The population of Suffolk at mid-2006, including Ipswich has topped 700K for the first time.

The total population of Suffolk has increased by over 32,000 since 2001, equivalent to an increase of 6,425 each year. The most dominant components of population change in Suffolk are moves within the UK, which constitute approximately two thirds of the entire change. The contribution made by this form of change varies considerably across the County with Ipswich always losing people and Suffolk Coastal gaining over 1,400 and Waveney over 1,000 net movers p.a.

During 2001 to 2006, Suffolk has changed from a County with more deaths than births to one with more births than deaths; again there is considerable variation across the County.

During the five years, 2001 to 2006, Suffolk was the sixth fastest growing county in England

In contrast, the population of the East of England grew by 3.8% whilst the population of England grew by 2.7%. The East Midlands was the only region to grow at a faster rate than the East of England.

Within the East of England, the fastest growing district appears to be Forest Heath. Here it is estimated the population has grown by 6,000 although this would seem unlikely given that only 920 dwellings were completed during this period.

The next fastest growing districts in Suffolk are Suffolk Coastal (6.1%) and Mid Suffolk (5.7%); all the other districts in Suffolk grew at a slower rate than the County average.

Nevertheless, the population of Ipswich has risen to 120K for the first time since 1987. In the intervening years the population of the town declined to less than 115K and has only recently started to increase again. The increase in the population of Ipswich is plausible given the number of dwellings built, although it suggests some must be vacant.

The age structure of Suffolk now looks like this (at mid-2006):

The bars represent the percentage of males (left) and females (right) in Suffolk for each five-year cohort. The two largest five-year cohorts are in the 40 - 44 and the 35 – 39 age groups, which correspond to the baby boom of the 1960s. The second largest cohort is in the 55 – 59 age group, the so called “post war bulge.”

Comparison of 2001 cohorts with actual 2006 estimates shows that many people in the 15 - 24 age group left the County, whereas the 25 – 44 group grew at a greater rate.

For the numbers that underpin this graph and information on some other age groups see:

http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/468C8ED1-51D6-4A7A-AA4D-6AD661B5C1F4/0/2006myeONSinfonote.pdf

Point to note:
According to the UN definition, people who live in this Country for less than one year are not classified as residents and are excluded from these figures.