The population of England and Wales exceeds 56 million

The Office for National Statistics estimates the population of England and Wales on Census day 2011 at 56.1 million. The first output from the 2011 census shows that the population of England and Wales increased by 3.7 million between 2001 and 2011. This is the largest increase between censuses since the first census in 1801.

The population of England and Wales has risen by approximately 50% since 1911 - so for every two people in 1911 there were three in 2011, and the population is ageing; the median age of the population increased from 25 in 1911 to 39 in 2011. In 2011 one in six people in England and Wales was aged 65+. Of these, 430,000 were aged 90 and over, compared with only 13,000 in 1911.

Figures suggest that over half of the increase in population between 2001 and 2011 (55%) is due to immigration, while 45% is due to births exceeding the number of deaths - a combination of people living longer and because more women in the population are of childbearing age. Read CPC Director Professor Jane Falkingham comments on this in The Independent.

In an interview to BBC News, Jane also discusses some of the reasons behind the Census finding a higher number of women than men in England and Wales. Women outliving men and men being less likely to fill out the Census form go some way to explaining this.

More detailed results from the 2011 Census will be out later this year.

Read the full ONS press release here.

Posted 19/07/2012 14:47