Census 2001 - the South East and its people

The South East region consists of the 12 Unitary Authorities of Bracknell Forest, Brighton & Hove, Isle of Wight, Medway, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead, and Wokingham plus 55 Local Authorities in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East and West Sussex.

 Work and travel      Marital status and living arrangements      Health    
 Housing and Households      Ethnicity and Religion      Qualifications      Background Notes

The South East region's population of just over eight million has increased by nearly five per cent - 371,000 people - between 1991 and 2001.

Some of the other main points from the census show:

• Milton Keynes grew in population by nearly 29,000 between 1991 and 2001 and Aylesbury Vale gained more than 18,000 people.
• There is a slightly higher proportion of married people (44.7 per cent) and a lower proportion of single people than the average in England.
• 71 per cent of people in the South East consider themselves in 'good health'.
• The average household size is 2.38 people living in a household with an average of 5.57 rooms.
• There are 73 per cent of owner occupiers in the region's households - the highest in England where the average is 68 per cent - and 31 per cent of households are owned outright.
• The South East region has the highest proportion of households in England with three cars or more and the lowest proportion of households with no access to a car or van.
• More then 95 per cent of the population in the South East region are White compared with just under 91 per cent in the country as a whole.
• Nearly three quarters of the population give their religion as Christian, slightly higher than the country as a whole.
• Under a quarter of the population aged 16 to 74 have no qualifications - this is the second fewest in the country after London.

Work and travel

Seventy per cent of people aged 16 to 74 in the South East region are economically active (employed, unemployed but looking for work and students who also work) compared with under 67 per cent of England as a whole and 43.2 per cent of people are in full-time employment compared with 40.8 per cent in England.

There are 12.2 per cent of part-time employees (compared with 11.8 per cent), 9.6 per cent of self employed people (compared with 8.3 per cent) and only 2.3 per cent of unemployed people compared with the country's average of 3.3 per cent.

The highest percentage of employed people (full-time, part-time and self employed) is in Bracknell Forest (72.8 per cent), Rushmoor (72.7 per cent), Basingstoke & Deane (71.6 per cent) and Hart and West Oxfordshire (both 71.4 per cent).

Looking at occupation and industry:

• Elmbridge has the second highest percentage of managers and senior officials in England and Wales (26.2 per cent).
• Oxford has the third highest proportion of professionals in England and Wales (23.4 per cent).
• Thanet and Dover have the highest percentage of those in personal service occupations (11.0 and 10.7 per cent).
• Crawley and Spelthorne have the highest percentage of people in England and Wales who work in the transport, storage and communication industry (over 19 per cent).
• Outside London, Elmbridge, Wokingham & Windsor and Maidenhead have the highest percentage of people in the real estate, renting and business industries (all 22.9 per cent or more).
• Gosport has the second highest proportion of people in the country who work in the public administration and defence industries (18.5 per cent).
• Oxford has the second highest percentage of people working in education (19.7 per cent).
• Eastbourne has the third highest proportion of workers in health and social work (16.5 per cent).

Nearly two thirds of people aged 16 to 74 travel to work by motor vehicle which is a slightly higher proportion than in England as a whole. One in ten people use public transport for the journey to work compared with one in seven in England.

More people travel by bicycle in the South East (3.1 per cent) than the English average of 2.8 per cent but one in ten walk to work - the same as the country as a whole. Slightly more people work from home in the South East - 9.9 per cent compared with 9.2 per cent.

Marital status and living arrangements

Of people aged 16 and over, 44.7 per cent are married, 8.3 per cent re-married, 2.3 per cent separated, 28.4 per cent single, 8.2 per cent divorced and 8.1 per cent widowed. (In 1991, 59.9 per cent were married, re-married and separated, 25.2 per cent were single, 6.1 per cent divorced and 8.7 per cent widowed.)

More than 60 per cent of the adult population in Chiltern, Hart and Fareham are married or re-married. The lowest proportion of married people, in contrast, are in Oxford (35.2 per cent) and Brighton & Hove (36.5 per cent). Reflecting its being a university city, 50 per cent of the people living in Oxford are single (never married) and the next highest proportions of single people are 43 per cent in Brighton & Hove, and 41 per cent in Reading and Southampton. Wealden and Rother has the least number of single people - just over 21 per cent.

The highest proportion of separated and divorced people live in Hastings (nearly 15 per cent) and in Thanet, Eastbourne and Portsmouth (13 per cent). Hastings has the second highest rate of divorced adults in England. The lowest rates for separated and divorced people are found in Chiltern, South Bucks, Oxford, Wokingham, Epsom & Ewell all at around 8 per cent.

Almost one household in four in the South East consists of a married couple with children - slightly higher than the average for England - as is the proportion of married couples with no children (14.1 per cent compared with 13.0 per cent in England).

While there are more unmarried couples without children - 5.2 per cent compared with 4.8 per cent in England - there are fractionally less unmarried couples with children (3.4 per cent) compared with the average in England (3.5 per cent).

The South East region has a lower proportion (28.5 per cent) of households with just one occupier than the country as a whole (30.1 per cent) and a lower rate of lone-parent households as well - 7.9 per cent compared with 9.5 per cent.

However, there are more households in the region made up of all pensioners (9.7 per cent ) compared with 8.9 per cent in England as a whole.

Health

More than 71 per cent of people in the South East consider themselves to be in 'good health' compared with 68.8 per cent in England. Only 7 per cent say they are in 'not good health' which is the lowest proportion in England - the average is 9 per cent.

The South East also has the lowest proportion aged 16-74 who say they have a long-term illness which limits their daily activities - 10.6 per cent compared with the country's average of 13.3 per cent. Thanet has the highest proportion of people in the region with such a limiting long-term illness at 23 per cent. Rother has 22 per cent and the Isle of Wight, Hastings and Eastbourne each have more than 21 per cent.

For the first time people could state if they were providing unpaid care for a family member or friend and how many hours a week they do this for. In the South East 9.2 per cent say they provide unpaid care compared with 9.9 per cent in the country as a whole. Only London has a lower percentage.

Housing and Households

The South East is the English region with has the most occupied houses - some 3,287,000. This is even more than in London which has 3,016,000.

The average household size in the region is 2.38 people and is the second highest in England. Slough has the highest household size in the region and second highest in England at 2.63. Brighton & Hove (2.09 per cent) has the smallest household size in the region.

The South East region has the second highest rate of overcrowded households in England at 5.9 per cent. It is second only to London which has 17 per cent overcrowded homes.

The South East has the lowest percentage of households without access to a car or van - 19.4 per cent compared to the England average of 26.8 per cent. More than two in five households (42.6 per cent) have one car which is less than England's average of 43.7 but 29.6 per cent of households have two cars, considerably more than the country's average of 23.6 per cent.

Ethnicity and Religion

Over 95 per cent of the population of the South East region describe their ethnic group as White compared with just under 91 per cent in England as a whole.

The South East has a similar proportion of mixed White and Asian people to the average for England (0.4 per cent) but a below average proportion of other minority ethnic groups.

Nearly three quarters (72.8 per cent) of the population of the South East region say their religion is Christian, slightly higher than for England as a whole (71.7 per cent). The most common religion after Christian is Muslim with 1.4 per cent of the population. Muslims make up 3.1 per cent of the population of England as a whole. The proportions of Hindus, Jews and Sikhs in the region are also less than the average of England as a whole.

Nearly one in six of the population of the South East say they have no religion, slightly more than in England as a whole and only 7.5 per cent of people did not fill in this voluntary question - about average across the country.

Qualifications

Apart from London, the South East has the highest proportion of people with the equivalent of two A levels or above (31.0 per cent compared with 28.2 per cent in England). Also 21.8 per cent have a degree or professional qualification compared with the country's average of 19.9 per cent.

The region has the lowest proportion in the country of people with no qualifications at 23.9 per cent compared with 28.9 per cent. In Elmbridge, Hart and Wokingham less than 17 per cent of people do not have any qualifications while in Swale and Thanet, 34 per cent do not have qualifications.

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.