample size for each LGD
was sufficient. Supplementary data tables accompanying this publication,
with further breakdowns by marital status, disability and urban/rural
area, are available on the
Executive
Office website.
Technical overview
Because NILT is a representative survey, the results can be considered to be estimates of the views of each relevant population group in Northern Ireland.
Changes over time and differences between groups have been tested for statistical significance. Where possible, these have been mentioned in the commentary.
Further information on weights applied to the data and statistical uncertainty (confidence intervals and significance differences) have been provided in the Technical notes, with full detail provided in the supplementary data tables.
The Technical notes also include further information on the NILT survey, questions asked, definitions and analysis provided.
Note: Throughout the publication, response options ‘Strongly agree’ and ‘Agree’ were merged into an ‘Agree’ category. Response options ‘Strongly disagree’ and ‘Disagree’ were merged into a ‘Disagree’ category. ‘Prefer not to say’ response options were coded as missing.
Responses to the question: “Thinking about people who come to Northern Ireland to get away from persecution in their own country. How much do you agree or disagree that these asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland?”
Overall responses
Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that “asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland”. Figure 1 shows that the proportion of all respondents who agreed increased from 54% in 2018 to 70% in 2022. This was a significant difference. There was no significant difference between the proportions who agreed in 2021 (69%) and 2022 (70%).
Figure 1. Percentage of all respondents, across time, who agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
Note. The survey methodology changed between 2019 and 2020, when the survey moved from a face-to-face to an online mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the move to the online survey mode, please see Technical notes
Figure 2 shows that in 2022, 70% of all respondents agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland, 18% neither agreed nor disagreed, 9% disagreed and 3% said they didn’t know.
Figure 2. Percentage of all respondents (in 2022), who agreed or disagreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
Responses by demographic groups
This section provides the breakdown of responses by respondents’ sex, age and religion for 2022. Further breakdowns by marital status, disability and urban/rural area are provided in the supplementary data tables.
Figure 3 below shows the percentage of males and females who agreed or disagreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland. The results show that similar proportions of males (71%) and females (69%) agreed with the statement - this difference was not statistically significant.
Figure 3. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by sex, who agreed or disagreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
Figure 4 shows that those aged 65 and over were the most likely to agree with this statement (74%). This was significantly higher than the proportion of respondents in the 35-44 age group (66%). No other differences between age groups were significant.
Figure 4. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by age, who agreed or disagreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
In 2022, over three-quarters of both Catholics (78%) and those with no religion (76%) agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland (Figure 5). Just less than three-fifths (59%) of Protestants agreed with the statement, and this was significantly lower than the reported proportions for both Catholics and those with no religion.
Figure 5. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by religion, who agreed or disagreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
Responses by Local Government District in 2021 and 2022
This section presents the percentage of respondents who agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland, broken down by the Local Government District (LGD) the respondents reside in. To ensure the achieved sample for each LGD is sufficient for analysis, 2021 and 2022 NILT data have been combined to produce these estimates.
As shown in Figure 6, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement ranged from 60% in Mid and East Antrim to 75% in Belfast, Derry City and Strabane, and Lisburn and Castlereagh.
The estimate for Mid and East Antrim was significantly lower than the estimates for six other LGDs. Full details of significant differences between LGDs are available in Worksheet 4a of the supplementary data tables.
For context, when 2021 and 2022 datasets were combined, 70% of all respondents across Northern Ireland agreed with the statement on asylum seekers.
Figure 6. Map of the percentage of respondents (in 2021 and 2022 combined), by Local Government District, who agreed that asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland
Note. The map combines data from 2021 and 2022.
Responses to the statement: “Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country”
Overall responses
Respondents were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed that “Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country”. The proportion of all respondents who agreed increased significantly from 39% in 2019 to 51% in 2022 (Figure 7). The 2022 figure was also significantly higher than the corresponding figure for 2021 (36%).
Figure 7. Percentage of all respondents, across time, who agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Note. The survey methodology changed between 2019 and 2020, when the survey moved from a face-to-face to an online mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the move to the online survey mode, please see Technical notes
Figure 8 shows that in 2022, just over one-half (51%) of all respondents agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country, while 26% neither agreed nor disagreed, 19% disagreed and 4% said they didn’t know.
Figure 8. Percentage of all respondents (in 2022), who agreed or disagreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Responses by demographic groups
This section outlines the breakdown of responses by sex, age and religion for 2022. Further breakdowns by marital status, disability and urban/rural area are provided in the supplementary data tables.
Figure 9 shows that approximately one-half of both males (49%) and females (52%) agreed with the statement - this difference was not statistically significant.
Figure 9. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by sex, who agreed or disagreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Figure 10 shows that those aged 65 and over were the most likely to agree with this statement (58%). This was significantly higher than the corresponding proportions for the 18-34 and 45-54 age groups (both 45%). In addition, a significantly higher proportion of those aged 55-64 agreed with this statement (54%), compared with those aged 18-34 and 45-54. No other differences between age groups were significant.
Figure 10. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by age, who agreed or disagreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Figure 11 shows that over one-half of Protestants (56%) and Catholics (51%) agreed with this statement. Protestants were significantly more likely to agree than respondents reporting no religion (44%).
Figure 11. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by religion, who agreed or disagreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Responses by Local Government District in 2021 and 2022
This section presents the percentage of respondents who agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country, broken down by the Local Government District (LGD) the respondents reside in. To ensure the achieved sample for each LGD is sufficient for analysis, 2021 and 2022 NILT data have been combined to produce these estimates.
Figure 12 shows that the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement ranged from 39% in Lisburn and Castlereagh and in Mid and East Antrim, to 52% in Derry City and Strabane.
The estimate for Derry City and Strabane was significantly higher than the corresponding figures for Causeway Coast and Glens, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Mid and East Antrim, and Newry, Mourne and Down. No other significant differences existed in the proportions who agreed with this statement across LGDs.
For context, when 2021 and 2022 datasets were combined, 43% of all respondents agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country. It is particularly important to consider this combined figure for this question, as the proportion who agreed increased significantly between 2021 and 2022.
Figure 12. Map of the percentage of respondents (in 2021 and 2022 combined), by Local Government District, who agreed that Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country
Note. The map combines data from 2021 and 2022.
Responses to the statement: “I think it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Overall responses
Respondents were also asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “I think it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”. Figure 13 shows that the proportion of all respondents who agreed increased from 65% in 2019 to 76% in 2022 - this difference was significant. The 2022 figure was also significantly higher than the corresponding figure for 2021 (73%).
Figure 13. Percentage of all respondents, across time, who agreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Note. The survey methodology changed between 2019 and 2020, when the survey moved from a face-to-face to an online mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the move to the online survey mode, please see Technical notes
Figure 14 shows that in 2022, approximately three-quarters (76%) of all respondents agreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”. A further 15% neither agreed nor disagreed, 7% disagreed and the remaining 1% said they didn’t know.
Figure 14. Percentage of all respondents (in 2022), who agreed or disagreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Responses by demographic groups
This section outlines the breakdown of responses by respondents’ sex, age and religion for 2022. Further breakdowns by marital status, disability and urban/rural area are provided in the supplementary data tables.
Figure 15 shows that approximately three-quarters of both males (76%) and females (77%) agreed with the statement. This difference was not significant.
Figure 15. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by sex, who agreed or disagreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Figure 16 shows that those aged 65 and over were the most likely to agree with this statement (81%). This was significantly higher than the proportion of respondents in the 35-44 age group who agreed (73%). There were no other significant differences between the age groups.
Figure 16. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by age, who agreed or disagreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Note. ‘Don’t know’ response options are not shown, because the numbers were too small.
A significantly higher proportion of both Catholics (78%) and respondents with no religion (82%) agreed with the statement, compared with Protestants (70%) (Figure 17).
Figure 17. Percentage of respondents (in 2022), by religion, who agreed or disagreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Note. ‘Don’t know’ response options are not shown, because the numbers were too small.
Responses by Local Government District in 2021 and 2022
This section presents the percentage of respondents who agreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”, broken down by the Local Government District (LGD) the respondents reside in. To ensure the achieved sample for each LGD is sufficient for analysis, 2021 and 2022 NILT data have been combined to produce these estimates.
As shown in Figure 18, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the statement ranged from 69% in Fermanagh and Omagh, and Causeway Coast and Glens, to 81% in Lisburn and Castlereagh.
The estimate for Lisburn and Castlereagh was significantly higher than the estimates for six other LGDs. Full details of significant differences between LGDs are available in Worksheet 4c of the supplementary data tables.
For context, when 2021 and 2022 datasets were combined, three-quarters (75%) of all respondents across Northern Ireland agreed with the statement.
Figure 18. Map of the percentage of respondents (in 2021 and 2022 combined), by Local Government District, who agreed that “it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country”
Note. The map combines data from 2021 and 2022.
Technical notes
Methodology
Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) is an annual survey run by Access Research Knowledge (ARK). ARK is a social policy hub, established in 2000 by researchers at Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast. Every year, ARK administer the survey to a representative sample of adults, aged 18 years or over, living in Northern Ireland.
In the questionnaire, an asylum seeker was defined as “a person who says he or she is a refugee, someone fleeing harm and seeking the refuge and protection of a government but whose formal claim has not yet been considered by the authorities.”
After being provided with this definition, respondents were asked: “Thinking about people who come to Northern Ireland to get away from persecution in their own country. How much do you agree or disagree that these asylum seekers should be allowed to stay in Northern Ireland?”
Refugees were defined as “people who have been given permission to stay in the UK because they have been persecuted in their home country.”
After being provided with this definition, respondents were asked how much they agree or disagree with the following statements about refugees in Northern Ireland:
- “Northern Ireland is a society that welcomes refugees escaping persecution in their home country.”
- “I think it is our duty to provide protection to refugees who are escaping persecution in their home country.”
The response options for all three questions were:
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
- I don’t know
- Prefer not to say
This publication presents findings for the overall sample and broken
down by sex, age, religion and LGD. Further breakdowns by marital
status, disability and urban/rural area are available in the
supplementary data tables.
Move to online survey
Prior to 2020, the survey was administered face-to-face. This changed
in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now conducted online.
This change is marked on the relevant time series charts throughout the
publication. The move to an online survey was fully tested and is not
considered to constitute a break in the time series.
Sample
The 2022 NILT survey sample was a systematic random sample of
addresses selected from the Postcode Address File (PAF). The PAF is the
most up-to-date and complete list of addresses in the UK. Prior to
sample selection, private business addresses were removed from the list.
A total of 9,500 addresses, stratified proportionately by LGD, were
selected and issued with an invitation letter. The letter indicated that
only the person with the next birthday within the household was eligible
for participation. The survey was conducted online, and the letter
contained a URL survey link, unique to each household. Of the 9,500
addresses, 1,405 completed the survey, which is a response rate of 15%.
The asylum seeker and refugee questions were answered by 1,404
respondents.
2022 NILT data collection period
Data for the 2022 NILT survey was collected between September and November 2022.
Variable coding
Refugee and asylum seeker questions
Response options ‘Strongly agree’ and ‘Agree’ were merged into an
‘Agree’ category. Response options ‘Strongly disagree’ and ‘Disagree’
were merged into a ‘Disagree’ category. ‘Prefer not to say’ response
options were coded as missing.
Sex
A binary coded question (Male, Female), provided by ARK, was used in
the analyses.
Age
The following age categories were used: 18-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64,
65+.
Religion
Respondents were presented with a list of religions and were asked to indicate if they belonged to any of them. For the analysis, the response options were grouped as follows:
- Catholic: Catholic
- Protestant: Church of Ireland/Anglican/Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Free Presbyterian, Brethren, United Reform Church (URC)/Congregational, Pentecostal, Church of Scotland, Elim Pentecostal, Reformed Presbyterian, Non-subscribing Presbyterian, Salvation Army, Church of Nazarene, Other Protestant
- Other religion: Jehovah’s Witness, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon), Other Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Islam/Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Other
- No religion: No religion
‘I don’t know’ response options to the religion questions were coded
as missing. Respondents whose religion was coded as ‘Other’ were not
included in the analysis, as the numbers were too small.
Statistics
When interpreting the findings in this publication, please note the following:
Rounding
Percentages within this publication have been rounded to the nearest
integer and may therefore not sum to 100%.
Sampling error and weights
As NILT is a sample survey, there is a certain level of sampling
error. This means that the characteristics of the group sampled will
differ from the population as a whole. To account for this sampling
error, and to ensure that reported estimates better represent the
population, the data have been weighted by age, gender, and location,
based on information from the 2011 Northern Ireland Census.
Confidence intervals and statistical significance
The supplementary data tables include detail on the 95% confidence intervals for each estimate. A confidence interval gives an indication of the degree of uncertainty of an estimate and helps to explain how precise it is. The wider a confidence interval is, the less precise the associated estimate is.
Statistically significant differences between groups and over time have been highlighted throughout the report, with full detail presented in worksheets 4a to 4c in the supplementary data tables. If two groups are significantly different from each other, it means that the difference between them is unlikely to have occurred by chance. All tests were conducted at .05 significance level. This means that if a difference between two groups is reported as significant, there is less than (<) 5% probability that the result was due to chance. The unweighted base numbers and weighted percentage estimates have an effect on statistical significance. Therefore, on occasion, a difference between two groups may be statistically significant while the same difference in percentage points between two other groups may not be statistically significant. The reason for this is that the larger the unweighted base numbers or the closer the percentages are to 0 or 100, the smaller the standard errors. This leads to increased precision of the estimates which increases the likelihood that the difference is significant.
More information on statistical uncertainty can be found on the
ONS
website.
Publication threshold
It is the nature of sampling variability that the smaller the group
whose size is being estimated, the less precise (proportionately) that
estimate is. Estimates for groups where the sample base is less than 100
have been omitted from the report, as they are likely to be unreliable.
This is denoted by ‘[u]’ in the supplementary data tables.
Disclosure control
Statistical disclosure control has been applied to instances of small cell counts (less than five). Data are not presented for confidentiality purposes. This is denoted by ‘[c]’ in the supplementary data tables.
Reader information
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