Quirky Kent census facts   

Did you know?

• The population of Kent and Medway increased from just over 297,000 in 1801 to just over 1.7 million in 2011.
• There was a rise in the population density of Kent from 0.5 people per acre in 1831 to 1.7 people per acre in 2011.
• The numbers of people per household has decreased over the last 200 years.  In 1801 the average household in Kent contained 6 people, compared to 2.4 people in 2011.
• In 1971 almost 56% of households in Kent already had a car.  At the time of the 2011 Census this had increased to 80% of all households.
• In 1851, just over 10% of the population was employed in agriculture.  By 2001, the number of farmers and agricultural labourers accounted for less than 1% of Kent’s population.
• Between 1851 and 1901 the number of people employed on the railways in Kent (excluding construction) increased twelve-fold from 563 people to 6,749 people.
• In 1818, 8% of Kent’s female population were employed as indoor domestic servants.  Over 19 times as many females were domestic servants as males.
• In 1851, there were 9 chimney sweeps aged between 5 and 9 in Kent.
• In 1891 there were 3,071 shipwrights in Kent.
• In 2011, the majority of Kent residents (16.3%) were employed in the wholesale and retail trade.
• At the end of the Second World War it was vital to assess the overall housing situation in Great Britain.  Consequently the 1951 Census had a number of questions on housing needs.  In 1951, 7,400 Kent households (1.6%) were without piped water and 18,200 households were without a toilet (4.0%).  The lack of amenities was met in post-war housing programmes and subsequent improvements were evident in subsequent censuses.  For example, by 1971 only 3,300 households were without a toilet.  Today, such questions are less relevant and therefore the 2011 Census asked questions on type of central heating etc rather than availability.