Theme : Population

Themes are used in the Vision of Britain system to organise all our statistical data into a small number of broad categories, often identified by icons on the web site.

Identifier:

T_POP

Name:

Population

Type:

Theme (T)

Text:

We let you look at total population in two ways.

Firstly, population density: which areas had the most people? Density is calculated as the number of people per hectare, and we have measured areas from a modern digital map of the local authorities rather than relying on the doubtful acreages given in historical reports. Secondly, growth rates: where was population rising fastest, or declining? We also look at the ratio of men to women.

This theme also covers people's ages. From 1851 onwards, the census has provided very detailed statistics of age structure, giving numbers of males and of females in each 5-year age band. However, we simplify this here to three broad age groups: Children (0-14), Working Age (15-64) and the Elderly (over 65).

Over the last 150 years, our population has clearly aged. However, mortality decline in the late 19th century was mainly due to the reduction of very high infant mortality rates: the presence or absence of large number of infants dying before their first birthday had little effect on overall age structures. During the twentieth century, declining fertility and improved life expectancy in later life significantly changed age structures.

Theme "Population" is contained within:

The Database, which everything else is contained within:

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Theme "Population" contains:

Rates, for mapping and for comparing areas :

Datasets or nCubes, containing the actual data :

Variable Groups, bringing together related variables :

Variables, defining what data was gathered for :