LONDONDERRY is the poorest place in Northern Ireland when compared with twenty-five other District Council areas. One in three people living in the Derry City Council area are deprived.
Rated on two key poverty indicators, Londonderry recorded the worst level of economic deprivation in the province by District Council.
In Derry City Council 36,956 people were categorised as "income deprived" (34.7 per cent) and 13,545 people were d
escribed as "employment deprived" (21.9 per cent) under the NI Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005.
The North West was thus confirmed as Northern Ireland's poorest area by Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster in response to a written question in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Other Councils in the North West also posted grim deprivation figures. In Strabane 31.7 per cent people were "income deprived" and 22.5 per cent were "employment deprived." In Limavady the figures were 22.9 per cent and 16.2 per cent.
When measured by parliamentary constituency Foyle posted the third worst deprivation figures in the province just behind North and West Belfast.
The Foyle constituency - which mirrors the Derry City Council area - almost matched the figures for the poorest areas in Northern Ireland: West Belfast (3 9,709 income deprived/12,889 employment deprived) and North Belfast (30,450 income deprived/10,569 employment deprived).
Asked to provide figures on "economic disadvantage" the Minister stated: "Estimates of 'economic disadvantage' are based on the income and employment domains of the 2005 Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure.
"These domains are not mutually exclusive i.e. one person may be counted as both 'income deprived' and 'employment deprived' depending on their circumstances. It is therefore not possible to provide a single measure of the number living in 'economic disadvantage.'"
