People

Norfolk’s population is projected to increase by approximately 13% over the next 10 years, it is projected to be the 9th largest local authority in England, a position it currently holds. This is a projected population increase of over 56,000 spread over the next ten years, 44,000 of this increase is in the population over 65.^[1] Norfolk has an older population with a proportion of residents 65 years or older rising from 25% to 28% over the next 10 years.^[1] Norfolk has the 15th most elderly population in England but is projected to drop to the 17th largest in 2040.^[1]

Across Norfolk the average life expectancy is approximately 80 years for men^[2] and around 84 years for women.^[3] The average number of years a man or a woman can expect to live in good health is about 63.1 for men and 62.6 for women.^[4] Deprivation and poverty influence the health and wellbeing of the population. The life expectancy gap between the most deprived areas of Norfolk and the least deprived areas is 7.4 years for men^[4] and 4.4 years for women.^[5]

1. www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/localarea?compare=E10000020
2. fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/life%20expectancy#page/3/gid/1/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/302/are/E10000020/iid/90366/age/1/sex/1/cid/4/page-options/car-do-0
3. fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/life%20expectancy#page/3/gid/1/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/302/are/E10000020/iid/90366/age/1/sex/2/cid/4/page-options/car-do-0
4. fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/life%20expectancy#page/3/gid/1/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/302/are/E10000020/iid/90362/age/1/sex/1/cid/4/page-options/car-do-0
5. fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/life%20expectancy#page/3/gid/1/pat/6/par/E12000006/ati/302/are/E10000020/iid/92901/age/1/sex/1/cid/4/page-options/car-do-0

Norfolk’s population is projected to increase by roughly 13% over the next 10 years, it is projected to be the 9th largest local authority in England, a position it currently holds. This is a projected population increase of over 56,000 spread over the next ten years, 44,000 of this increase is in the population over 65.^[6] Norfolk has an older population with a proportion of residents 65 years or older rising from 25% to 28% over the next 10 years.^[6] Norfolk has the 15th most elderly population in England but is projected to drop to the 17th largest in 2040.^[6]

Across Norfolk the average life expectancy is approximately 80 years for men^[7] and around 84 years for women.^[8] The average number of years a man or a woman can expect to live in good health is about 63.1 for men and 62.6 for women.^[9]

Deprivation and poverty influence the health and wellbeing of the population. The life expectancy gap between the most deprived areas of Norfolk and the least deprived areas is 7.4 years for men^[10] and 4.4 years for women.^[11] Along with deprivation other influences on life expectancy include socio-economic factors (income, education, housing), gender, the environment (air pollution, access to green space, where we live) as well as health lifestyle behaviours (smoking, alcohol, nutrition, physical activity, stress).

In the year 2020 the Norfolk working aged population was estimated to be 97% White, 0.5% Black, 1% Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi and 1.5% Other Ethnic identities.^[12] This compares to England with proportions on average of 86% White, 3% Black, 6% Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi and 5% Other Ethnic Identities in the same age demographic and over the same time period.^[12] In Norfolk the district with the highest percentage of other ethnicities is Norwich.^[12]

According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics in 2018-19 the inflow of international migration in Norfolk was just over 5,300 and the outflow just over 3,800. In the year 2019 the non-UK born population in Norfolk was estimated to be 76,000 or around 7.8% compared to England which is estimated to have a non-UK born population of 13%.^[13] Migration from within the UK was just over 33,000 and outflow just over 28,000.^[13]

According to a 2018 dataset from the ONS 96.1% of the East of England identifies as straight, 1.1% as gay or lesbian, 1.1% bisexual and the remainder “Other” or “Don’t know or refuse”. This compares to the UK’s statistics of 94.6% straight, 1.4% gay or lesbian and 0.9% bisexual.^[14]

In the UK LGBT people report worse health outcomes than the population in general and worse overall health experiences. This is believed to be caused by social inequality, discrimination and loneliness. All these negative outcomes are exacerbated in older members of the LGBT community due to combination of aging and the disadvantages mentioned previously.^[15]

Although the number of people in Norfolk identifying as Christian has fallen, Christianity remains the main faith in the county. Numbers of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims have increased, as have those with no religion.^[16]

Norfolk has 47 libraries and offers a range of online services as well as mobile libraries and school library services.^[17] There are twelve museums across Norfolk, with the top ten museums having an estimated positive impact of over £32 million to the local economy over the last five years (2014-2019) from over 2 million visits.^[18] Norfolk has various theatres and music venues and hosts the Norfolk and Norwich Festival with events across the county in Classical Music, Outdoor, Performance and Visual Arts.