Derry population and live births to decline

Derry is having less and less children and births will dip far more in the next 20 years than in the North overall.

By 2037/38 the number of births in Derry and Strabane is projected to fall to 1,716 from 2,067 (-17%) in 2015, according to the latest data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

Across the North the number of births will decline from 24,291 to 22,505, a fall of only 7 per cent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Trade unionists in Derry have warned stagnant population growth in the city is a worrying sign. But data shows Derry is getting older and is set to experience population decline.

Projections compiled by Derry City & Strabane District Council from the latest NISRA data predict that by 2022 the local population will increase slightly to 150,496 before dropping back to 145,852 by 2041.

“This rise and fall of the DCSDC population is in contrast to the projections for NI as a whole.

“Between 2016 and 2041, it is projected that the NI population will have increased by 7.6 per cent, rising from 1,862,137 in 2016 to 2,003,397 by 2041,” Council researchers concluded.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“By 2041, it is projected that the number of those aged under 16 will fall to 28,040 (19.2 per cent), down from 32,806 (21.8 per cent) in 2016.

“The numbers of residents in the age bands, 25-44 and 45-64, are also projected to fall as well as making up proportionately less of the DCSDC population,” the researchers found.