 When Ireland was partitioned in the 1920s and Northern Ireland came into existence, Protestants were roughly 60% of the population, but as a result of higher fertility rates among Catholics, their share of the population has dropped to less than 50% in the 2011 census, while Catholics numbered only slightly fewer than Protestants.There is debate over whether and to what extent this trend will continue and its possible impact on the political situation.Russia fears the "demographic threat" posed by the potential for "large-scale Chinese immigration" to its thinly populated far east.