Newly published details from last year's UK Census (2021) shows some striking facts about the Cotswold District's population.

1. There are slightly more women than men in the District

The Census, which is used to understand how the UK's population changes over time, shows the balance of men and women across the country.

In the Cotswolds, 48.2% of the population was male and 51.9% was female last year – respectively, this compares to 48.4% and 51.6% 10 years ago.

The City of London (55.8%) had the highest male-to-female ratio, while Kensington and Chelsea (46.7%) had the lowest.

2. There are areas of deprivation, but they are not extreme

The areas of the District with the highest deprivation are Cirencester Central, Cirencester South, and Moreton and Stow-on-the-Wold.

The areas of deprivation refer to whether any household member is either unemployed or long-term sick; whether no household member has at least a Level 2 education; whether anyone in the household has “bad” or “very bad” health or has a long-term health problem; and whether the household is either overcrowded, is shared, or has no central heating.

In Cirencester Central – 52.8% of households here were deprived in at least one dimension at the time of the 2021 census, down from 58.6% in 2011

Cirencester South – 47.6%, falling from 52.4% in 2011

Moreton and Stow-on-the-Wold – 46.4%, a drop from 53.6% in 2011

By contrast, the neighbourhood with the lowest level of deprivation was Sandywell, Ermin and Chedworth, at 34.8% of households.

The average across England and Wales, of 51.7%.

3. The Cotswold district has an ageing population

The Cotswolds has an ageing population, as the proportion of over-65s calling the area home rose in the last decade.

There were 23,700 people aged 65 and over living in the District on census day last year – up from 18,489 in 2011, when the Census was last carried out.

It means the proportion of over-65s living in the area rose over the last decade – from 22.3% to 26.1%.

4. But the number of younger people is rising too

There were 26,000 people aged 29 and under living in the Cotswolds on March 21 last year, who accounted for 28.6% of the population – up from 24,855 (30%) in 2011.

Of them, 8,600 under-10s called the Cotswolds home.

5. Nearly a third of people in the Cotswolds are single

More than a quarter of people in the Cotswolds were single as the number of marriage and civil partnerships dropped across the country in the past decade, new census figures show.

The area follows trends across England and Wales, where the rate of single people has increased since the last census in 2011.

The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in the Cotswolds when the census took place last year was 21,266, up from 17735 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in the Cotswolds, 27.9% were single – an increase on 25.7% in 2011.

The picture was similar across England and Wales last year, where 37.9% of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6% in 2011.