Belfast East extends from the eastern side of inner Belfast out through suburban districts toward Dundonald. Its 2024 boundary includes areas such as Ballymacarrett, Bloomfield, Connswater, Cregagh, Belmont, Knock, Stormont and Sydenham, together with several wards in Lisburn and Castlereagh including Dundonald and Carrowreagh. The constituency therefore combines dense inner-city neighbourhoods, established residential suburbs and areas closer to Belfast’s eastern edge. To the north it reaches the Belfast Lough side of the city, including Sydenham and the area around Belfast City Airport. Victoria Park, beside the Connswater River in east Belfast, is one of the area’s notable open spaces. Overall, the seat has a varied urban character, moving from neighbourhoods close to central Belfast to lower-density communities further east.
Election data comes from UK Parliament. Turnout percentage is calculated by Project Open Gov from Parliament's turnout and electorate figures.
People and place
A population and household snapshot for Belfast East, using validated House of Commons Library constituency datasets.
Estimated population103,393
EstimateMid-2024 estimate
Region / nationNorthern Ireland
Age profile
0 to 1720.7% · 21,434 people
18 to 246.3% · 6,476 people
25 to 3415.3% · 15,799 people
35 to 4921.8% · 22,508 people
50 to 6419.0% · 19,639 people
65 and over17.0% · 17,537 people
Population figures are mid-2024 estimates from the House of Commons Library. Project Open Gov calculates the estimated population shown above by summing the six published age-band counts. View population source ↗
Home ownership and renting
Housing tenure shows how households in this constituency described their home at the most recent census.
46,541 householdsCensus 2021
Home owners59.1% · 27,494 households
Private renters18.5% · 8,630 households
Social renters19.9% · 9,242 households
Other tenure2.5% · 1,175 households
“Other tenure” combines shared ownership and households recorded as living rent free.
Housing-tenure figures come from the most recent census: 2021 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2022 in Scotland. View housing-tenure source ↗
Household composition
A broad view of household types in this constituency. Project Open Gov uses the four broad groups supplied by the Commons Library so the presentation remains consistent across the UK.
46,542 householdsCensus 2021
One-person households36.7% · 17,083 households
Families with dependent children26.1% · 12,134 households
Other single-family households33.1% · 15,424 households
Other household types4.1% · 1,901 households
Household-composition figures come from the Commons Library constituency dataset. The source uses census data and Project Open Gov displays its broad household groups rather than attempting to harmonise the detailed categories itself. View household-composition source ↗
Disability and day-to-day activities
The source records whether day-to-day activities are limited and uses separate person-level tables for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
102,279 people in the source baseCensus 2021Source comparison: Northern Ireland
Day-to-day activities limited a lot11.3% · 11,561 people
Day-to-day activities limited a little13.5% · 13,763 people
Non-disabled75.2% · 76,955 people
Comparison note: the workbook uses different source terminology across the UK: England & Wales uses “Disabled under the Equality Act”, while Scotland and Northern Ireland use “Disabled” / “Non-disabled”. Project Open Gov therefore preserves the source categories and does not present them as one single like-for-like UK legal definition.
Disability figures come from the Commons Library constituency workbook. This profile uses the person-level tables only; the workbook also contains separate household-level disability tables which are not used here. View disability source ↗
Petitions
Open UK Government and Parliament petitions that have reached at least 10,000 signatures nationally, ranked here by the number of signatures recorded in this constituency.
Petition signatures are not a poll and do not show what the constituency as a whole thinks. A person can also sign more than one petition.
Open petitionCloses 12 September 2026
Make a public animal abuser register & automatically ban ownership
Signatures in this constituency307
Signatures nationally244,689
Government response published · Debate scheduled for 29 June 2026
Signature counts come from the official UK Government and Parliament petitions data and may change while a petition remains open. Browse official petitions ↗
Funding and local projects
National Lottery grants awarded to organisations recorded in this parliamentary constituency since 4 July 2024.
The constituency is based on the recipient organisation recorded in the source data. The funded activity may sometimes take place across a wider area.
Grants recorded188
Total awarded£9,418,346
Most recent awards
National Lottery grantAwarded 29 June 2026
Travel Awards for Bands
The Loyal Flute Band
£5,000
Arts Council of Northern Ireland · Arts
About this award
London 2026
National Lottery grantAwarded 24 June 2026
#HP Launching the Belfast Historic Waterfront
Maritime Belfast Trust
£689,288
The National Lottery Heritage Fund · Heritage
About this award
We will kickstart the transformation of Belfast Historic Waterfront into a vibrant and inclusive place where the River Lagan becomes a celebrated gateway to the city’s maritime story. Leading by example, we will build momentum, protecting irreplaceable heritage including the Caisson Gate, three historic steam cranes and at-risk oral histories, ensuring these assets and stories are preserved before they disappear. Three Heritage Engagement Officers will be embedded in local neighbourhoods to build trust, strengthen skills and empower communities to influence change. A new Waterfront Community Heritage Forum will ensure local voices lead decisions and shape priorities for future delivery. Working with anchor institutions, we will audit built, natural and social heritage to guide investment and maximise impact. Through restoration, community engagement and collaborative planning, we will map our Heritage Place journey to create a world-class waterfront where heritage breathes, shapes and reshapes the future for everyone.
National Lottery grantAwarded 24 June 2026
Ulster Tower Connected Youth and Community
Ulster Tower Street Community Development Association
£20,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Ulster Tower Street Community Development Association - Community - Awards for All Northern Ireland
National Lottery grantAwarded 22 June 2026
EastSide Arts Community Events
EastSide Arts
£20,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
EastSide Arts - Community - Awards for All Northern Ireland
National Lottery grantAwarded 22 June 2026
We Care - Wellbeing Empowerment & Community Assistance for Residents Engagement
Phoenix Education Centre CIC
£20,000
The National Lottery Community Fund · Charitable and Community including Health, Education and Environment
About this award
Phoenix Education Centre CIC - Community - Awards for All Northern Ireland
183 more awards are available.
Source: DCMS National Lottery Grants Database. The figures shown cover awards from 4 July 2024 to 1 July 2026. View official grants data ↗
Consent on Project Open Gov
We use essential cookies to make this website work.
We would also like to use optional cookies to understand how people use the site and to manage embedded third-party content where it is used.
You can accept optional cookies, reject them, or manage your preferences.
Essential cookies
Always active
These cookies are needed for the website to work properly, including security, basic site functions, caching, forms and cookie preference settings. They are always active.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Analytics cookies
These optional cookies help us understand how people use Project Open Gov, such as which pages are visited and how the site is reached. We use this information to improve the website. Analytics cookies are only used if you agree.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
External media cookies
These optional cookies may be used when third-party embedded content is loaded, such as videos or social media content. Project Open Gov does not use these cookies for advertising or remarketing.
