The following gives details on the demographics of Tobermore village and Tobermore electoral ward from the 2001 and 2011 census's.
Contents
Tobermore village and townland
Tobermore is classified as a small village or hamlet. It spans the majority of the townland of Tobermore. In the 2001 Census there were 578 people living in Tobermore. In 2004 the population was estimated as being around 1,250 people.
On Census day (29 April 2001):
Early census'
Early census figures give the following:
The large decrease between 1841 and 1851 can be attributed to the effects of the Great Famine in Ireland from 1845-52. Despite an increase in the following decade the population steadily drops, decreasing by 72.75% between 1851 and 1926. The 2001 figure of 578 is still below the 1871 figure. Another trend is the decrease of people living outside the village boundaries within the townland of Tobermore, dropping from a high of 224 in 1841 to 5 in 1926.
Tobermore electoral ward
The Tobermore electoral ward covers a wide area around the village of Tobermore, which spans right up to the borders of the neighbouring settlements of Desertmartin, Draperstown, and Maghera. In the 2011 census the "usual population" of Tobermore ward was 2,641, an increase of roughly 27.25% on the 2001 figure of 2,076, and an increase of 46.6% on the 1991 figure of 1,802.
Ethnic group
The following table depicts the ethnic makeup of the electoral ward in 2001 and 2011 and the changes:
Language
Of the 2,500 people in the electoral ward the age of 3 or over, 319 (12.76%) had varying degrees of understanding and ability in Irish, whilst 292 (11.68%) had the same with Ulster-Scots.
In regards to the amount of households (out of 898) with English as the main language:
National identity
Of the 2,461 people in Tobermore electoral ward the following national identities were given:
The cumulative total of each would be: 1,459 (59.28%) gave British; 709 (28.81%) gave Northern Irish; 649 (26.37%) gave Irish; and 59 (2.23%) gave other. Due to being a cumulative tally, the total percentage will be higher than 100%.
Religious background brought up in
The following table details what religious background people stated that they were from.
Religion declared
The following table details the religion or other that people identified themselves as being of.
Socio-economic profile
The 2001 main employment sectors in the electoral ward of Tobermore are: manufacturing (30%); construction (14%); retail (14%); health related (10%); public administration (6%) and full-time agriculture (4%).
Unemployment levels in the Tobermore ward have increased over the past two years to 3.5%, however remain below that of Magherafelt District Council (4.1%), Mid-Ulster Westminister parliamentary constituency (4.5%) and the Northern Ireland average (4.9%). Despite a decline in the employment domain over the past 10 years placing it within the 50% worst of all wards in Northern Ireland, Tobermore ward has the lowest level of unemployment and the highest level of self-employment in Northern Ireland.
The Tobermore ward area contains 59 farms, of which 7 farms are situated in less favoured areas. The average farm size is 80 hectares, which is larger than those found in the neighbouring wards of Draperstown and Lower Glenshane, which are more mountainous.
Tobermore ward has a high owner-occupier rate of 79%, which is above the Northern Ireland average of 69%. Reflecting the rurality of the area, 65% of homes are detached buildings.