Facts & Figures
We have a census every ten years to provide reliable population statistics to help government, health organisations and local authorities to plan, fund and deliver public services.
But as well as painting a picture of today’s society, it gives us a unique, historical record of how things have changed since the census began in 1801.
The 2011 Census will probably show the most rapid and dramatic social change in any decade ever. But even quite subtle changes in population statistics can reveal fascinating, surprising and often puzzling facts about the past 200 years, giving historians, genealogists and statisticians a wealth of information for considering how and why these changes have come about.
So have any of our rehearsal/test areas shown trends that were unusual compared with the national average? What do they tell us about the lifestyle of local people at the time?
That in Warwickshire …
- The population grew 14 times between 1801 to 1991 (after 1981, this included West Midlands).
- In 1991, one in nine households had no central heating, compared to a national average of one in five.
- Over the 50 years between 1851 and 1901, the number of people working on the railways (apart from those doing construction work) more than doubled – from just over 1,000 people to just over 2500.
- In 1881, eight out of ten women worked as indoor domestic servants: 25 times more than men.
- In 1851, 16 chimney sweeps were children: aged between 5 and 9.
- In 1881, Warwickshire had 101 architects.
- The population density rose from 0.6 people per acre in 1831 to 4.3 people per acre in 1991, above the national average of around one person per acre.
- The number of people per household went down from five people in 1801 to 2.6 in 1991, just above the national average.