2011 Census Key Statistics – Medway summary January 2013
This Census note provides a summary of Medway level Key Statistics that
were published in December 2012. Further detail is available in supporting
tables that accompany this note.
Medway has become more ethnically diverse, with rising numbers of people
identifying with minority ethnic groups in 2011. Despite the White British ethnic
group decreasing in size since 2001, it is still the majority ethnic group that people
identify with.
The ‘white’ ethnic group in Medway accounts for 90 per cent of residents in 2011,
against 86 per cent in England and Wales. In Medway the majority of these
belonged to the ‘White British’ group (86 per cent of the total population, 225,700).
The number of residents who stated that their religion was Christian in 2011 was
fewer than in 2001. The size of this group decreased 14 percentage points to 58 per
cent in 2011 from 72 per cent in 2001. The size of the group who stated that they
had no religious affiliation increased by 13 percentage points, from 17 per cent in
2001 to 30 per cent in 2011.
In 2011, four out of every five (82 per cent) of Medway residents described
themselves as being in ‘good’ or ‘very good’ health, against 81% nationally, while
just over 43,400 people in Medway reported that their daily activities are limited by
the condition of their health.
Just under ten per cent (25,000) of residents in Medway provided unpaid care for
someone with an illness or disability – up on 2001 when around 8.7 per cent
provided care.
There were just under 8,400 lone parents with dependent children in Medway, that
represents 10 per cent of all households. Forty-four per cent (3,681) of this group
are not in employment.
Of the 11 per cent (27,300) of residents of Medway on 27 March 2011 who were
born outside of the UK, just under half (13,100) arrived in the last 10 years.
Sixty-eight per cent (almost 72,000) of households owned their own home in 2011,
either with a mortgage or loan, or outright. While this is above the national level of
home ownership at 64 per cent, in Medway this is a decrease of seven percentage
points since 2001, against a five per cent decrease nationally.
Cohabiting couples in Medway account for 13.1 per cent of the population, which is
above the national level at 11.9 per cent. In Medway there are 359 people living in a
registered same sex civil partnership.
The number of cars and vans available for use by households in Medway increased
from just under 119,000 to just over 133,000 between 2001 and 2011, an increase
of 12 percent. The proportion of households with access to ‘no cars’ or ‘one car’
declined over the decade, while the proportion with two or more cars rose in
Medway.
Development policy and engagement 1 Ethnicity
Most residents of Medway belonged to the White ethnic group (90 per cent) in 2011, against 86 per
cent in England and Wales. In Medway the majority of these residents belonged to the White British
group (86 per cent of the total population, 225,700). In London in 2011, 45 per cent (3.7 million) out of
8.2 million usual residents were White British.
The White ethnic group in Medway accounted for 89.6 per cent of the usual resident population in
2011, a decrease from 94.6 per cent in 2001.
White British and White Irish decreased between 2001 and 2011, by 4,475 and 370 respectively. All
other ethnic groups increased. ‘Other White’ background had the largest increase of +4,849 followed by
‘African‘ (+4,071) then Indian (+2,099).
Across the English regions and Wales, London was the most ethnically diverse area and Wales the
least.
Ethnic group - Medway and England & Wales 2011
100
90
89.6
85.9
80
% of ppoulation
70
60
50
40
30
20
7.5
10
5.2
2.0
2.5
2.2
3.4
0.7
1.0
0
White
Mixed/multiple ethnic group
Asian/Asian British
Medway
Black/African/Caribbean/Black
British
Other ethnic group
England & Wales
Development policy and engagement 2 International migration
Two key variables have been used to define international migrants: country of birth and passports held
(to determine nationality).
In 2011, 11 per cent (27,300) of usual residents of Medway were born outside the UK, - just over half
(13,100) of this group arrived in the last ten years. In 2001 6.2 per cent (15,500) of the resident
population were born outside the UK.
The most common non-UK countries of birth for usual residents of Medway in 2011 were, within
Europe; Poland (1,731), Ireland (1,725) and Germany (1,542), then further a field; India (3,812) and
Nigeria (1,527).
There were 16,700 non-UK passports held by usual residents of Medway in 2011,accounting for 6 per
cent of the resident population. Of these just under half (8,000) were EU (non-UK) passports.
Of the 10 per cent (25,600) of residents of Medway on 27 March 2011 who were born outside of the
UK, just over half (13,100) arrived in the last 10 years.
All regions in England and Wales showed an increase in usual residents born outside the UK between
2001 and 2011; the largest numerical increases were in London and the South East. London had both
the largest proportion of usual residents born outside the UK (37 per cent of its resident population) and
non-UK nationals (24 per cent of its resident population).
Some people born abroad will be UK citizens, either because their parents were UK citizens overseas
at the time of their birth, or because they have been granted UK citizenship since arriving.
Across England and Wales, the ten local authorities with the highest proportions of both non-UK born
and non-UK nationals in their resident population were all London boroughs.
Country of Birth - Medw ay (top 20 Countries) 2011
4,500
4,000
3,812
3,500
No of residents
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,731 1,725
1,542 1,527
1,500
1,000
500
743 737 692
601 587
480 465 421 395 370 334
333 329 308
305
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Development policy and engagement 3 Religion
In the 2011 Census, Christianity was by far the largest religion, with 152,600 Christians (57.8 per cent
of the population) in Medway. The second largest religious group were Muslims with 5,200 people (2.0
per cent of the population).
Just under 79,000 people – 30 per cent of the population - in Medway reported they have no religion in
2011, compared with just over one quarter of residents in England and Wales.
The religion question was the only voluntary question on the 2011 census; 7 per cent of people in
Medway did not answer the question.
Between 2001 and 2011 there has been a decrease in people who identify as Christian (from 72 per
cent to 57.8 per cent) and an increase in those reporting no religion from 16.7 per cent to 29.9 per cent.
There were increases in the other main religious groups, with the number of Muslims increasing the
most (from 1.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent).
In 2011, London was the most diverse region with the highest proportion of people identifying
themselves as Muslim, Buddist, Hindu and Jewish. The North East and North West had the highest
proportion of Christians and Wales had the highest proportion of people reporting no religion.
Knowsley (Merseyside) was the local authority with the highest proportion of people reporting to be
Christians at 80.9 per cent and Tower Hamlets had the highest proportion of Muslims at 34.5 per cent
(over 7 times the England and Wales figure). Norwich had the highest proportion of the population
reporting no religion at 42.5 per cent.
Religion - Medw ay 2001 and 2011
80.0
72.0
70.0
% of population
60.0
57.8
50.0
40.0
29.9
30.0
16.7
20.0
7.8 6.8
10.0
0.2 0.4
0.7 1.0
0.1 0.1
1.0 2.0
1.2 1.5
0.3 0.5
Buddhist
Hindu
Jew ish
Muslim
Sikh
Other
religion
0.0
Christian
2001
No religion
Religion not
stated
2011
Development policy and engagement 4 Further information:
The main difference in the 2011 Census questionnaire over the 2001 version was in the topics
covered. There were eight new topics: Bedrooms, Type of central heating, Second address, Month
and year of arrival in the UK, Intended length of stay in the UK, National Identity, Passports held,
and Main language.
Further 2011 Census data will be released at the following times:
 Second release November 2012 – February 2013: Key and Quick statistics (Univariate – i.e.
single characteristic). First phase lower layer superout area, second phase wards.
Due for publication on 30 January 2013 (107 tables) which will include the full package of
key and quick statistics for the output area hierarchy, as well as for wards and parishes.
 Third release March 2013 – June 2013: Local Characteristics (Multivariate - i.e. Cross
tabulations of characteristics).
 Fourth release July 2013 – October 2013: Detailed Characteristics, Theme and Armed Forces
(Multivariate - more detailed cross tabulations of characteristics).
See Census homepage for more details:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html
Definitions:
White British 2011 census tick box is labelled as ‘White English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British.
Census estimate of usual residents - The census estimate of usual residents, by age group and
sex.
Usual resident - Anyone who, on 27 March 2011, was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay
in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK
and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.
Census estimate of households - The census estimate of total households occupied by at least one
usual resident.
Short-term UK residents - Anyone born outside the UK who has stayed or intends to stay in the UK
for a period of three months or more but less than twelve months.
For further Census defintions go to:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/census-data/2011-census-userguide/glossary/index.html
This document has been produced by:
Development Policy & Engagement Team
Regeneration, Community and Culture
Medway Council, Civic Headquarters
Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent
ME4 4TR
For further information contact:
Tim Stephens, Senior Research Officer
Telephone 01634 331533 E-mail [email protected]
Development policy and engagement 5