The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) was established as an Executive Agency within the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel on 1 April 1996. NISRA is the principal source of official information of socio-economic conditions in Northern Ireland. The Agency provides statistics and social research services, undertakes the Northern Ireland census of population and administers the civil registration of births, deaths, marriages and adoptions.
 
The overall corporate aims of NISRA are to:
 
■ Provide a statistical and research service to support the decision making by Government in Northern Ireland
and to inform Parliament and the wider community through the dissemination of reliable official statistics; and
 
■ Administer the marriage laws and to provide a system for the civil registration of births, marriages, adoptions
and deaths in Northern Ireland.
 
 
NISRA can be found on the internet at www.nisra.gov.uk