quinta-feira, 5 de maio de 2011
sexta-feira, 29 de abril de 2011
Religion
The population of Northern Ireland was estimated as being 1,759,000 on 10 December 2008. In the 2001 census, 45.57% of the population identified as belonging to Protestant or other non-Roman Catholic denominations (20.69% Presbyterian, 15.30% Church of Ireland, 3.51% Methodist, 6.07% other Christian/Christian related), 40.26% identified as Roman Catholic, 0.30% identified with non-Christian religions and 13.88% identified with no religion. In terms of community background, 53.1% of the Northern Irish population came from a Protestant background, 43.8% came from a Catholic background, 0.4% from non-Christian backgrounds and 2.7% non-religious backgrounds. The population is forecast to pass the 1.8 million mark by 2011.
Demography of Northern Ireland
The population of Northern Ireland has increased annually since 1978.
Ethnicity
- White: 1,670,988 (99.15%)
- Northern Ireland born: 91.0%
- Other UK or Republic of Ireland born: 7.2%
- Irish Traveller: 1,710 (0.10%)
- Asian: 6,824
- Chinese: 4,145 (0.25%)
- Indian: 1,567 (0.09%)
- Pakistani: 666 (0.04%)
- Bangladeshi: 252 (0.01%)
- Other Asian: 194 (0.01%)
- Black: 1,136
- Black African: 494 (0.03%)
- Black Caribbean: 255 (0.02%)
- Other Black: 387 (0.02%)
- Other ethnic groups: 1,290 (0.08%)
- Mixed: 3,319 (0.20%)
Climate
Belfast has a temperate climate. Average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. The highest temperature recorded in Belfast was 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) on 12 July 1983. The city gets significant precipitation (greater than 0.01 in/0.25 mm) on 213 days in an average year with an average annual rainfall of 846 millimetres (33.3 in), less than the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands, but higher than Dublin or the south-east coast of Ireland. As an urban and coastal area, Belfast typically gets snow on fewer than 10 days per year. The city is also renowned for how warm it can get during the winter months at its high latitude. In February, temperatures have hit 17 °C, at the same latitude where it is ~-45 °C in Russia and Canada. It is not uncommon for temperatures in summer to reach as high as 27 °C (80 °F) on numerous days. The consistently humid climate that prevails over Ireland can make temperatures feel uncomfortable when they stray into the high 20s (80–85 °F), more so than similar temperatures in hotter climates in the rest of Europe.
History
The site of Belfast has been occupied since the Bronze Age. The Giant's Ring, a 5,000-year-old henge, is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. Belfast remained a small settlement of little importance during the Middle Ages. John de Courcy built a castle on what is now Castle Street in the city centre in the 12th century, but this was on a lesser scale and not as strategically important as Carrickfergus Castle to the north, which was built by de Courcy in 1177. The O'Neill clan had a presence in the area. In the 14th century, Clan Aedh Buidh, descendants of Hugh O'Neill built Grey Castle at Castlereagh, now in the east of the city. Conn O'Neill also owned land in the area, one remaining link being the Conn's Water river flowing through east Belfast.
Belfast Castle
Belfast
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