Deprivation is higher in Northern Ireland than in regions of England, Scotland and Wales, research by Queen’s University Belfast has found.
Researchers compared census data on deprivation by employment, education and health across the UK.
The researchers found two local authorities in Northern Ireland – Derry and Strabane, and Belfast – have more deprived areas than any of the other 374 local authorities in England, Scotland or Wales and the rest of Northern Ireland.
The study also highlighted that Belfast has the worst levels of self-reported health deprivation in the UK.
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Northern Ireland was found to have the highest proportion of the most deprived areas, with 25 per cent of its zones among the UK’s most deprived areas. The northeast of England has the second-highest proportion of deprived areas, at 21 per cent, while the West Midlands of England has the third-highest levels, at 16.5 per cent.
The researchers also examined data on health deprivation. This data was self-reported by census respondents.
They found health deprivation is particularly high in Northern Ireland, with nearly 28 per cent of areas ranked among the most deprived in health across the UK. In Scotland, 23 per cent of areas were among the most deprived, health-wise, while this was the case for 16 per cent of areas in northeast England.
Researchers said levels of health deprivation were lowest in London, with just 1.5 per cent of areas ranked most deprived by poor health.
Prof Christopher Lloyd of the School of Natural and Built Environment at Queen’s said their research “shows, for the first time, how deprivation by employment, education and health vary within and between the four nations of the UK”.
This type of analysis is “important for everyone in our society”, while the insights are “critical for informing public policy”, he said.
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“Our study will allow policymakers to make a case for funding or to better direct resources given a knowledge of how their areas compare to other areas within their region, within their nation, or the UK as a whole,” he said.
The researchers used 2021 census data from Northern Ireland, England and Wales, and 2022 census data from Scotland.
The project was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, and the University of Leeds and deprivation.org were partners. - PA
