The latest census figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Branch show that Catholics in Northern Ireland are more likely to be unemployed or living in overcrowded conditions with worse health than Protestants.
According to a report in the Belfast Telegraph the unemployment rate in Northern Ireland in 2011 was 9 percent for Catholics and 6 percent for Protestants.
11 percent of middle-aged Catholics said their general health was bad or very bad compared to 8 percent of Protestants. The census also found that more Catholics were younger, which is statistically linked to better health.
The figures also give a detailed new insight into how Catholics in Northern Ireland regard their national identity.
The census found that Protestants were almost as likely as Catholics to declare themselves Northern Irish, but they were less likely to regard themselves as exclusively Northern Irish.
A total of 111,700 people reported that they regarded themselves as British and Northern Irish only compared to 19,100 who felt Irish and Northern Irish only. The proportion of people with a British-only identity reportedly increased with age, including half of those aged 65 or above.
Four fifths of those who felt British-only were brought up Protestant. Ninety four per cent of those who felt Irish-only were brought up Catholic. Almost three fifths of people with a Northern Irish-only identity had been brought up Catholic and 36 percent Protestant.
Only a small number of Protestants, less than 10 percent, said they felt Irish.
The census also found that Protestants were more likely than Catholics to live on their own.
According to the census, the majority of migrants from EU accession countries now living in Northern Ireland are Catholics at 75 percent.
Among those aged 16-74, 3.9 percent of Protestants were unemployed on census day while 5.95% of Catholics were unemployed.
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