2011 Census shows marked increase in population aged 65 and over

Friday, 20 July 2012

Results from the 2011 Census, (published 16 July 2012) have shown that in the past decade, the percentage of Hampshire's population aged over 65 has increased by 21 per cent with the proportion aged 85 up by 35 per cent, compared to an overall population growth in the county of 6 per cent.

The county's labour force is also getting older with a growth of 16% in the population age group of 45 to 64 years. Yet the number aged 20 to 44 years old has decreased by 4%.

Third largest shire county

Hampshire remains the third largest shire county in England (after Kent and Essex) with the population now standing at 1.32 million, up by 78,000 since 2001.

Valuable resource helps to plan provision

Councillor Ken Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council, said:

"This information is a valuable resource, giving us a snapshot view of the whole population at a single point in time, helping us to understand the needs of different people in our communities and to plan provision for those who most need our services.

"At this stage, information from the census is limited to population and household estimates for the various local authority areas. It is reassuring to see however, that the initial results from the 2011 Census are in line with our own forecasts. We will analyse the Census results in more detail however and use the information it provides to inform our decisions and plans for local services including schools, transport and adult social care.

"It is no surprise the Census has shown that Hampshire's ageing population is growing. This is something our own forecasts have highlighted and is one of the main reasons why, this year, we made a commitment to invest £45 million into Extra Care Housing which offers housing solutions for an older population - helping individuals maintain independence and avoiding expensive care in residential homes.

"The drop in the population numbers for those 44 years old and younger has real implications for the future for us, as the available workforce diminishes and the number of those entering retirement expands. This is likely to bring further challenges for us and added pressures in the area of adult social care, since the number of people requiring support as they get older will almost certainly grow too."

The Census is one of the main ways of accurately measuring change across the whole population. The second phase of statistics will be released between November 2012 and February 2013 and will contain a wider range of data and more detail for local areas.

Census 2011 data for Hampshire can be viewed online at: Hampshire Census .

Further background information

1. Census 2011

The 2011 Census took place on 27 March 2011. Nationally, 25 million census questionnaires were posted out to households in England and Wales. For the first time, people had the choice of completing the questionnaire and returning it by post or submitting their information online.

The data available from 16 July 2012 is limited to population estimates by five year age bands rounded to the nearest 100.

2. Hampshire County Council Estimates

Between Censuses, Hampshire County Council produces its own estimates of the population which are used across the public sector in Hampshire for service panning purposes. The County Council's population forecasts are based on previous census data together with information about housing developments, births and deaths, as well as statistical information that is shared with us by the National Health Service (NHS).

• National data is available from the Office of National Statistics

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