How life has changed in Sunderland: Census 2021

Sunderland's population decreased

Between the last two censuses (held in 2011 and 2021), the population of Sunderland fell by 0.5%, from around 275,500 in 2011 to around 274,200 in 2021.

This means Sunderland was one of only three local authority areas in the North East to see its population decline. The regional population increased by 1.9%, while the population of England increased by 6.6%.

In 2021, Sunderland was home to around 14.2 people per football pitch-sized piece of land, compared with 14.3 in 2011. This area was among the top 30% 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.

The population of Sunderland decreased by around 0.5%

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

An older Sunderland

Between the last two censuses, the average (median) age of Sunderland increased by two years, from 41 to 43 years of age.

This area had a slightly higher average (median) age than the North East as a whole in 2021 (42 years) and a higher 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 65 to 74 years rose by just under 6,600 (an increase of 26.2%), while the number of residents between 35 and 49 years fell by around 8,400 (14.5% decrease).

The share of residents aged between 65 and 74 years increased by 2.4 percentage points between 2011 and 2021

Family in Sunderland

Sunderland saw England's joint third-largest percentage-point fall (alongside Burnley and South Ribble) in the proportion of households including a couple with only non-dependent children (from 8.1% in 2011 to 7.4% in 2021).

England's largest decreases in the percentage of households including a couple with only non-dependent children occurred in Isles of Scilly (from 4.8% to 2.2%) followed by North East Derbyshire (from 7.8% to 6.9%).

Because of its small size, comparisons to Isles of Scilly should be made with caution.

Despite the decrease, Sunderland was in the highest 15% of English local authority areas for the share of households including a couple with only non-dependent children in 2021.

The percentage of households including a couple with only non-dependent children in Sunderland decreased by 0.7 percentage points

Rise in private renting

In 2021, 14.8% of Sunderland households rented privately. This figure increased from 12.2% in 2011.

In 2021, just over one in four households (26.6%) lived in socially rented housing, compared with 27.1% in 2011. The percentage of Sunderland households that owned their home (outright or with a mortgage or loan) decreased from 59.8% to 58.1%.

This area had the region’s second lowest percentage of privately-rented homes. Across the region, only South Tyneside, with 13.2%, had a lower percentage.

Private renting in Sunderland increased by 2.7 percentage points

Health in Sunderland

In 2021, 43.6% of Sunderland residents described their health as "very good", increasing from 41.4% in 2011. Those describing their health as "good" rose from 32.8% to 33.1%. 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 Sunderland residents describing their health as "very bad" decreased from 2.1% to 1.8%, while those describing their health as "bad" fell from 6.9% to 6.0%.

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 bad health in Sunderland decreased by 0.9 percentage points

Change in unpaid care

Sunderland saw the North East's joint second-largest percentage-point rise (alongside Middlesbrough and South Tyneside) in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care (from 2.0% in 2011 to 2.7% in 2021). 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.

Across the region, only Hartlepool saw a greater rise in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care (from 1.8% to 2.9%).

Every local authority area across the North East saw a rise in the proportion of people (aged five years and over) providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care, as the regional proportion grew from 1.7% to 2.3%.

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 those providing between 20 and 49 hours of weekly unpaid care in Sunderland increased by 0.7 percentage points

Sunderland residents' country of birth

In the latest census, around 256,500 Sunderland residents said they were born in England. This represented 93.5% of the local population. The figure has decreased from around 260,200 in 2011, which at the time represented 94.4% of Sunderland's population.

Scotland was the next most represented, with just over 2,500 Sunderland residents reporting this country of birth (0.9%). This figure was down from around 2,800 in 2011, which at the time represented 1.0% of the population of Sunderland.

The number of Sunderland residents born in Nigeria rose from just under 450 in 2011 (0.2% of the local population) to around 1,200 in 2021 (0.5%).

In 2021, 93.5% of Sunderland residents reported their country of birth as England

More adults never married or in a civil partnership

Of Sunderland residents aged 16 years and over, 38.7% said they had never been married or in a civil partnership in 2021, up from 35.3% in 2011.

In 2021, just over 4 in 10 people (42.6%) said they were married or in a registered civil partnership, compared with 45.2% in 2011. The percentage of adults in Sunderland that had divorced or dissolved a civil partnership decreased from 9.2% to 9.0%.

The increase in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over who had never been married or in a civil partnership was greater across the North East (3.7 percentage points, from 34.4% to 38.1%) than in Sunderland (3.4 percentage points). Across England, the percentage increased by 3.3 percentage points, from 34.6% to 37.9%.

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 Sunderland increased by 3.4 percentage points

Fall in unemployment

In 2021, 3.2% of Sunderland residents (aged 16 years and over) said they were unemployed. This figure decreased from 5.3% in 2011.

In 2021, just over one in two people (50.4%) said they were employed (excluding full-time students), compared with 51.5% in 2011. The percentage of retired Sunderland residents increased from 23.2% to 24.7%.

The decrease in the percentage of people aged 16 years and over (excluding full-time students) who were unemployed was greater in Sunderland (2.1 percentage points) than across the North East (1.8 percentage points, from 4.8% to 3.0%). Across England, the percentage fell by 1.1 percentage points, from 4.0% to 2.9%.

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 unemployed (excluding full-time students) in Sunderland decreased by 2.1 percentage points

Working hours in Sunderland

In 2021, 8.0% of Sunderland residents aged 16 years and over and in employment said they worked 15 hours or less per week. This figure was the same in 2011.

In 2021, just under 1 in 13 people (7.6%) said they worked over 49 hours per week, compared with 8.9% in 2011. The percentage of adults in employment working 31 to 48 hours per week increased from 60.9% to 62.8%.

This area had the region’s lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked 15 hours or less per week. North Tyneside had the North East's next lowest percentage of people aged 16 years and over and in employment who said they usually worked 15 hours or less per week (8.1%), while Newcastle upon Tyne had the region's highest percentage (11.9%).

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

In 2021, 8.0% of usual residents aged 16 years and over and in employment said they worked 15 hours or less per week in Sunderland

Religion in Sunderland

In 2021, 39.5% of Sunderland residents reported having "No religion", up from 21.9% in 2011. The rise of 17.6 percentage points was the largest increase of all broad religious groups in Sunderland. 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 North East, the percentage of residents who described themselves as having "No religion" increased from 23.4% to 40.0%, while across England the percentage increased from 24.8% to 36.7%.

In 2021, 53.2% of people in Sunderland described themselves as Christian (down from 70.3%), while 4.5% did not state their religion (down from 5.6% 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, 39.5% of usual residents in Sunderland reported having "No religion"

National identity in Sunderland

In 2021, 2.9% of Sunderland residents did not identify with any national identity associated with the UK. This figure increased from 2.5% in 2011.

In 2021, 0.6% of residents identified with a UK and non-UK national identity, compared with 0.2% in 2011. The percentage of residents in Sunderland that identified as "British only" increased from 13.3% to 60.2%.

The increase in the percentage of people who did not identify with any national identity associated with the UK was greater across the North East (1.1 percentage points, from 2.9% to 4.1%) than in Sunderland (0.5 percentage points). Across England, the percentage increased by 1.7 percentage points, from 8.2% to 10.0%.

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 Sunderland increased by 0.5 percentage points

Disability in Sunderland

In 2021, 11.9% of Sunderland residents were identified as being disabled and limited a little. This figure increased from 11.5% 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 over one in nine people (11.2%) were identified as being disabled and limited a lot, compared with 13.2% in 2011. The proportion of Sunderland residents who were not disabled increased from 75.3% to 76.9%.

Sunderland saw the North East's joint second-largest rise (alongside County Durham and South Tyneside) in the proportion of residents who were identified as disabled and limited a little. This area had the region’s second highest proportion of residents who were identified as disabled and limited a little.

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 people who were identified as being disabled and limited a little in Sunderland increased by 0.4 percentage points

Ethnic groups in Sunderland

In 2021, 1.0% of Sunderland residents identified their ethnic group within the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" category, up from 0.5% in 2011. The 0.5 percentage-point change was the largest increase among high-level ethnic groups in this area.

Across the North East, the percentage of people from the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" ethnic group increased from 0.5% to 1.0%, while across England the percentage increased from 3.5% to 4.2%.

In 2021, 94.6% of people in Sunderland identified their ethnic group within the "White" category (compared with 95.9% in 2011), while 3.0% identified their ethnic group within the "Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh" category (compared with 2.7% the previous decade).

The percentage of people who identified their ethnic group within the "Mixed or Multiple" category increased from 0.6% in 2011 to 0.9% 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, 1.0% of usual residents in Sunderland identified their ethnic group within the "Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African" 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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