§ Sir William ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in order of percentage change the increase or decrease in population in the United Kingdom between 1957 and 1981, broken down by counties, as they existed prior to 1 April 1972 where appropriate, with the relevant percentage changes for the United Kingdom, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost. However, census figures for 1961 and 1981 for counties within England and Wales and for the regions and Island areas of Scotland provide a good approximation. These figures are given in the table.
755W756W
County Population present on Census night1 Difference 1961–81 1961 1981 Absolute Percentage United Kingdom 52,708,934 55,773,499 3,064,565 5.8 England 43,460,525 46,362,836 2,902,311 6.7 Wales 2,644,023 2,791,851 147,828 5.6 Scotland 5,179,344 5,130,735 -48,609 -0.9 Northern Ireland 1,425,042 1,488,077 63,035 4.4 Shetland Islands 17,812 27,277 9,465 53.1 Buckinghamshire 377,994 567,979 189,985 50.3 West Sussex 492.051 661,847 169,796 34.5 Essex 1,103,616 1,474,300 370,684 33.6 Northamptonshire 398,057 528,448 130,391 32.8 Cambridgeshire 436,555 578,734 142,179 32.6 Bedfordshire 382,706 507,054 124,348 32.5 Berkshire 516,825 681,226 164,401 31.8 Oxfordshire 402,902 519,490 116,588 28.9 Hereford and Worcester 491,887 631,756 139,869 28.4 Suffolk 467,130 598,335 131,205 28.1 Hampshire 1,150,653 1,466,385 315,732 27.4 Cheshire 729,779 929,981 200,202 27.4 Shropshire 297,742 375,715 77,973 26.2 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 343,278 432,240 88,962 25.9 Isle of Wight 95,752 118,594 22,842 23.9 Somerset 345,462 427,114 81,652 23.6 Warwickshire 386,752 476,315 89,563 23.2 Norfolk 565,915 694,566 128,651 22.7 Wiltshire 422,950 518,545 95,595 22.6 Kent 1,198,564 1,467,619 269,055 22.4 Highland 163,893 200,150 36,257 22.1 Hertfordshire 787,850 956,517 168,667 21.4 Clwyd 322,296 391,081 68,785 21.3 Leicestershire 706,153 844,525 138,372 19.6 Staffordshire 849,365 1,015,620 166,255 19.6 Dorset 499,721 595,415 95,694 19.1 Gloucestershire 426,254 501,673 75,419 17.7 Lincolnshire 468,657 550,758 82,101 17.5 Devon 822,699 958,745 136,046 16.5 North Yorkshire 575,255 666,951 91,696 15.9 East Sussex 586,230 657,248 71,018 12.1 Central 244,620 273,391 28,771 11.8 Surrey 905,530 1,004,332 98,802 10.9 Avon 828,953 915,176 86,223 10.4 Nottinghamshire 900,989 985,283 84,294 9.4 Northumberland 274,315 299,484 25,169 9.2 Lancashire 1,261,188 1,376,519 115,331 9.1 Powys 102,260 110,555 8,295 8.1 Cleveland 526,497 567,958 41,461 7.9 Gwynedd 213,719 230,048 16,329 7.6 Derbyshire 846,807 910,173 63,366 7.5 Grampian 440,351 471,942 31,591 7.2 Humberside 797,083 852,420 55,337 6.9 Dyfed 315,780 330,178 14,398 4.6 Lothian 710,163 738,372 28,209 4.0 Gwent 423,883 439,875 15,992 3.8 Mid Glamorgan 519,472 538,474 19,002 3.7 Cumbria 470,130 487,038 16,908 3.6 Fife 320,692 327,362 6,670 2.1 Orkney Islands 18,747 19,056 309 1.6 West Yorkshire 2,005,434 2,037,165 31,731 1.6 South Glamorgan 380,267 384,042 3,775 1.0 West Glamorgan 366,346 367,598 1,252 .3 Durham 605,263 607,198 1,935 .3 South Yorkshire 1,303,300 1,303,948 648 .0 Dumfries and Galloway 146,434 145,139 -1,295 -.9 Tayside 397,820 391,846 -5,974 -1.5 Western Isles 32,609 31,884 -725 -2.2 Borders 102,232 99,784 -2,448 -2.4 West Midlands 2,731,892 2,648,939 -82,953 -3.0 Greater Manchester 2,719,913 2,595,753 -124,160 -4.6 Strathclyde 2,583,971 2,404,532 -179,439 -6.9 Tyne and Wear 1,243,848 1,142,675 -101,173 -8.1 Merseyside 1,718,186 1,511,915 -206,271 -12.0 Greater London 7,992,443 6,713,165 -1,279,278 -16.0 1 Excluding allowance for underenumeration.