Over 8% of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland speak a language other than English at home, according to new figures from the Education Minister Paul Givan.
The Minister gave the figures in response to a written question put forward by his DUP colleague Michelle McIlveen.
The data shows a significant degree of variation between each of Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies, with under 4% in areas such as Foyle and Strangford, compared to nearly 19% in South Belfast.
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Michelle McIlveen had requested a breakdown on the number of Northern Ireland pupils who don't speak English "as their first language".
The Minister, however, said his department doesn't hold records of pupils' first languages.
Instead, he outlined the number of pupils who speak a language other than English at home, saying: "Having a home language other than English does not mean that English is not your first language."
The figures show that, of the 342,317 pupils at primary, post primary and special schools in Northern Ireland, 29,642 were recorded as speaking something other than English at home, or 8.7%.
The area with the highest proportion is the Belfast South and Mid Down constituency, with 3,176 pupils making up 18.9% of the total.
Strangford had the lowest proportion at 3.5%, followed by Foyle at 3.7%, East Londonderry at 4.1% and East Antrim at 4.1%.
The following table outlines the figures provided by the Minister, and published on the Assembly website, in full.
Belfast East
Total enrolment 16,486 Pupils without English as home language 2,157 (13.1%)Belfast North
Total enrolment 19,408 Pupils without English as home language 2,020 (10.4%)Belfast South and Mid Down
Total enrolment 16,795 Pupils without English as home language 3,176 (18.9%)Belfast West
Total enrolment 20,657 Pupils without English as home language 1,602 (18.9%)East Antrim
Total enrolment 15,775 Pupils without English as home language 648 (4.1%)East Londonderry
Total enrolment 17,538 Pupils without English as home language 720 (4.1%)Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Total enrolment 21,356 Pupils without English as home language 3,142 (14.7%)Foyle
Total enrolment 19,019 Pupils without English as home language 697 (3.7%)Lagan Valley
Total enrolment 20,137 Pupils without English as home language 1,419 (7%)Mid Ulster
Total enrolment 20,675 Pupils without English as home language 20,675 (8.1%)Newry and Armagh
Total enrolment 22,452 Pupils without English as home language 2,446 (10.9%)North Down
Total enrolment 15,635 Pupils without English as home language 15,635 (4.5%)South Antrim
Total enrolment 19,193 Pupils without English as home language 1,288 (6.7%)South Down
Total enrolment 20,388 Pupils without English as home language 925 (4.5%)Strangford
Total enrolment 16,134 Pupils without English as home language 569 (3.5%)Upper Bann
Total enrolment 23,995 Pupils without English as home language 3,826 (16.6%West Tyrone
Toyal enrolment 18,871 Pupils without English as home language 969 (5.1%)Missing/ Invalid address
Total enrolment 960 Pupils without English as home language 230 (24%)Northern Ireland Total
Enrolment 342,317 Pupils without English as first language 29,642 (8.7%)For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
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