Ryan Miller

Communications consultant for various orgs, specialising in difficult things. Editor @FactCheckNI. I love words and numbers equally. A true rugby tragic.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

📊 What’s really happening to Northern Ireland’s population?

Our FactCheckNI analysis shows a clear shift; not sudden decline, but long-term ageing:

👶 In the 1970s, there were nearly 3× as many under-10s as over-70s. Today, over-70s outnumber young children.
📉 Under-10s ↓ ~27% since 1971; even as the total population ↑ ~25%
🎂 Median age has risen from 32 to 40
👨��👩‍👧 Children now make up 20% (down from 24%)
👵 65+ now 18% (up from 13%)

🌍 And this isn’t unique. Similar trends are seen across the UK, Ireland and other developed economies.

👉 Get the full picture:
https://t.co/HcCpH4mRCf

[BBC The View @bbctheview]

"Huge crisis" coming up because of "unaffordable" public services, Ann Watt, director of @pivotalpolicy tells @MarkCarruthers7 on Sunday Politics

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Behind every statistic on Violence Against Women and Girls is a real person - but if the data’s unclear, how can we fight it?

Our article explores the serious gaps in how NI’s justice system records and understands VAWG.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Autism assessment waiting lists in Northern Ireland are at a critical point.

📊 17,205 children are currently waiting for an autism assessment; almost the same as the 17,760 already diagnosed with autism in NI.

#factcheckni #northernireland #autism #Neurodiversity

[Hugh Carville @HughCarville]

BREAKING: The Down Recorder newspaper in Downpatrick has ceased publication after 189 years in circulation.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Northern Ireland still has the largest disability employment gap in the UK - but have the numbers shifted recently? 🔍

Read our fact-check to find out.
👇 #DisabilityEmployment #FactCheckNI

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

The Alliance Party recently claimed in a social media post that the DUP’s collapse “cost us 800 police officers.”

🔺This isn’t accurate.

📊 Our latest fact check shows that figure doesn’t add up and that the data tells a different story.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

📉Did the drop in PSNI officer numbers occur entirely during Executive collapse?

🔺We examined a claim by the Alliance Party which said that the DUP’s collapse “cost us 800 police officers”.

🔺Our article shows that number is wrong and that the data tells a more complex story

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

👥 Northern Ireland is getting older.

There are now more people aged 70+ than children under 10.

What does this mean for our future health, pensions & policies?

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Does Belfast have the 2nd highest number of asylum seekers in the UK, and do almost a fifth of them live in BT12, as claimed by DUP MLA Edwin Poots?

❌ No.
📊Belfast ranks 20th overall.
👥With 0.6% of the local population (1 in 167 people).
���️ No data confirms the BT12 claim.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

The data tells us:

🌍For over 100 years, less than 1% were born outside UK & Ireland

➡️By 2001: 1.8%

📈Now: 6.5%

✈️Most came from Europe, esp. Poland & Lithuania.

⏰The growth in numbers of people born elsewhere was faster between 2001–2011 than between 2011–2021.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

📊 FactCheckNI has a new series exploring NI’s demographics-exploring age,religion and place of birth.

These articles are designed to be a reference point for what’s changed and what’s stayed the same over time.

➡️1st up: place of birth.Where were people who call NI home born?

[Pivotal @pivotalpolicy]

🚨 New Pivotal tracker report reviews recent progress by the Northern Ireland Executive on the Programme for Government and other priorities

Read the report here https://t.co/CWD7fHUlEp

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Who comes to the UK, and what are they entitled to?

Most UK migrants are here legally - and unauthorised migrants have very limited entitlements. In this article we unpack the facts behind the headlines.

👉 https://t.co/w3sKHu1EbH

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Does Belfast really house more “illegal migrants” than every other UK city except Glasgow? Turns out, no.

This FactCheckNI article slices through the noise with clear, evidence-based insight.

Read our full analysis below 👇

#FactsMatter #FactCheckNI #NorthernIreland

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Late last year, FactCheckNI commissioned research into violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland, hoping to clarify discussions around this issue. However, instead of clarity, we found confusion.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

We recently published an analysis of what is known about Violence Against Women and Girls in Northern Ireland, focusing on the criminal justice system and, in particular, the statistical records maintained by the PSNI.

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

What we don’t know about Violence Against Women and Girls in Northern Ireland.

🔺Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is a big problem under a bright spotlight. But what do we really know about it?

[FactCheckNI @FactCheckNI]

Explainer: What does the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of the word “woman” mean for Northern Ireland?

In April, the UK Supreme Court ruled that use of the word “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to people whose biological sex is female.