South Dorset Parliamentary Constituency Area 2024

Last updated 5 August 2024

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Overview

Situated towards the South of Dorset 

The constituency contains the main towns of: 

  • Weymouth 
  • Swanage 
  • Wareham 
  • the Ilse of Portland 

Within this Parliamentary Constituency Area there are:

  • 9 libraries:
    • 6 owned and run by Dorset Council
    • 3 run by the Community

There are also 34 Schools of which:

  • 25 Primary
  • 3 Secondary schools
  • 3 Special Schools
  • 1 Learning Centre
  • 1 free school 
  • 1 all-through academy 

There are also:

  • a Military base
  • the Bibby Stockholm
  • a prison  

in this constituency area 

Population 

total = 98533

Male = 50% 

Female = 50%

 

Population - Age

Table. Population - Age breakdown, 2022 Mid Year Population Estimates, ONS
Age Bracket  South Dorset  South West England and Wales
All 98530  5764880  60238040 
% Aged 0 to 15 15 17 18
% Aged 16 to 64 57 61 63
% Aged 65 to 84 24 19 16
% Aged 85+ 4 3 3
  • the area has a smaller proportion of working age population than the regional and national average with 57% aged 16-64 compared to 61% across the South West
  • the proportion of the population aged 65+ is much larger at 28% compared to a regional average of 22% and national average of 19%

 

 

Population - Ethnicity/Country of Birth and Proficiency in English

Table. Ethnicity. Census 2021
Ethnicity  South Dorset   South West England and Wales
% White British 93.7  85.5 74.4
% Ethnic Minority 6.3 14.5 25.6
Table. Country of birth. Census 2021 
Country of birth  South Dorset   South West England and Wales
% UK 93.8 89.8 83.2
% EU 3.2 4.6 6.1
% elsewhere  3.0 5.5 10.7
Table. Proficiency in English. Census 2021 Mid Dorset & North Poole South West England and Wales % White British
Proficiency in English South Dorset  West England and Wales
% Main language spoken not English  1.9 4.6 8.9
% Cannot Speak English well or very well 0.2 0.7 1.8

Population. Households

Table. Number of Households and deprivation
not applicable  South Dorset  Number of HH within the top 20% most deprived nationally
Number of Dwellings 51488 9216
Table. Households, Wealth and income
Household Characteristics South Dorset  South West UK
Affluent % 20.3  27.9 25.1
Comfortably Of % 47.4 43.8 35.9
Low Income % 32.3 28.3 39.0

 

 

Population - Health and Care

Table. Health and Care. Census 2021
Health or Disability  South Dorset  Dorset England and Wales
% Disability (under the equalities act) 21.9 19.8 17.5
% Health Very Good/Good 78.5 80.7 82.0
% Health Very Bad/Bad 6 5.1 5.2
% Provides unpaid care 10.2 9.7 8.9
  • overall the health of those living in South Dorset Parliamentary Constituency Area is not as good as England & Wales or Dorset, with a greater proportion in poor health
  • just over a fifth of the population in the South Dorset Parliamentary Constituency Area have a long term illness/disability, four percentage points higher than the national averages, and a slightly higher proportion provide unpaid care compared to England and Wales and Dorset

 

 

Population. Deprivation

Table. Deprivation
Not applicable  Multiple Deprivation Income Deprivation Employment Deprivation Health Deprivation Education Deprivation Crime Deprivation Barriers to Housing and Services Deprivation Living Environment Deprivation
% Population living in areas within the top 20% nationally 18.4 11.9 17 25.9 20.7 6.5 24.8 17

 

Further information

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