User:KevGMcr/Demographics

Blackpool’s population was approximately 141,000 in 2021 according to census figures – a fall of 0.7 per cent from the 2011 census. It is one of five North West local authority areas to have recorded a fall in this period, during which the figure for England as a whole rose by 6.6 per cent. Blackpool is the third most densely populated local authority in the North West, with 4,046 people per square kilometre, compared with 4,773 in Manchester and 4,347 in Liverpool.

The median age between 2011 and 2021 rose from 42 to 43 years of age, against an English average of 40 years. The number of people aged 50 to 64 years rose by around 3,500 (an increase of 12.6 per cent), while the number of residents between 35 and 49 years fell by around 5,300 (17.5 per cent decrease).

Around 123,100 Blackpool residents said they were born in England in the 2021 census – 87.3 per cent of the local population. Some 4,700 residents said they were born in Scotland, the next most represented country, with 2,300 people reporting they were born in Poland – 1.6 per cent of the population. In the 2021 census, 94.7 per cent of people in Blackpool identified their ethnic group within the ‘White’ category (compared with 96.7 per cent in 2011), while 1.6 per cent identified their ethnic group within the ‘Mixed or Multiple’ category. In the same census 2.6 per cent of Blackpool residents identified their ethnic group within the ‘Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’ category, up from 1.6 per cent in 2011.

In 2021, 41.0 per cent of Blackpool residents reported having ‘No religion’, up from 24.5 pert cent in 2011. Across England the percentage increased from 24.8 per cent to 36.7 per cent. However, because the census question about religion was voluntary and has varying response rates, the ONS warns that ‘caution is needed when comparing figures between different areas or between censuses’.

According to the 2021 census, 49.5 per cent of residents aged 16 years and over were employed (excluding full-time students, with 3.8 per cent unemployed (a drop from 5.4 per cent in 2011). The proportion of retired residents was 23.8 per cent. Just over a tenth of people aged 16 and over worked 15 hours or less a week.

Blackpool had the North West's largest percentage-point rise in the proportion of privately-rented homes (from 26.1 per cent in 2011 to 31.8 per cent in 2021) behind Salford. In 2021, 57.5 per cent of Blackpool households owned their own home outright or with a mortgage or loan, while 10.3 per cent lived in social housing.

In 2021, 15.0 per cent of Blackpool households included a couple but no children, 13.5 per cent included a couple with dependent children and 22.8 per cent were one-person households. Among adults, 40.9 per cent had never married nor registered a civil partnership, while 36 per cent were married or in a civil partnership.

Those residents describing their health as ‘very good’ in 2021 rose to 40.9 per cent, while 33.7 per cent said it was ‘good’. The proportion of residents describing their health as ‘very bad’ was 2.1 per cent (similar to 2011), while those in ‘bad’ health fell from 7.3 per cent to 6.7 per cent. The ONS said that because the census was conducted during the coronavirus, ‘this may have influenced how people perceived and rated their health’.

In 2021, 12.0 per cent of residents were identified as being disabled and limited a lot, 12.7 per cent as disabled and limited a little. The proportion of people aged five years and over providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care rose from 1.9 per cent in 2011 to 2.7 per cent.

Blackpool’s population is forecast to rise slightly to 141,500 by 2044, with the 45-64-year-old group showing the greatest decrease. The number of residents over 65 years old is projected to rise to almost 36,000, making up 26 per cent of the total population.