23% of over 16's in Newry, Mourne and Down have no Qualifications

Nearly a quarter of people aged over 16 in Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area have no qualifications. It's one of the statistics found in the third release of data from the 2021 Northern Ireland Census. 

23.13% of people here over 16 had no qualifications although at the other end of the spectrum 31.8% of residents in our council area had Level 4* qualifications and above. Lisburn and Castlereagh had the most highly qualified residents at 39.2%. Again Lisburn and Castlereagh Council had the lowest number of people with no qualifications at 17.9% while Derry and Strabane had the highest with 28.4% unqualified.

Overall the number of unemployed in Newry, Mourne and Down was 2.7% of the population aged over 16, an improvement throughout the north since 2011 when an average of 5.2% were unemployed compared to the 2.8% average in 2021.

* Degree (BA, BSc), foundation degree, NVQ Level 4 and above, HND, HNC, professional qualifications (teaching or nursing, for example) or equivalent.