East Sussex demographics.
East Sussex · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of East Sussex — town populations, census figures, and key demographic indicators drawn from the latest available official data.
Population
67,736,802
World share: 0.84 %
Median age
40.1
Global rank: #21
Urban population
85.5 %
57,900,076 people
Density
280 / km²
People per km²
Fertility rate
1.57
Births per woman
- 01 / Population
Who lives here, and how that is changing.
Headline population counts, density and household structure, with the six-year growth trend.
- Population basics
- Total population
- 67,736,8022023
- Population density
- 280 / km²UK average
- Yearly change
- 0.34 %227,866
- Urban population
- 85.5 %57,900,076
- Net migration
- 165,790Annual net
- World population
- 0.84 %8,045,311,447
- Population trend
Total resident population in thousands. A rising line means net growth from births and inward migration.
- 02 / Age & gender
The shape of the population pyramid.
Age band distribution split by gender, with dependency and vital statistics.
- Age pyramid
Share of the total population in each age band, split by gender - wide middle bands indicate a strong working-age base.
- Vital statistics
- Median age
- 39.4 yrs40.2 yrs
- Dependency ratio
- 58.456.9
- Male
- 49.3%49.0%
- Female
- 50.7%51.0%
- Aged 65+
- 16.4%18.4%
- 03 / Housing & households
Tenure, dwelling type and household composition.
Census 2021 housing indicators for the area, benchmarked against England.
- Tenure & conditions
- Home ownership
- 61.0%62.5%
- Social rented
- 17.0%17.1%
- Private rented
- 22.0%20.4%
- Overcrowded households
- 6.1%8.4%
- No central heating
- 1.3%1.5%
- Property type mix
Composition of the housing stock by build type, as a share of all dwellings.
- Tenure split
How households occupy their homes - the owned versus rented balance drives local market liquidity.
- 04 / Employment & economy
Where the jobs and the output are.
Labour market headlines and the sector composition of local employment.
- Labour market
- Economically active
- 76.2%75.7%
- Unemployed
- 3.4%3.5%
- Full-time employees
- 42.1%41.6%
- Self-employed
- 11.8%12.4%
- Students (economically active)
- 5.6%5.2%
- Retired
- 20.9%21.6%
- Top employment sectors
Share of total employment by industry - a concentrated profile signals exposure to one sector's cycle.
- 05 / Education & qualifications
Attainment and the local skills base.
School performance and the qualification profile of working-age residents.
- Attainment & schools
- Level 4+ qualification
- 40.2%33.9%
- No qualifications
- 16.0%18.1%
- Apprenticeship
- 5.1%5.3%
- Full-time students 16+
- 8.4%7.9%
- Schoolchildren aged 5–15
- 12.6%12.4%
- Qualification levels
Highest qualification held by residents aged 16+. Level 4+ covers degree-level and above.
- 06 / Health & wellbeing
Life expectancy, access and deprivation.
Population health outcomes alongside primary care capacity and deprivation ranking.
- Health indicators
- Very good health
- 48.6%48.5%
- Good health
- 33.1%33.7%
- Bad or very bad health
- 5.8%5.2%
- Disabled (day-to-day limited)
- 18.2%17.3%
- Provides unpaid care
- 9.1%8.9%
- Life expectancy (male)
- 79.1 yrs79.4 yrs
- Life expectancy (female)
- 82.9 yrs83.1 yrs
- Healthy life expectancy
- 62.4 yrs63.1 yrs
- IMD decile
- 5 of 10-
- Deprivation
5
IMD decile out of 10 (1 = most deprived). The United Kingdom shows variation across regions, with pockets of both high affluence and concentrated deprivation.
- 07 / Ethnicity, language & religion
The cultural make-up of the area.
Census-based breakdowns of ethnic group, country of birth, language and religion.
- Ethnic group
Share of residents by broad census ethnic group.
- Religion
Stated religion at the last census, as a share of residents.
- Origin & language
- Born in the UK
- 83.6%83.2%
- Born outside the UK
- 16.4%16.8%
- English as main language
- 94.2%91.1%
- Cannot speak English well
- 1.4%1.9%
- 08 / Transport & commuting
How people move around.
Commuting modes, journey times, car ownership and network connectivity.
- Mode of travel to work
Primary commute mode for working residents, including those who mainly work from home.
- Network & journey times
- Average commute
- 29 min28 min
- No car or van
- 24.0%23.5%
- 2+ cars or vans
- 34.0%33.1%
- Work mainly from home
- 17.0%21.0%
- Car ownership
Households by number of cars or vans available.
— 09 / Political & administrative
Who governs, and how engaged residents are.
Administrative structure, council tax levels, political control and turnout.
— Governance
- Parliamentary constituencies
- 12
- Council type
- Metropolitan / two-tier
- Council tax (Band D)
- £2,148
- Political control
- Labour majority
- General election turnout
- 62.4%
- Local election turnout
- 31.8%
— 10 / Crime & safety
Recorded crime and its composition.
Police.uk recorded offences, normalised per 1,000 residents and split by offence type.
— Headline rates
- Crime rate per 1,000
- 94.689.7
- Police force
- West Yorkshire Police—
- Year-on-year change
- -2.8%-1.4%
— Crime type breakdown
Share of all recorded offences by category over the last 12 months.
— 11 / Environment & climate
Green space, air quality and climate risk.
Environmental quality indicators and exposure to flooding across the area.
— Environmental indicators
- Green space coverage
- 38.4%40.1%
- NO₂ (annual mean)
- 21 µg/m³18 µg/m³
- PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 9.4 µg/m³9.1 µg/m³
- Area at flood risk
- 6.2%8.0%
- Annual rainfall
- 812 mm838 mm
- Sunshine hours
- 1,4101,493
— 12 / UK Cities
Population of major UK cities.
Top 10 UK cities by population, sourced from the latest available census and administrative data.
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,556,900 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 984,333 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 864,122 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 729,977 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 685,368 |
| 6 | Bristol | 617,280 |
| 7 | Glasgow | 591,620 |
| 8 | Leicester | 508,916 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 464,990 |
| 10 | Leeds | 455,123 |
— 12b / County Towns
Town populations within the county.
Built-up area populations across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| # | Town | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastbourne | 90,040 | 96,732 | 99,189 |
| 2 | Hastings | 85,219 | 90,471 | 91,480 |
| 3 | Bexhill-on-Sea | 39,576 | 42,369 | 43,754 |
| 4 | Seaford | 22,826 | 23,571 | 23,865 |
| 5 | Hailsham | 19,121 | 19,869 | 22,551 |
| 6 | Crowborough | 20,281 | 21,275 | 21,990 |
| 7 | Lewes | 15,347 | 16,615 | 16,070 |
| 8 | Peacehaven | 13,481 | 14,343 | 15,707 |
| 9 | Uckfield | 13,697 | 14,493 | 15,033 |
| 10 | Newhaven | 11,863 | 12,528 | 12,854 |
| 11 | Polegate | 7,709 | 8,323 | 10,066 |
| 12 | Heathfield | 7,038 | 7,341 | 7,667 |
| 13 | Lower Willingdon | 5,778 | 6,077 | 6,131 |
| 14 | Battle | 4,714 | 5,213 | 5,330 |
| 15 | Stone Cross | 2,842 | 3,531 | 5,038 |
| 16 | Rye | 4,497 | 4,689 | 4,885 |
| 17 | Telscombe Cliffs | 4,060 | 4,236 | 4,236 |
| 18 | Forest Row | 3,623 | 3,818 | 3,881 |
| 19 | Wadhurst | 3,348 | 3,370 | 3,407 |
| 20 | Ringmer | 2,939 | 3,165 | 3,221 |
| 21 | Crumbles | 449 | 3,097 | 3,054 |
| 22 | East Saltdean | 2,809 | 2,965 | 2,891 |
| 23 | Pevensey Bay | 2,708 | 2,864 | 2,887 |
| 24 | Newick | 2,532 | 2,677 | 2,687 |
| 25 | Hellingly | 622 | 840 | 2,618 |
| 26 | Mayfield | 2,111 | 2,022 | 2,254 |
| 27 | Northiam | 1,798 | 1,785 | 1,914 |
| 28 | Westham | 1,851 | 1,850 | 1,856 |
| 29 | Horam | 1,499 | 1,481 | 1,796 |
| 30 | Buxted | 1,355 | 1,455 | 1,617 |
| 31 | East Dean (/ Friston) | 1,578 | 1,620 | 1,599 |
| 32 | Fairlight | 1,514 | 1,516 | 1,566 |
| 33 | Ticehurst | 1,166 | 1,388 | 1,465 |
| 34 | Robertsbridge | 1,393 | 1,466 | 1,436 |
| 35 | Maresfield | 1,070 | 1,190 | 1,366 |
| 36 | Burwash | 1,230 | 1,317 | 1,335 |
| 37 | Ninfield | 1,292 | 1,307 | 1,293 |
| 38 | Westfield | 1,205 | 1,224 | 1,272 |
| 39 | Rotherfield | 1,208 | 1,230 | 1,222 |
| 40 | Herstmonceux | 994 | 1,130 | 1,221 |
| 41 | Nutley | 1,151 | 1,255 | 1,216 |
| 42 | Hurst Green | 1,135 | 1,187 | 1,179 |
| 43 | Camber | 1,220 | 1,265 | 1,130 |
| 44 | Ditchling | 1,038 | 1,113 | 1,123 |
| 45 | Broad Oak [in: Wealden District] | 1,054 | 1,146 | 1,099 |
| 46 | Groombridge | 1,028 | 1,120 | 1,078 |
| 47 | Five Ash Down | 607 | 720 | 1,062 |
| 48 | Plumpton Green | 1,137 | 1,123 | 1,059 |
| 49 | Winchelsea Beach | 1,028 | 1,089 | 1,025 |
| 50 | North Chailey | 689 | 1,049 | 1,013 |
| 51 | Wivelsfield Green | 761 | 735 | 1,012 |
| 52 | South Chailey | 998 | 1,021 | 922 |
| 53 | Icklesham | 933 | 941 | 918 |
| 54 | Peasmarsh | 888 | 883 | 900 |
| 55 | Broyle Side | 935 | 883 | 896 |
| 56 | Sedlescombe | 809 | 891 | 893 |
| 57 | Crowhurst | 878 | 891 | 886 |
| 58 | Broad Oak [in: Rother District] | 839 | 802 | 866 |
| 59 | Telham | 792 | 841 | 828 |
| 60 | Staplecross | 681 | 760 | 825 |
| 61 | Kingston near Lewes | 836 | 831 | 816 |
| 62 | Burwash Common | 737 | 782 | 811 |
| 63 | Cross in Hand | 681 | 725 | 810 |
| 64 | Flimwell | 628 | 773 | 801 |
| 65 | East Hoathly | 619 | 893 | 791 |
| 66 | Alfriston | 769 | 829 | 762 |
| 67 | Barcombe Cross | 692 | 741 | 737 |
| 68 | Beckley | 624 | 656 | 734 |
| 69 | Frant | 637 | 781 | 702 |
| 70 | Hartfield | 632 | 650 | 696 |
| 71 | Isfield | 559 | 574 | 675 |
| 72 | Framfield | 603 | 665 | 656 |
| 73 | Windmill Hill | 569 | 641 | 633 |
| 74 | Town Row | 575 | 612 | 625 |
| 75 | Golden Cross | 623 | 623 | 609 |
| 76 | Cackle Street | 552 | 620 | 608 |
| 77 | Punnett's Town | 610 | 632 | 608 |
| 78 | Upper Dicker | 262 | 551 | 600 |
| 79 | Chelwood Gate | 573 | 600 | 554 |
| 80 | Five Ashes | 508 | 507 | 507 |
— 13 / English Regions
Regional population comparison.
Population figures for English regions across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| Region | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,172,174 | 4,533,222 | 4,880,054 |
| East of England | 5,388,140 | 5,846,965 | 6,335,074 |
| North East England | 2,515,442 | 2,596,886 | 2,647,013 |
| North West England | 6,729,764 | 7,052,177 | 7,417,397 |
| South East England | 8,000,645 | 8,634,750 | 9,278,065 |
| South West England | 4,928,434 | 5,288,935 | 5,701,186 |
| West Midlands | 5,267,308 | 5,601,847 | 5,950,757 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,964,833 | 5,283,733 | 5,480,777 |
— Data sources
- ONS — population, age, ethnicity, housing
- Nomis — employment, earnings, qualifications
- Census 2021 (Nomis) — area vs England comparisons
- Police.uk — crime data
- MHCLG — Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Postcodes.io / GeoNames — boundary mapping