How life has changed in Norwich: Census 2021

The population passed 140,000

Between the last two censuses (held in 2011 and 2021), the population of Norwich increased by 8.6%, from just over 132,500 in 2011 to around 143,900 in 2021.

The population here increased by a greater percentage than the overall population of the East of England (8.3%), and by a greater percentage than the overall population of England (up 6.6% since the 2011 Census).

In 2021, Norwich was home to around 26.3 people per football pitch-sized piece of land, compared with 24.2 in 2011. This area was among the top 15% most densely populated English local authority areas at the last census.

This article generally uses percentages to enable comparisons over time and between areas. The percentage point change is also used to show the difference between the 2011 and 2021 percentages.

Population growth was similar in Norwich to the East of England as a whole

Percentage population change, Norwich and surrounding areas, 2011 Census to Census 2021

Median age stable in Norwich

The latest census data also show that the average (median) age remained 34 years in Norwich between the last two censuses.

This area had the joint second-lowest average (median) age in the East of England (alongside Luton and behind Cambridge) and a lower average (median) age than England (40 years).

The median age is the age of the person in the middle of the group, meaning that one half of the group is younger than that person and the other half is older.

The number of people aged 50 to 64 years rose by just over 2,600 (an increase of 13.2%), while the number of residents aged 4 years and under fell by around 1,500 (17.7% decrease).

The share of residents aged between 50 and 64 years increased by 0.6 percentage points between 2011 and 2021

Health in Norwich

In 2021, 41.5% of Norwich residents described their health as "very good", increasing from 41.1% in 2011. Those describing their health as "good" rose from 36.0% to 36.5%. These are age-standardised proportions.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

The proportion of Norwich residents describing their health as "very bad" was 1.4% (similar to 2011), while those describing their health as "bad" was 5.1% (similar to 2011).

These data reflect people’s own opinions in describing their overall health on a five point scale, from very good to very bad.

Census 2021 was conducted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived and rated their health, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

The percentage of people in good health in Norwich increased by 0.5 percentage points

Disability in Norwich

The age-standardised proportion of non-disabled residents fell in Norwich, but rose across the East of England.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

In Norwich, the proportion of non-disabled residents fell from 78.5% in 2011 to 78.0% in 2021. During the same period, the regional proportion increased from 82.5% to 83.4%.

The percentage of people who were identified as being disabled and limited a lot in Norwich fell from 10.1% to 9.0%, while the percentage of people who were identified as being disabled and limited a little increased from 11.4% to 13.0%.

Census 2021 was undertaken during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived their health status and activity limitations, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

Caution should be taken when making comparisons between 2011 and 2021 because of changes in question wording and response options.

The percentage of non-disabled residents in Norwich decreased by 0.5 percentage points

Unpaid care in Norwich

In 2021, 4.3% of Norwich residents (aged five years and over) reported providing up to 19 hours of unpaid care each week. This figure decreased from 6.8% in 2011. These are age-standardised proportions.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout this section. They enable comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure.

In 2021, just under 1 in 50 people (1.8%) reported providing between 20 and 49 hours of unpaid care each week, compared with 1.4% in 2011. The proportion of Norwich residents (aged five years and over) that provided at least 50 hours of weekly unpaid care decreased from 2.7% to 2.6%.

The decrease in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care in Norwich (2.5 percentage points) was similar to the decrease across the East of England (2.8 percentage points, from 7.3% to 4.5%). Across England, the proportion fell by 2.8 percentage points, from 7.2% to 4.4%.

Census 2021 was undertaken during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This may have influenced how people perceived and managed their provision of unpaid care, and therefore may have affected how people chose to respond.

Caution should be taken when making comparisons between 2011 and 2021 because of changes in question wording and response options.

The percentage of people (aged five years and over) providing up to 19 hours of weekly unpaid care in Norwich decreased by 2.5 percentage points

More adults never married or in a civil partnership

Norwich saw the East of England's joint largest percentage-point rise (alongside Harlow) in the proportion of people aged 16 years and over who had never been married or in a civil partnership (from 46.9% in 2011 to 52.4% in 2021).

Fenland saw the East of England's next largest increase in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over who had never been married or in a civil partnership (from 28.3% in 2011 to 33.3% in 2021).

Every local authority area across the East of England saw a rise in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over who had never been married or in a civil partnership, as the regional percentage grew from 31.1% to 34.8%.

These figures include same-sex marriages and opposite-sex civil partnerships in 2021, neither of which were legally recognised in England and Wales in 2011. Same-sex marriages have been legally recognised in England and Wales since 2014 and opposite-sex civil partnerships have been recognised since 2019.

The percentage of adults who had never married or registered a civil partnership in Norwich increased by 5.5 percentage points

Fall in social renting

Norwich saw the East of England's largest percentage-point fall in the proportion of households in the social rented sector (from 32.7% in 2011 to 30.3% in 2021).

Stevenage saw the East of England's next largest decrease in the percentage of households in the social rented sector (from 28.4% in 2011 to 26.3% in 2021).

Despite the decrease, Norwich was in the highest 3% of English local authority areas for the share of households in the social rented sector in 2021.

The rate of social renting in Norwich decreased by 2.4 percentage points

Family in Norwich

Of Norwich households, 16.5% included a couple but no children in 2021, down from 17.3% in 2011.

The percentage that included a couple with dependent children remained at 14.4%, while the percentage of single family households including a couple living with only non-dependent children decreased from 3.7% to 3.6%.

The decrease in the percentage of households including a couple but no children was greater across the East of England (1.8 percentage points, from 19.0% to 17.2%) than in Norwich (0.8 percentage points). Across England, the percentage fell by 0.9 percentage points, from 17.6% to 16.8%.

The percentage of households including a couple without children in Norwich decreased by 0.8 percentage points

National identity in Norwich

The increase in the percentage of people who did not identify with any national identity associated with the UK was greater in Norwich (3.2 percentage points) than in nearby Broadland (0.9 percentage points).

In Norwich, the percentage of people who did not identify with at least one UK national identity increased from 9.5% in 2011 to 12.8% in 2021. During the same period, the percentage in nearby Broadland increased from 1.9% to 2.8%.

The percentage of people who identified with a UK and non-UK national identity in Norwich increased from 1.0% to 2.7%, while the percentage of people who identified as "British only" increased from 16.2% to 53.1%.

In Census 2021, “British” was moved to the top response option and this may have influenced how people described their national identity. For further information, please see our quality report.

The percentage of people who did not identify with at least one UK national identity in Norwich increased by 3.2 percentage points

Religion in Norwich

In 2021, 53.5% of Norwich residents reported having "No religion", making it the most common response in this local authority area (up from 42.5% in 2011). Because the census question about religious affiliation is voluntary and has varying response rates, caution is needed when comparing figures between different areas or between censuses.

Across the East of England, the percentage of residents who described themselves as having "No religion" increased from 27.9% to 40.2%, while across England the percentage increased from 24.8% to 36.7%.

In 2021, 33.6% of people in Norwich described themselves as Christian (down from 44.9%), while 6.8% did not state their religion (down from 8.2% the decade before).

There are many factors that can cause changes to the religious profile of an area, such as a changing age structure or residents relocating for work or education. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals chose to self-identify between censuses. Religious affiliation is the religion with which someone connects or identifies, rather than their beliefs or religious practice.

In 2021, 53.5% of usual residents in Norwich reported having "No religion"

Norwich residents' country of birth

In the latest census, around 115,900 Norwich residents said they were born in England. This represented 80.5% of the local population. The figure has risen from just under 112,400 in 2011, which at the time represented 84.8% of Norwich's population.

Countries that joined the EU between April 2001 and March 2011 (other than Poland, Croatia, Lithuania and Romania) were the next most represented, with just over 2,200 Norwich residents reporting one of these countries as their country of birth (1.5%). This figure was up from just under 1,200 in 2011, which at the time represented 0.9% of the population of Norwich.

The number of Norwich residents born in Poland rose from just over 1,500 in 2011 (1.2% of the local population) to around 2,100 in 2021 (1.4%).

In 2021, 80.5% of Norwich residents reported their country of birth as England

Change in employment

Of Norwich residents aged 16 years and over, 51.4% said they were employed (excluding full-time students) in 2021, down from 52.9% in 2011.

In 2021, just under 1 in 30 people (3.0%) said they were unemployed, compared with 4.6% in 2011. The percentage of retired Norwich residents decreased from 18.2% to 16.7%.

The decrease in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over (excluding full-time students) who were employed was greater in Norwich (1.5 percentage points) than across the East of England (1.1 percentage points, from 58.4% to 57.3%). Across England, the percentage fell by 0.8 percentage points, from 56.5% to 55.7%.

Census 2021 took place during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a period of rapid and unparalleled change; the national lockdown, associated guidance and furlough measures will have affected the labour market and our ability to measure it.

The percentage of people aged 16 years and over who were employed (excluding full-time students) in Norwich decreased by 1.5 percentage points

Fewer adults working long hours

In 2021, 8.5% of Norwich residents aged 16 years and over and in employment said they worked over 49 hours per week. This figure decreased from 10.7% in 2011.

In 2021, just under one in eight people (12.2%) said they worked 15 hours or less per week, compared with 11.5% in 2011. The percentage of adults in employment working 31 to 48 hours per week decreased from 58.2% to 58.1%.

This area had the region’s lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked over 49 hours per week. Luton had the East of England's next lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked over 49 hours per week (8.8%), while St Albans had the region's highest percentage (15.5%).

Working hours may have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The percentage of adults in employment who worked 49 hours or more in Norwich decreased by 2.2 percentage points

Ethnic groups in Norwich

In 2021, 5.5% of Norwich residents identified their ethnic group within the "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" category, up from 4.4% in 2011. The 1.1 percentage-point change was the largest increase among high-level ethnic groups in this area.

Across the East of England, the percentage of people from the "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" ethnic group increased from 4.8% to 6.4%, while across England the percentage increased from 7.8% to 9.6%.

In 2021, 87.1% of people in Norwich identified their ethnic group within the "White" category (compared with 90.8% in 2011), while 3.1% identified their ethnic group within the "Mixed or Multiple" category (compared with 2.3% the previous decade).

The percentage of people who identified their ethnic group within the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" category increased from 1.6% in 2011 to 2.5% in 2021.

There are many factors that may be contributing to the changing ethnic composition of England and Wales, such as differing patterns of ageing, fertility, mortality, and migration. Changes may also be caused by differences in the way individuals chose to self-identify between censuses.

In 2021, 5.5% of usual residents in Norwich identified their ethnic group within the "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" category

About the data

Census data are adjusted to reflect estimated non-response so that the published results relate to the entire usually resident population as it was on Census Day (21 March 2021).

Those respondents who were on furlough because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were asked to classify themselves as "temporarily away from work" to ensure they remained in the economically active population.

Students are counted as usually resident at their term-time address even if they were not physically present there on Census Day.

The questions relating to disability differed slightly between 2011 and 2021 to ensure that data were more closely aligned with the definition of disability in the Equality Act (2010). There was also a change to question wording for unpaid care, for more information read the health, disability and unpaid care quality information.

Age-standardised proportions are used throughout the health, disability and unpaid care sections. They allow for fairer comparisons between populations over time and across geographies, as they account for differences in the population size and age structure. The 2013 European Standard Population is used to standardise proportions.

Percentages and percentage point changes have been individually rounded to one decimal place. This means they may not sum exactly.

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About these articles

There is an article like this for every local authority district in England and Wales. The articles have been written and semi-automated by our data journalists and are a new publishing format for the Office for National Statistics.

Topics are chosen and ordered automatically based on how relevant they are for each area, however all data are checked before publishing.

We have not included topics that were new for Census 2021 or where there is no comparability with the 2011 Census. Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.

These articles were first published on 8 December 2022 covering topics such as demography, country of birth, ethnic groups, religion, national identity and economic activity status. They were updated on 19 January 2023 following the release of more data from Census 2021 and now include housing tenure, general health, disability and unpaid care.

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