Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A 'must read' if London is one of your markets






I have already said a few words about the latest census data.


Thanks to Richard Webber I have just been reading a more detailed analysis of what has been happening in London - 2011 Census first results: London boroughs’ populations by age and sex


You can download all of this data. 


The top chart shows how good or bad we have been at estimating the population, by age, in London. The blue line that shows a much larger population that was measured by the census comes from an analysis of GP (doctors) patients. A very good mate of mine is involved in the NHS and he has been telling me for ages that the data held by GPs is useless totally useless. I hope that message has got through - I doubt it.


The other thing that this chart shows is that we have been bad at estimating the younger population but not surprisingly better at doing it for oldies.


The second chart shows the difference in the population of over-65s in London boroughs between 2001 - 2011. The boroughs with a net decrease all have very high numbers of immigrants. What we are seeing is that the population of these boroughs is trending closer to third-world countries.


The boroughs with a high net increase are the more prosperous places.


This data is full of great insights. I do suggest you download it and read. Dick Stroud

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