Census 2001 - East of England and its people
The fastest growing region

East England GOR comprises four Unitary Authorities
 Luton UA
 Peterborough UA
 Southend-on-Sea UA
 Thurrock UA
and 44 Local Authorities in the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

 Population     Families     Housing     Country of birth    
 Ethnicity and Religion     Health     Economic activity     Work and transport     Occupation and Industry     Background Notes

The population of the East of England is 5,388,000 - an increase of 5.2 per cent (267,000 people) from 1991. It is the fastest growing region in England.

Some of the main points from the census show:

• The East has higher proportions of people aged 45 and over than the England average.
• The region has just 11.8 per cent in their 20s compared with 12.7 per cent in England as a whole.
• The proportion of single people in East England is lower than the average for England as a whole, and the proportions of married and re-married people are higher.
• The region has a lower proportion of people in 'not good health' than the average for England, and fewer with a limiting long-term illness or who are permanently sick or disabled.
• Highest percentage of people who travel to work by bicycle (3.9 per cent) - the percentage of people in Cambridge who travel to work by bicycle was 25.9 per cent.
• In the East of England, over 95 per cent of people identified themselves as White compared to 91 per cent in England as a whole.
• In response to the new religion question nearly 28 per cent of people in Norwich state they have no religion, the highest proportion in England.
• The East region has a high percentage of owner-occupiers, 72.2 per cent compared with 68.1 per cent for England.
• East England has a higher proportion of people who work part-time than any other region, 12.5 per cent compared with 11.8 per cent for England.

Population

The region had a population of nearly 5.4 million people on Census day, comprising 11.0 per cent of the total population of England.

There have been increases of over 10 per cent in the populations of eight local authorities in the region: East Cambridgeshire, Malden, Breckland, Fenland, Broadland, Thurrock, Braintree and Tendring.

The age structure of people living in East England is typical of England as a whole, but Tendring (26.0 per cent) and North Norfolk (25.4 per cent) rank in the top ten for people aged 65 and over.

The proportions of people in their 20s was lower for East England (11.8 per cent) than England as a whole (12.7 per cent). North Norfolk ranked fourth lowest in England for under-5s - 4.4 per cent of its population compared with the England average of 6.0 per cent.

Cambridge has the lowest proportion of children under 15 in the region (13.8 per cent), but has the highest proportion in England for 18-19 years olds (5.2 per cent). Cambridge has 15.5 per cent in the 20-24 age group, second only to Oxford - both of which have big student populations.

Families

The percentage of households containing only one person in East England is 28.3 per cent, compared with the average of 30.1 per cent for England.

The percentage of married couple households with children is 25.1 per cent - the average for England is 23.5 per cent.

Norwich ranks second in the country for the proportion of cohabiting couples (11 per cent). Lone-parent households comprise 8.0 per cent in the East England region compared with the average for England 9.5 per cent.

The proportion of single people in East England (27.1 per cent) is lower than the average for England 30.2 per cent. However, 49 per cent of Cambridge's population is single, the highest proportion apart from Oxford and parts of Inner London.

The percentage of divorced people was the same as the average for England (8.2 per cent), however over 10 per cent of the population of Norwich and Great Yarmouth is divorced.

The proportion of widowed people in East England (8.1 per cent) is similar to England (8.3 per cent). However, Tendring ranks second in England for widowed people, who form 12.3 per cent of its population. Tendring also ranks fourth for one-pensioner households, which form more than 21 per cent of its households.

Housing

The East region has an average household size of 2.37, compared to 2.36 for England. The average number of rooms for households in the region is 5.5, compared to 5.3 for England. The percentage of households that are defined as overcrowded is 5.2 per cent, compared to 7.1 per cent for England.

The percentage of households who rent from a social landlord (such as a Council or Housing Association) is 16.5 per cent and 10.8 per cent rent from a private landlord.

Country of birth

In East England, 89.9 per cent of people were born in England compared with 91.1 per cent in 1991. Fewer people in the region were born in the EU other than the UK (2.3 per cent) than the average for England (2.4 per cent). Forest Heath has the highest proportion in the region of people born outside the UK - 23 per cent - Waveney has the lowest - 2.8 per cent.

Ethnicity and Religion

In East England, 95.1 per cent of people identify themselves as being White compared with 91.0 per cent in England as a whole.

There is a relatively low proportion of people from minority ethnic groups although 1.1 per cent of the population is from various mixed ethnicities compared with 1.4 per cent across the country.

The largest other minority ethnic group in the region is Indian which accounts for 1.0 per cent of the population, half the average for England.

The proportion of people who say they are Christian is slightly higher in East England (72.1 per cent) than in England as a whole (71.7 per cent). The proportion of other religions is lower than the England average for all religions apart from Jewish (0.6 per cent).

The highest proportion of people who state they have no religion is in Norwich (27.8 per cent), the highest proportion in England. Cambridge ranks third with 26.6 per cent having no religion.

Health

East England (7.6 per cent) has a lower proportion of people in 'not good health' than the average for England (9.0 per cent), and fewer with a limiting long-term illness or who are permanently sick or disabled, 16.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively. The proportion of people with a limiting illness increased from 10 per cent in 1991 to 16 per cent in 2001.

The proportion of adults under-75 who are unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability rose in the same period from 2.7 per cent to 3.9 per cent. South Cambridge has the lowest proportion of people in the region that are in 'not good health' (5.6 per cent).

Tendring, which has the highest proportion of over 65s in the East, ranks highest in the region for people with 'not good health' (11.2 per cent), limiting long term illness (24.0 per cent), permanently sick or disabled (6.9 per cent) and unpaid carers (11.2 per cent). Great Yarmouth ranks second in the region on the first three of these indicators.

East England (70.4 per cent) has a higher proportion of people who say their health is 'good' than the average for England (68.8 per cent), and lower proportions in all the categories relating to poor health.

Economic activity

The proportion of people in East England in work is 64.3 per cent, higher than the average for England (60.9 per cent).

North Norfolk has the highest proportion of retired people in the region - 21.8 per cent compared to 14.0 per cent for the East region and 13.5 per cent for England as a whole.

Work and transport

Almost two-thirds of people (66.3 per cent) in the region travel to work by motor vehicle, higher than the average for the whole of England (62.7 per cent).

Fewer than one in nine of workers use public transport compared to one in seven in the whole of England.

East England has a higher proportion of people that work mainly from home (9.4 per cent). The average for England is 9.2 per cent.

Access to a car of van was high in the East of England. Only one in five households has no access to either a car or a van. This compares to one in four households for England. Over 72 per cent of households own or have access to either one or two cars, 7.8 per cent have three cars or more.

Occupation and Industry

In East England, 10.8 per cent of people in employment work in professional occupations, less than the average for England of 11.2 per cent.

Cambridge, however, has the second highest proportion in England in these occupations (28.0 per cent) after the City of London.

The region has a higher proportion in construction (7.6 per cent) than England as a whole (6.8 per cent) and Castle Point has over one in 10 employed in the construction industry, the highest in England.

Background Notes

1. Census day was 29 April 2001. Census data give a snapshot picture of the country at this time. Population counts by age and sex for England and Wales, Wales, regions of England and English and Welsh local authorities were published on 30 September 2002.

2. The Office for National Statistics is responsible for the census in England and Wales. The Census in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is carried out by the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency respectively. Census data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are released separately.

3. Detailed Census results published today are mainly for England and Wales and its regions and local authorities. Individual press releases are available for Wales and each of the nine English Government Office Regions: North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, South West, South East, London and the East. Press releases covering six key Census topic areas are also issued today: Ethnicity and religion, Families, Health, Households, People and places, Work. Census data published today are available free on the National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk/census/

4. Further releases of Census data will take place through Spring and Summer 2003. In March/April there will be cross-tabulated data, followed by data down to small area/ward level. In the summer will begin a series of multi-source topic reports which draw upon other sources in addition to census to provide detailed pictures of specific topics and areas.

5. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the press office.

6. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. © Crown copyright 2003.