More than 200,000 people born outside Northern Ireland now call it home, according to the latest census results released yesterday.
The statistics show that 202,010 people who ordinarily reside in Northern Ireland were born elsewhere, some 11 per cent of the population.
Of the population born outside Northern Ireland 41 per cent were born in Britain, 18.7 per cent in the Republic of Ireland and 22.5 per cent elsewhere in the EU, while 17.8 per cent were from other countries.
The resident population born elsewhere grew by over 51,000 people in the 10 years since the last census, an increase from 9 per cent of the population in 2001 to 11 per cent in 2011.
The growth was largely due to inward migration by people born in the 12 countries which have joined the European Union since 2004.
These EU accession countries accounted for 2 per cent of people usually resident in Northern Ireland on Census Day 2011, compared to 0.1 per cent in 2001.
Of the usually resident population 1.8 per cent, or 32,400 people, belonged to minority ethnic groups in 2011, more than double the proportion in 2001. English was not the main language for 3.1 per cent of residents aged 3 years and over.
The most prevalent main language other than English was Polish, which was the main language of 17,700 people or 1 per cent. Lithuanian was the main language spoken by 6,300 people or 0.4 per cent and Irish was the main language of 4,200 people or 0.2 per cent. Ninety-three per cent of usual residents born in the North have never lived elsewhere.