Keyfacts on Dorset - general
This page gives the key facts on the Dorset area at a glance. It includes the latest data available at September 2011 and covers area, environment, people, housing and economy.
Area and Environment
Headline Facts | Details | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
DCC Dorset is an average sized county in terms of area. | 2,542 square km | Ordnance Survey 1992 | |
but is among the smallest counties in terms of population | 404,800 | Mid Year Estimates(MYE) 2010 | |
...so it has a relatively sparse population | 159 persons per square kilometre (360 for England and Wales) | Mid Year Estimates(MYE) 2010 | |
...a natural and built environment which is of the highest quality | Ranked on ecological, landscape and conservation designations | ||
its habitats are among the richest for biodiversity in the country | - | ||
... and is host to the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site (the Jurassic Coast): the only natural world heritage site on mainland UK stretching almost the entire length of Dorset's coast | - |
Population
Headline Facts | Details | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
The area has a relatively low crime rate | Dorset crime rate is 50.9 crimes per 1,000 population whilst the regional figure is 66.0 and the National figure higher at 78.6 | DCC 2009/2010 | |
with a mild climate | Dorset enjoys an intermediate climate, less wet, cool and moist than the South-West of England | ||
and is one of the healthiest places to live in the country | Life expectancy is approximately 2 years longer than the national average | 2007-2009, life expectancy, Office for National Statistics(ONS) | |
making the area an attractive destination for people to settle in their retirement. (and pre retirement) | |||
Dorset has the largest elderly population out of all the shire counties | The proportion of Dorset's population who are of retirement age is 25.6% (16.6% for England and Wales) | MYE 2010 | |
and correspondingly, one of the smallest proportions of school age children (aged 5-15) | 12.2% (12.4% England and Wales) | MYE 2010 | |
and the lowest proportion of pre-school age children (under 5's)... | 4.8% (6.2% England and Wales) | MYE 2010 | |
birth rates are low | 9.1 births per 1,000 population (13.1 for England and Wales) | 2010, ONS | |
and there are more deaths than births in DCC Dorset | 11.6 deaths per 1,000 population (8.9 for England and Wales) | 2010, ONS | |
So DCC Dorset's population would decline... | In 2010 deaths exceeded births by 1,028 (i.e. a natural loss of 2.5 per thousand population. | 2010, ONS | |
| ...were it not for the fact that more people move into the County than leave | In 2007/08 20,500 people moved out of Dorset, whilst over the same period 23,500 moved in. | ONS 2007/8 | |
which maintains strong overall growth in the size of Dorset's population | 12.2% population growth between 1991 and 2010 (9.1% for England & Wales) | MYE 2001-2010 | |
...and this rate of growth is set to continue | 12.7% population growth between 2008 and 2033 | ONS, 2008 based population estimates |
Housing and Economy
Headline Facts | Details | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
Currently there are 192,000 dwellings in Dorset | With about 1,400 new dwellings being built every year. (average over last 5 years) | DCC March 2010 | |
Average house prices are the highest in the UK, outside London | £209,532 average property price from House Price Index (HPI) in DCC Dorset compared with £161,823 in England and Wales) | Land Registry HPI May 2011 | |
... while earnings are among the lowest | £460 per week in 2010 (England and Wales = £504) | ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2010 | |
...making DCC Dorset one of the least affordable places to buy a house | with Christchurch and East Dorset among the least affordable local authority areas outside London | ||
Earnings are below national levels particularly at lower pay levels | In 2010 40% of full time employees earned less than £416 per week compared with £440 in England and Wales | ONS, ASHE 2010 | |
Unemployment is low | 1.5% in June 2011 compared with 3.7% in GB. | ONS, Claimant Count June 2011 | |
There is little manufacturing industry in line with the national trend | Employing 11% of workers in 2009 (9% for GB) | ONS Business Register and Employment Suevey 2009 | |
Gross Value added (GVA) per head of resident population is low | GVA index of 73, where UK = 100, England =102 | ONS,Gross Value Added (GVA) data 2008 |
(Overall Source: Dorset Databook 2011 )
