What is the census?
The census is a survey that happens every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The census asks questions about people, their household and their home. The census will give us the most accurate, up to date snapshot of Merton and the needs of our residents.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for delivering the census in England and Wales.
The 2021 Census was the first 'digital-first' census with most people filling the census out online. Census Day was Sunday 21 March 2021.
Why the Census matters
Like all local authorities London Borough of Merton relies on census population statistics to get the government funding we need for public services. How much we get is directly related to how many and what kind of people the census says live in our area. This is also true for health services, policing, public transport and other local public services. So, the census figures make a very real difference to people’s lives and we would like to thank everyone who took the time to take part.
What did the 2021 Census tell us?
The 2021 Census estimated the Merton had 215,187 usual residents in 81,729 households. This was an increase in the population of 7.8% compared to the 2011 Census. The population here increased at a similar rate to the overall population of London (7.7%), but by a greater percentage than the overall population of England (up 6.6%).
In 2021, Merton was home to around 40.9 people per football pitch-sized piece of land, compared with 37.9 in 2011. Merton was among the top 10% most densely populated English local authority areas.
Merton has got older since 2011 with the median age increasing from 34 to 37. The number of people aged 50 to 64 years rose by just under 7,900 (an increase of 26.8%), while the number of residents between 25 and 34 years fell by around 4,400 (10.9% decrease).
Around 122,800 Merton residents said they were born in England. This represented 57.1% of the local population. The figure has risen from just under 119,500 in 2011, which at the time represented 59.8% of Merton's population. Poland was the next most represented, with around 6,900 Merton residents reporting this country of birth (3.2%). This figure has remained relatively unchanged from 2011. The number of Merton residents born in Sri Lanka fell from just over 6,300 in 2011 (3.2% of the local population) to just under 5,600 in 2021 (2.6%).
Of Merton residents aged 16 years and over, 63.2% said they were employed (excluding full-time students) in 2021, a similar percentage as in 2011 (63.1%). However, in 2021, 10.3% of Merton residents aged 16 years and over and in employment said they worked 15 hours or less per week. This figure increased from 8.1% in 2011. Working hours may have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Of Merton households, 55.6% owned their home in 2021, down from 59.3% in 2011. The decrease in the percentage of households that owned their home was greater in Merton (3.6 percentage points) than across London (3.0 percentage points, from 48.3% to 45.2%). Across England, the percentage fell by 2.0 percentage points, from 63.3% to 61.3%. In 2021, just under 3 in 10 households (29.1%) rented privately, compared with 24.8% in 2011. The percentage of Merton households that lived in a socially rented property increased from 14.1% to 14.2%.
All the data from the 2021 Census about Merton is available from the ONS Census website.
Where can I find out more?
More information about the census is available via the official census website.
For the latest population data about Merton please see the Merton Data Hub.