Suffolk in statistics: How population, age and ethnicity figures help paint a picture of our county
If the coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that community is important as ever. But how much do you actually know about Suffolk and the people within it?
Did you know, for example, that more than 750,000 live in the county from the heath of Newmarket to the coastline at Felixstowe, or that 56 per cent of the population is made up of women?
Did you know the 56-65 age range is the most prevalent?
Over the course of the year, Suffolk News will look at all aspects of the county using the Suffolk Observatory as the main source of information.
The Suffolk Observatory contains all of Suffolk’s vital statistics and compiles data from Suffolk Police, to the county council and district bodies. Through the numbers, the Observatory provides a picture of the county across all areas.
The Observatory was created around 10 years ago and is currently provided by a company called ESRI.
It contains some pre-built reports but also has the flexibility to create bespoke maps and reports – such as the Suffolk boundaries map or electoral division profiles.
It also has the ability to drill-down into data and create custom area reports.
Each month, we will use the extensive data within the Observatory to reveal a swathe of information about Suffolk, from housing and levels of deprivation to how the county’s economy is performing.
We will take you through crime and reveal there were 48,660 crime reports between December 2020 and November last year.
Not only that, but we will cover children and young people and health and social care.
And we will reveal employment levels while looking ahead to 2023 at the end of the year.
For all you need to know on the county and the numbers that matter, look no further.
Age
According to ONS data from 2020, East Suffolk has the oldest age profile of all the Suffolk districts, with 27.7 per cent of the population estimated to be over the age of 65.
Babergh follows with 26.5 per cent of its population over 65, and Mid Suffolk is next with 24.8 per cent of its residents in the oldest age category.
Some 21.6 per cent of West Suffolk’s population is estimated to be above the age of 65.
And Ipswich has the smallest percentage of its population in the oldest age category at 17.1 per cent, close to England's 18.5 per cent.
In Suffolk as a whole, 23.8 of the public is believed to be over 65.
This means that Ipswich has age trends typical of the nation at large, while West Suffolk’s older population is more in line with the regional average.
Ethnicity
People from a large number of ethnic backgrounds live and work in Suffolk, although the population, even in the major towns, overwhelmingly self-identifies as white - according to data from the ONS census in 2011.
In West Suffolk, 94.6 per cent of people were white, while 1.8 per cent were described as Asian or Asian British, another 1.8 per cent as of mixed heritage, 1.3 per cent as black, Afro-Caribbean, African or black British.
In Babergh (97.8 per cent), East Suffolk (97.1 per cent) and Mid Suffolk (97.9 per cent), an even larger proportion of the population were white.
In Babergh, 0.8 per cent of people were described as Asian or Asian British, 0.3 per cent were black, Afro-Caribbean, African or black British, and 0.9 per cent were of mixed heritage.
Meanwhile, in East Suffolk, 1.2 per cent were Asian or Asian British, 1.1 were of mixed heritage and 0.4 per cent were black, Afro-Caribbean, African or black British.
Moving to Mid Suffolk, the population picture was as follows: 0.7 per cent were Asian or Asian British, 0.4 per cent were black, Afro-Caribbean, African or black British and one per cent were of mixed heritage.
This was contrasting to national trends towards increased ethnic diversity.
Overall, 7.8 per cent of people in England identify as Asian, and 3.5 per cent as black.
The population of Ipswich also disproportionately identifies as white although, at 88.9 per cent, this is somewhat closer to the English baseline.
The rest of the picture was as follows: 4.3 per cent were Asian or Asian British, 2.3 per cent were black, Afro-Caribbean, African or black British and 3.6 per cent were of mixed heritage.
Families
The Observatory also keeps data on the various family models and household situations of residents.
Across Suffolk, a plurality of households – 35.8 per cent – are made up of a married or same-sex civil partnership couple.
Overall, 27.4 per cent of households have dependent children, and a further 8.8 per cent are described as having ‘non-dependent’ children – that is, children who do not live with their parents, or who only live with their parents semi-permanently.
‘Lone parent’ households comprise 8.8 per cent of all households in Suffolk, while one-person households make up 29 per cent of the total.
Almost half of one-person households are occupied by a resident over the age of 65.
According to the Office for National Statistics from 2020, the county's resident population stands at 761,246.
A total of 92,735 of these were in Babergh, 250,373 in East Suffolk, and 104,857 in Mid Suffolk.
Meanwhile, 135,979 were in Ipswich and 177,302 in West Suffolk.
However, there is reason to treat this estimate with scepticism.
A West Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “Estimating the population of West Suffolk is challenging because of the presence of 10,000 plus individuals who are in the district because of the US airbases, whose in and out migration is hard to model.
“As a result, the Office for National Statistics has made a number of methodological changes and adjustments in recent years that lead to fluctuations.”
Looking ahead
Using current ageing, fertility, mortality and migration trends, projections have been made for the different districts of Suffolk.
Surprisingly, it estimated that Ipswich’s population – now standing at 136,123 - is set to stagnate over the next two decades, falling to a low of 135,041 by 2033 before climbing to 136,037 by 2043.
Indeed, the Observatory calculates that this will only be compensated by a corresponding population increase in the wider region, with Suffolk - presently home to 779,918 people – set for a boost of around 49,000 people by 2043.
West Suffolk itself will experience a modest population increase, with a rise of around 10,000 bringing the population up to 193,070 by 2043.
