DESCRIBING SOUTHWARK
Southwark Borough has a population of 244,866 (ONS 2006) . The average age is 34.1 years, compared with 38.7 years for England and Wales as a whole. It has a higher proportion of 20-44 year olds (47.89%) relative to England and Wales (35.15%) and a lower proportion of both 45-64 year olds (16.91%) and above-65 year olds (10.36%) relative to England and Wales with 23.82% and 15.98%, respectively.
Life expectancy at birth (years), 2001-2003. (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]
| Southwark | London | England and Wales | |
| Life Expectancy at Birth, Males | 74.1 | 76.0 | 76.1 |
| Life Expectancy at Birth, Females | 80.1 | 80.8 | 80.7 |
Male life expectancy at birth is two years lower than in London as a whole, and England and Wales (Table). Southwark has a 47.8% non- British White population relative to England and Wales with 12.5% and 40.2% for London (Table). Relative to London (12.1%) it has a lower proportion of Asian or Asian British (4.1%), but a relatively high proportion of Black or Black British (25.9% against London's 10.9%).
Ethnicity: percentage of resident population in each group, Census 2001. (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]| Ethnicity | Southwark | London | England and Wales |
| White | 63.0 | 71.2 | 91.3 |
| White; British | 52.2 | 59.8 | 87.5 |
| White; Irish | 3.1 | 3.1 | 1.2 |
| White; Other White | 7.7 | 8.3 | 2.6 |
| Mixed | 3.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 |
| Mixed; White and Black Caribbean | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Mixed; White and Black African | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Mixed; White and Asian | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Mixed; Other Mixed | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| Asian or Asian British | 4.1 | 12.1 | 4.4 |
| Asian or Asian British; Indian | 1.5 | 6.1 | 2.0 |
| Asian or Asian British; Pakistani | 0.5 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| Asian or Asian British; Bangladeshi | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.5 |
| Asian or Asian British; Other Asian | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| Black or Black British | 25.9 | 10.9 | 2.2 |
| Black or Black British; Caribbean | 8.0 | 4.8 | 1.1 |
| Black or Black British; African | 16.1 | 5.3 | 0.9 |
| Black or Black British; Other Black | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Chinese or Other | 3.3 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| Chinese or Other ; Chinese | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.4 |
| Chinese or Other ; Other | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.4 |
Tenure: percentage of households, Census 2001. (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]
| Southwark | London | England and Wales | |
| Owner occupied: Owns outright | 9.7 | 22.1 | 29.5 |
| Owner occupied: Owns with a mortgage or loan | 20.3 | 33.5 | 38.8 |
| Rented from: Council (local authority) | 42.3 | 17.1 | 13.2 |
| Rented from: Housing Association / Registered Social Landlord | 11.2 | 9.1 | 6.0 |
| Rented from: Private landlord or letting agency | 12.5 | 14.3 | 8.7 |
| Rented from: Other | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
The Black or Black British are composed of 16.1% African, 8.0% Caribbean, and 1.8% Other Black . With regards to housing tenure Southwark has an unusually high proportion of households renting from the local authority (42.3%) (Table). The proportion for England and Wales is 13.2%. It also has a very high proportion of non-pensioner one-person households (25.78%) against 15.59% for England and Wales.
The proportion of single parent household with dependent children is also high (10.03%) if compared with the 6.46% for England and Wales.
Employment status for resident population aged 16 to 74 (% of total population), Census 2001. (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]
| Southwark | London | England and Wales | |
| Economically active: Employees Full-time | 41.1 | 42.6 | 40.6 |
| Economically active: Employees Part-time | 7.5 | 8.6 | 11.8 |
| Economically active: Self-employed | 7.5 | 9.0 | 8.3 |
| Economically active: Unemployed | 6.2 | 4.4 | 3.4 |
| Economically active: Full-time student | 3.6 | 3.0 | 2.6 |
| Economically inactive: Retired | 8.0 | 9.8 | 13.6 |
| Economically inactive: Student | 9.7 | 6.6 | 4.7 |
| Economically inactive: Looking after home / family | 6.2 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
| Economically inactive: Permanently sick / disabled | 5.3 | 4.6 | 5.5 |
| Economically inactive: Other | 5.0 | 4.3 | 3.1 |
Long-term unemployment figures (Table) have remained high in Southwark, while they have fallen in England and Wales and in London as a whole (ONS 2006). On Census questions about health more respondents rate their health as "Good" than the London or England and Wales averages and fewer report household members suffering from limiting long term illnesses (Table). These figures should be interpreted with the precaution that Southwark has a relatively young population compared to both England and Wales and London.
Percentage of resident population in each group, Census 2001. (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]
| Southwark | London | England and Wales | |
| General health: Good | 70.3 | 70.8 | 68.6 |
| General health: Fairly good | 21.1 | 20.9 | 22.2 |
| General health: Not good | 8.7 | 8.3 | 9.2 |
| People with a limiting long-term illness | 15.6 | 15.5 | 18.2 |
| People of working age with a limiting long-term illness | 12.6 | 11.9 | 13.6 |
| Households with one or more person with a limiting long-term illness | 29.8 | 29.7 | 34.1 |
Relative to the 354 other Local Authorities in England and Wales Southwark is the 17th most deprived Local Authority on the Index of Multiple Deprivation scale, 18th most deprived on the income scale and 25th on the employment scale (ONS 2006) (Table).
Index of Deprivation. Summary for London's Local Authorities. Ranks shows position relative to England and Wales's 354 Local Authorities; i.e. 1st is most deprived and 354th is least deprived (Source: ONS 2006) [TOP]
| Local Authority | Average Score Rank | Income Scale Rank | Employment Scale Rank |
| Tower Hamlets | 4 | 8 | 34 |
| Hackney | 5 | 9 | 26 |
| Islington | 6 | 30 | 38 |
| Newham | 11 | 7 | 24 |
| Haringey | 13 | 17 | 32 |
| Southwark | 17 | 18 | 25 |
| Camden | 19 | 43 | 47 |
| Lambeth | 23 | 15 | 21 |
| Westminster | 39 | 60 | 64 |
| Greenwich | 41 | 36 | 54 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 42 | 55 | 75 |
| Waltham Forest | 47 | 37 | 57 |
| Lewisham | 57 | 23 | 37 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 65 | 67 | 73 |
| Brent | 81 | 22 | 39 |
| Ealing | 99 | 27 | 42 |
| Hounslow | 102 | 58 | 78 |
| Enfield | 104 | 28 | 52 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 116 | 96 | 99 |
| Wandsworth | 128 | 51 | 60 |
| Croydon | 140 | 31 | 50 |
| Redbridge | 163 | 57 | 71 |
| Hillingdon | 166 | 72 | 84 |
| Barnet | 193 | 47 | 63 |
| Bexley | 212 | 87 | 104 |
| Havering | 214 | 86 | 86 |
| Merton | 220 | 99 | 121 |
| City of London | 226 | 353 | 353 |
| Harrow | 232 | 78 | 105 |
| Sutton | 236 | 113 | 144 |
| Bromley | 238 | 74 | 77 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 266 | 173 | 199 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 301 | 165 | 181 |
According to the ONS Output Area Classification (Vickers et al. 2005) most of Southwark area falls into Supergroup 7: Multicultural. This Supergroup divides into two Groups: Asian Communities (7a) and Afro-Caribbean Communities (7b), where the latter is the dominant ONS area class in Southwark.
REFERENCES [TOP]
ONS. 2006. The 2001 Census. Office for National Statistics website: URL
Vickers, D. et al. 2005. Creating the national classification of census output areas: data, methods and results. Leeds: University of Leeds, School of Geography.
