Berkshire Observatory – West Berkshire – Population & Demographics

It is essential to understand population size and characteristics in order to effectively plan and deliver services such as education, transport and healthcare. This section displays the latest population estimates and projections for West Berkshire.

Population estimates are produced using a variety of data sources and statistical models, including some statistical disclosure control methods, and small estimates should not be taken to refer to particular individuals. The estimated resident population of an area includes all those people who usually live there, regardless of nationality. Arriving international migrants are included in the usually resident population if they remain in the UK for at least a year. Emigrants are excluded if they remain outside the UK for at least a year. Armed forces stationed outside of the UK are excluded. Students are taken to be usually resident at their term time address.

Population estimates for all persons by broad age group for 2019

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
Persons aged 0 - 15	31,570	19.9	1,767,424	19.3	10,816,679	19.2
Persons aged 16 - 64	96,312	60.8	5,621,495	61.2	35,116,566	62.4
Persons aged 65+	30,568	19.3	1,791,216	19.5	10,353,716	18.4

Population estimates for all persons by 5-year age group for 2019

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
0 - 4	8,801	5.6	520,679	5.7	3,299,637	5.9
5 - 9	10,255	6.5	580,495	6.3	3,538,206	6.3
10 - 14	10,408	6.6	561,137	6.1	3,354,246	6
15 - 19	9,419	5.9	511,193	5.6	3,090,232	5.5
20 - 24	7,020	4.4	533,049	5.8	3,487,863	6.2
25 - 29	7,899	5	545,057	5.9	3,801,409	6.8
30 - 34	8,694	5.5	550,410	6	3,807,954	6.8
35 - 39	9,624	6.1	586,606	6.4	3,733,642	6.6
40 - 44	10,337	6.5	575,364	6.3	3,414,297	6.1
45 - 49	11,850	7.5	628,938	6.9	3,715,812	6.6
50 - 54	12,488	7.9	661,077	7.2	3,907,461	6.9
55 - 59	11,434	7.2	616,352	6.7	3,670,651	6.5
60 - 64	9,653	6.1	518,562	5.7	3,111,835	5.5
65 - 69	8,472	5.4	464,226	5.1	2,796,740	5
70 - 74	8,540	5.4	482,233	5.3	2,779,326	4.9
75 - 79	5,787	3.7	335,831	3.7	1,940,686	3.5
80 - 84	3,986	2.5	250,434	2.7	1,439,913	2.6
85+	3,783	2.4	258,492	2.8	1,397,051	2.5

Population by nationality - UK and non-UK

	West Berkshire	South East	England
UK nationals	145,000	92.4	8,326,000	91.8	50,040,000	89.9
Non-UK nationals	13,000	8.3	736,000	8.1	5,587,000	10

Population by nationality (excluding UK)

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
European Union	9,000	5.7	443,000	4.9	3,323,000	6
Non-EU European	0	0	20,000	0.2	203,000	0.4
Middle and East Central Asian	N/A	N/A	15,000	0.2	189,000	0.3
East Asian	0	0	20,000	0.2	142,000	0.3
South Asian	2,000	1.3	87,000	1	684,000	1.2
South East Asian	N/A	N/A	20,000	0.2	154,000	0.3
Sub Saharan African	0	0	51,000	0.6	396,000	0.7
North African	N/A	N/A	7,000	0.1	55,000	0.1
North American	0	0	32,000	0.4	164,000	0.3
Central and South American	N/A	N/A	19,000	0.2	160,000	0.3
Oceanian	N/A	N/A	20,000	0.2	118,000	0.2
Rest of the World	1,000	0.6	130,000	1.4	892,000	1.6

Population by country of birth - UK and non-UK

	West Berkshire	South East	England
UK	137,000	87.3	7,848,000	86.6	46,977,000	84.4
Non-UK	20,000	12.7	1,215,000	13.4	8,648,000	15.5

Population by country of birth (excluding UK)

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
European Union	10,000	6.4	452,000	5	3,214,000	5.8
Non-EU European	1,000	0.6	40,000	0.4	354,000	0.6
Middle and East Central Asia	0	0	37,000	0.4	380,000	0.7
East Asia	1,000	0.6	51,000	0.6	292,000	0.5
South Asia	3,000	1.9	222,000	2.4	1,776,000	3.2
South East Asia	1,000	0.6	61,000	0.7	329,000	0.6
Sub Saharan Africa	2,000	1.3	185,000	2	1,240,000	2.2
North Africa	N/A	N/A	16,000	0.2	127,000	0.2
North America	1,000	0.6	57,000	0.6	267,000	0.5
Central and South America	1,000	0.6	54,000	0.6	463,000	0.8
Oceania	1,000	0.6	39,000	0.4	207,000	0.4
Rest of the World	5,000	3.2	351,000	3.9	2,303,000	4.1

The projections below take population estimates as their starting point. The projected local authority populations for each year are calculated by ageing on the population from the previous year, applying local fertility and mortality rates to calculate the number of projected births and deaths, and then adjusting for migration into and out of each local authority. Fertility, mortality and migration assumptions are derived using values estimated using data from the five years before the base projection year, and do not take into account any known policy or demographic changes.

Population projections for all persons by year

	West Berkshire	South East	England
2018	159,800	9,152,700	55,997,700
2019	160,500	9,214,300	56,357,500
2020	161,200	9,274,900	56,704,700
2021	161,900	9,333,400	57,030,500
2026	164,800	9,604,800	58,505,600
2031	166,700	9,840,000	59,789,800
2036	168,400	10,043,700	60,905,500
2041	170,100	10,236,200	61,952,100

Population projections for all persons by broad age group for 2041

	West Berkshire	South East	England
0 - 15	30,181	17.7	1,759,977	17.2	10,838,105	17.5
16 - 64	93,150	54.8	5,789,442	56.6	36,120,420	58.3
65 +	46,793	27.5	2,686,776	26.2	14,993,591	24.2

Projections for all persons by 5-year age group for 2041

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
0 - 4	8,900	5.2	533,900	5.2	3,379,500	5.5
5 - 9	9,100	5.3	544,500	5.3	3,351,400	5.4
10 - 14	10,100	5.9	565,500	5.5	3,410,900	5.5
15 - 19	9,700	5.7	583,100	5.7	3,531,100	5.7
20 - 24	7,000	4.1	570,600	5.6	3,705,700	6
25 - 29	8,900	5.2	578,800	5.7	3,944,800	6.4
30 - 34	9,400	5.5	581,600	5.7	3,904,900	6.3
35 - 39	8,800	5.2	541,600	5.3	3,485,700	5.6
40 - 44	9,500	5.6	569,900	5.6	3,530,600	5.7
45 - 49	10,400	6.1	617,000	6	3,755,100	6.1
50 - 54	10,700	6.3	638,200	6.2	3,841,800	6.2
55 - 59	10,600	6.2	623,900	6.1	3,685,400	5.9
60 - 64	10,300	6.1	600,700	5.9	3,431,800	5.5
65 - 69	10,200	6	582,000	5.7	3,306,300	5.3
70 - 74	10,700	6.3	600,500	5.9	3,434,300	5.5
75 - 79	9,800	5.8	557,500	5.4	3,137,100	5.1
80 - 84	7,400	4.4	423,300	4.1	2,356,300	3.8
85 - 89	4,800	2.8	283,400	2.8	1,540,400	2.5
90 +	3,800	2.2	240,100	2.3	1,219,200	2

Broad ethnicity groups

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
Asian/Asian British	3,808	2.5	452,042	5.2	4,143,403	7.8
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British	1,376	0.9	136,013	1.6	1,846,614	3.5
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups	2,420	1.6	167,764	1.9	1,192,879	2.3
Other ethnic group	364	0.2	51,111	0.6	548,418	1
White	145,854	94.8	7,827,820	90.7	45,281,142	85.4

Detailed ethnicity groups

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi	225	0.1	27,951	0.3	436,514	0.8
Asian/Asian British: Chinese	659	0.4	53,061	0.6	379,503	0.7
Asian/Asian British: Indian	1,675	1.1	152,132	1.8	1,395,702	2.6
Asian/Asian British: Other Asian	776	0.5	119,652	1.4	819,402	1.5
Asian/Asian British: Pakistani	473	0.3	99,246	1.1	1,112,282	2.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African	701	0.5	87,345	1	977,741	1.8
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Caribbean	514	0.3	34,225	0.4	591,016	1.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Other Black	161	0.1	14,443	0.2	277,857	0.5
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Asian	831	0.5	58,764	0.7	332,708	0.6
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Black African	262	0.2	22,825	0.3	161,550	0.3
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean	776	0.5	45,980	0.5	415,616	0.8
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: Other Mixed	551	0.4	40,195	0.5	283,005	0.5
Other ethnic group: Arab	139	0.1	19,363	0.2	220,985	0.4
Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group	225	0.1	31,748	0.4	327,433	0.6
White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British	139,044	90.4	7,358,998	85.2	42,279,236	79.8
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller	164	0.1	14,542	0.2	54,895	0.1
White: Irish	1,284	0.8	73,571	0.9	517,001	1
White: Other White	5,362	3.5	380,709	4.4	2,430,010	4.6

Household composition breakdown

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
One family only: All aged 65 and over	5,302	8.5	318,596	9	1,789,465	8.1
One family only: Cohabiting couple	6,289	10.1	349,874	9.8	2,172,438	9.8
One family only: Cohabiting couple: All children non-dependent	274	0.4	16,479	0.5	108,486	0.5
One family only: Cohabiting couple: Dependent children	2,379	3.8	138,651	3.9	890,780	4
One family only: Cohabiting couple: No children	3,636	5.8	194,744	5.5	1,173,172	5.3
One family only: Lone parent	5,098	8.2	326,554	9.2	2,339,824	10.6
One family only: Lone parent: All children non-dependent	1,758	2.8	110,188	3.1	766,569	3.5
One family only: Lone parent: Dependent children	3,340	5.4	216,366	6.1	1,573,255	7.1
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple	25,949	41.6	1,275,844	35.9	7,329,455	33.2
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: All children non-dependent	3,854	6.2	196,174	5.5	1,234,355	5.6
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: Dependent children	12,344	19.8	608,251	17.1	3,375,890	15.3
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: No children	9,751	15.6	471,419	13.3	2,719,210	12.3
One person household: Aged 65 and over	6,820	10.9	449,969	12.7	2,725,596	12.4
One person household: Other	9,303	14.9	573,185	16.1	3,940,897	17.9
Other household types: All aged 65 and over	146	0.2	10,667	0.3	61,715	0.3
Other household types: All full-time students	15	0	18,758	0.5	124,285	0.6
Other household types: Other	2,231	3.6	150,647	4.2	995,677	4.5
Other household types: With dependent children	1,187	1.9	81,369	2.3	584,016	2.6

Main language breakdown

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
English (English or Welsh if in Wales)	142,737	96.6	7,832,436	94.2	46,936,780	92
Welsh/Cymraeg (in England only)	28	0	1,051	0	8,248	0
Other UK language	11	0	544	0	4,637	0
French	231	0.2	19,559	0.2	145,026	0.3
Portuguese	291	0.2	15,922	0.2	131,002	0.3
Spanish	171	0.1	16,205	0.2	118,554	0.2
Other European language (EU)	2,133	1.4	168,734	2	1,155,972	2.3
Other European language (EU): Any other European language (EU)	4	0	430	0	2,878	0
Other European language (non EU)	85	0.1	6,987	0.1	64,985	0.1
Other European language (non-national)	1	0	122	0	4,600	0
Russian	124	0.1	10,297	0.1	66,271	0.1
Turkish	56	0	6,713	0.1	98,083	0.2
Arabic	77	0.1	13,754	0.2	152,490	0.3
West/Central Asian language	87	0.1	14,586	0.2	181,424	0.4
South Asian language	806	0.5	124,370	1.5	1,281,168	2.5
East Asian language	600	0.4	56,626	0.7	374,013	0.7
Oceanic/Australian language	0	0	406	0	1,729	0
North/South American language	2	0	40	0	1,022	0
Caribbean Creole	0	0	38	0	506	0
African language	227	0.2	19,871	0.2	240,572	0.5
Other languages	11	0	2,757	0	17,675	0
Sign language	96	0.1	2,841	0	20,853	0

Marital and civil partnership status breakdown

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
Divorced or formerly in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved	10,859	8.8	637,433	9.1	3,857,137	9
In a registered same-sex civil partnership	196	0.2	16,398	0.2	100,288	0.2
Married	66,362	54.1	3,448,947	49.3	20,029,369	46.6
Separated (but still legally married or still legally in a same-sex civil partnership)	2,822	2.3	177,075	2.5	1,141,196	2.7
Single (never married or never registered a same-sex civil partnership)	35,148	28.6	2,230,242	31.9	14,889,928	34.6
Widowed or surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership	7,344	6	482,571	6.9	2,971,702	6.9

Religion breakdown

	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
	West Berkshire		South East		England
Buddhist	495	0.3	43,946	0.5	238,626	0.5
Christian	97,896	63.6	5,160,128	59.8	31,479,876	59.4
Hindu	1,106	0.7	92,499	1.1	806,199	1.5
Jewish	212	0.1	17,761	0.2	261,282	0.5
Muslim	1,218	0.8	201,651	2.3	2,660,116	5
Sikh	236	0.2	54,941	0.6	420,196	0.8
Other religion	607	0.4	39,672	0.5	227,825	0.4
No religion	41,042	26.7	2,388,286	27.7	13,114,232	24.7

Reports

West_berkshire - Population - UTLA

West_berkshire - Population - UTLA - West Berkshire

Population estimates | West Berkshire

Nationality and country of birth| West Berkshire

Population projections | West Berkshire

Ethnicity| West Berkshire

Household composition| West Berkshire

Main language| West Berkshire

Marital and civil partnership status| West Berkshire

Religion | West Berkshire

West_berkshire - Population - Ward

West_berkshire - Population - LSOA