One in four people in Northern Ireland admits to holding racist views compared to one in ten 12 years ago, a study undertaken by two universities has found.
The 2005 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey discovered that 25 per cent of people questioned were either very prejudiced (1 per cent) or a little prejudiced (24 per cent) against "people of minority ethnic communities".
In 1994 just over one in 10 reported being either very prejudiced (1 per cent) or a little prejudiced (9 per cent) against "people from other races".
The proportion of Protestants who say that they are prejudiced towards ethnic minorities is almost twice as high as Catholics and those who claim no religion, according to ARK - the Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive - which is a joint research project between Queen's University, Belfast and the University of Ulster.
Between 1994 and 2005 the proportion of Catholics who reported being prejudiced doubled from 9 per cent to 18 per cent, and over the same period the equivalent figure for Protestants almost trebled from 12 per cent to 33 per cent.
Supporters of unionist parties were significantly more likely to say they were prejudiced against minority ethnic communities than supporters of other parties.
Respondents who identified themselves as British (35 per cent) or Ulstermen and women (35 per cent) were more likely to say they were prejudiced than those who identified themselves as Northern Irish (25 per cent) or Irish (15 per cent).
The race questions on the survey were funded by the Equality Commission and the office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister, and could play a part in helping set Assembly policy on race issues, should devolution be fully restored.
The survey also found that respondents who had daily contact with someone from a minority ethnic background were much less likely to report being prejudiced (13 per cent) than those who said they never had any contact (30 per cent).
Dr Chris Gilligan from the University of Ulster, who is launching the report today in Belfast, said there has been a significant shift in perceptions of the growth in racial prejudice in Northern Ireland compared to a decade ago.
"Despite this, it is important to remember that three-quarters of respondents to the 2005 Life and Times survey say that they are not prejudiced at all against people of minority ethnic communities."
