Population of Worcester increased by six per cent

The population of the city increased by six per cent in a decade according to the results from the 2021 census with the number of over 75s rising by almost a quarter.

Just under 104,000 people live in Worcester according to early results from the 2021 census compared to around 98,800 in 2011.

The latest census data shows that the number of people aged between 75 and 84 in Worcester grew the most across the ten years – rising by almost a quarter.

More than a fifth of the city’s population is aged over 60 with the number of people in the age group rising by almost 10 per cent compared to 2011.

The number of people aged between 65 and 74 increased by 10 per cent and the number of people aged between 45 and 59 increased by 13 per cent.

The number of people aged between 30 and 44 fell slightly by three per cent between 2011 and 2021 to around 20,800.

The census, which is carried out every 10 years by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), asks people to answer questions about themselves and households to help build a detailed snapshot of society.

The results help organisations make decisions on planning and funding for public services such as transport and schools.

Census figures show an estimated 603,600 people currently live in Worcestershire compared to 566,200 a decade ago – a 6.6 per cent increase.

The biggest rise in population in the county in the last decade, according to the census which was carried out on March 21 last year, was across Wychavon where the number of people increased by more than 13 per cent from 116,700 in 2011 to 132,500 last year.

This is compared to the five per cent rise in Worcester, six per cent rise across the Malvern Hills district, six per cent rise in Bromsgrove, three per cent rise in Redditch and almost four per cent rise in Wyre Forest.

Data from the 2021 census will be published in stages over the next two years, the ONS said, and will include figures on ethnicity, religion, education and housing and, for the first time, information on armed forces veterans, sexual orientation and gender identity.