Census 2001 - the North East and its people
A decreasing population

The area covered by the North East Government Office region consists of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and Durham.
It also contains the unitary authorities of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees. The last four of these previously formed the county of Cleveland.

 Population      Marital status and living arrangements    
 Country of Birth, Ethnicity and Religion      Health      Work and travel    
 Housing and Households      Qualifications      Background Notes

The North East region of England has lost a greater proportion of its population over the past 10 years than any other region of England or Wales.

Some of the main points for the region show:

• The population decreased by 2.8 per cent - 72,000 people - between 1991 and 2001.
• Nearly 11 per cent of households in the North East are lone parent households. This is slightly higher than the average for England as a whole.
• It is the region with the highest proportion of people giving their religion as Christian. Durham has the highest proportion of Christians among the English counties (over 83 per cent).
• It has lower than average proportions of all minority ethnic groups.
• Just one in fifty people of the North East were born outside the EU, compared to one in fourteen in England as a whole.
• One in eight (12 per cent) of people in the North East are in 'not good health' - the highest among the English regions.
• One in nine (11 per cent) of people in the region provide unpaid care, the highest among the English regions.
• It is the English region with the highest proportion of people who are economically inactive and permanently sick or disabled.
• Sunderland and Easington have the highest proportions of people aged 16 - 74 in sales and customer service occupations in England.
• The North East region has the highest proportion in England of 16-74 year olds with no qualifications.
• Outside London, the North East region has the highest percentage of households who have no access to either a car or a van.

Population

The North East region has about one in 20 of the total population of England. It has a population of 2,515,000 people which is a decrease of 2.8 per cent or 72,000 people from mid-1991 to April 2001.

Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland have seen the greatest loss in population since 1991, each having more than 15,000 fewer residents. The major gainer in the North East over the last ten years has been Stockton-on-Tees, whose resident population has grown by over 3,000.

Berwick-upon Tweed has the highest average age - half of its population are aged 45 years or over, and one in ten are 75 or over. Approximately half the population of Middlesbrough are under the age of 36.

Marital status and living arrangements

The marital status of people in the North East is broadly similar to that of England as a whole. There are higher proportions of married, divorced and widowed people, while there are proportionally fewer people who were single or remarried.

Adults who are married make up 44 per cent while it is 43.5 per cent for England as a whole and there are fewer single people - 29.0 per cent compared with 30.2 per cent.

There are slightly fewer cohabiting households while there are more lone-parent households - 10.8 per cent compared with 9.5 per cent.

Country of Birth, Ethnicity and Religion

Most people in the North East were born in England (94.4 per cent) and the only other group for which it was greater than the average for England was for Scottish-born with 1.9 per cent compared with 1.6 per cent.

This means that only one in 20 people in the North East was born outside England. People born elsewhere in the European Union are not common in the North East and the region has the lowest proportion in England (just 0.9 per cent).

Easington has the lowest proportion in England of people born in Wales, the Irish Republic or outside the EU. The district in the North East with the highest proportion born outside the EU was Newcastle-upon-Tyne (5 per cent).

The North East also has one of the largest proportions of people in the White ethnic group (97.6 per cent) - only the South West has a greater proportion.

Although the North East has lower than average proportions of minority ethnic populations (2.4 per cent compared to 9.1 per cent), there are above average proportions of Pakistanis in some districts.

Over 80 per cent of people living in the North East gave their religion as Christian - the highest proportion in England and Wales. People stating they have no religion are 11.0 per cent compared with 14.6 per cent across England. Muslims are the next biggest religious group amounting to 1.1 per cent compared with 3.1 per cent across the country.

Durham has the highest proportion of Christians among the English counties (over 83 per cent). Looking at district level, Chester-le-Street, Derwentside, Easington and Wear Valley all have over 84 per cent Christian populations.

Newcastle upon Tyne has a higher proportion of non-religious people than the average for England.

Health

In response to a new question in Census 2001, the North East has the highest proportion in the English regions of people who say they are in 'not good health' (12 per cent). This is three percentage points greater than the England average.

In addition nearly 23 per cent of people (572,000) report a limiting long-term illness compared with 18 per cent across England. All local authorities in the region have above average levels of long-term illness. All districts apart from Tynedale and Alnwick have above average rates of 'not good health'.

Easington, Derwentside, Sedgefield and Wansbeck are among the 20 local authorities with the highest rates of both 'not good health' and limiting long-term illness.

Reflecting this evidence of poorer than average health the North East has the highest rate among English regions of people providing unpaid care (11 per cent). A quarter of the carers (69,000 people) are providing care for more than 50 hours a week.

Easington ranks second among the English districts for the proportion of people providing unpaid care (over 12 per cent).

Work and travel

The North East is the English region with the highest proportion of people who are economically inactive (38.7 per cent) including those permanently sick or disabled (9.0 per cent).

People in work amount to 55 per cent of whom only 5.3 per cent are self-employed compared with 8.3 per cent for England as a whole. The region also has 15.0 per cent retired people compared with 13.5 per cent across England.

Sunderland and Easington have the highest proportions of people aged 16 - 74 in sales and customer service occupations in England. Sedgefield and Easington are among the top four districts in England for people working as process, plant and machine operatives.

Durham is in the top three districts for the proportion of people working in the education sector and Wansbeck has the second highest rate of people in health and social work.

Most people in the region travel to work by motor vehicle (65.7 per cent) and fewer people than average use public transport (14.0 per cent) or work from home (7.7 per cent). Slightly more than average (10.2 per cent) walk to work.

The proportion of motor vehicle users varies from 54 per cent in Newcastle upon Tyne to 74 per cent in Chester-le-Street, while over 20 per cent of people travel to work by public transport in Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and South Tyneside.

Outside London, the North East region has the highest percentage of households with no access to either a car or a van - 35.9 per cent compared with 26.8 per cent for England.

One-car households at 43.1 per cent is near the England average of 43.7 per cent but there are far fewer households with access to two or more vehicles - 21.0 per cent compared with 29.5 per cent for England.

Housing and Households

The average household size in the region is 2.32 which is smaller than the England average of 2.36 and it also has fewer overcrowded homes.

More than one in five households in the North East rent from the council - considerably more than the average (13.2 per cent). There are also fewer owner occupiers in the North East (63.2 per cent) compared with England (68.1 per cent).

Qualifications

More than one person in three of 16-74 year olds in the North East (34.7 per cent) has no qualifications - far more than the national average of 28.9 per cent. This is the highest proportion of all the English regions. Among local authority districts, Easington had the second highest proportion in England of 16-74 year olds without qualifications.

Conversely, the region has the lowest proportion with degrees or professional qualifications. The proportions range from 9 per cent in Easington to 26 per cent in Castle Morpeth.

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.