Socio-economic statistics for Christchurch, Gloucestershire

Is Christchurch in Forest of Dean a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Christchurch older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Christchurch and Forest of Dean? What is the claimant count in Christchurch and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Christchurch Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Christchurch residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Christchurch to the national average for England.

Level	Coleford	England
No Qualifications	22.19%	18.08%
Level 1	11.11%	9.69%
Level 2	15.89%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.63%	5.32%
Level 3	17.43%	16.92%
Level 4	24.17%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Christchurch and Forest of Dean

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Christchurch either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 65.92 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 34.08 of Christchurch residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Coleford	65.92%	34.08%
Forest of Dean	72.6%	27.4%
South West	65.88%	34.12%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Christchurch has a higher level of home ownership than than the national average.

Christchurch compared to other wards in Forest of Dean

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Lydney North	89.41%	10.59%
2	Longhope & Huntley	83.19%	16.81%
3	St. Briavels	82.46%	17.54%
4	Pillowell	80.95%	19.05%
5	Dymock	80.05%	19.95%
6	Hartpury & Redmarley	79.68%	20.32%
7	Westbury-on-Severn	78.27%	21.73%
8	Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook	77.68%	22.32%
9	Newland & Sling	77.19%	22.81%
10	Berry Hill (Forest of Dean)	76.04%	23.96%
11	Tidenham	75.31%	24.69%
12	Lydbrook	75.23%	24.77%
13	Bream	74.35%	25.65%
14	Ruspidge	74.34%	25.66%
15	Newnham (Forest of Dean)	73.01%	26.99%
16	Cinderford East	70.16%	29.84%
17	Lydney West & Aylburton	69.26%	30.74%
18	Coleford	65.92%	34.08%
19	Newent & Taynton	65.37%	34.63%
20	Lydney East	62.1%	37.9%
21	Cinderford West	57.13%	42.87%

Christchurch is ranked 18 out of 21 wards in Forest of Dean for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Christchurch & Forest of Dean Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Christchurch in the Forest of Dean local area district.

Christchurch has a lower rate of immigrants than Forest of Dean, the South West region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Coleford	96.81%	3.19%
Forest of Dean	94.9%	5.1%
South West	89.8%	10.2%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Christchurch compared to other wards in Forest of Dean

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Newent & Taynton	89.71%	10.29%
2	Tidenham	92.43%	7.57%
3	Cinderford West	92.53%	7.47%
4	Lydney East	94.29%	5.71%
5	St. Briavels	94.45%	5.55%
6	Dymock	94.5%	5.5%
7	Cinderford East	94.51%	5.49%
8	Newland & Sling	94.65%	5.35%
9	Longhope & Huntley	95.06%	4.94%
10	Hartpury & Redmarley	95.38%	4.62%
11	Lydney West & Aylburton	95.41%	4.59%
12	Newnham	95.48%	4.52%
13	Westbury-on-Severn	96%	4%
14	Bream	96.42%	3.58%
15	Pillowell	96.44%	3.56%
16	Ruspidge	96.58%	3.42%
17	Lydney North	96.7%	3.3%
18	Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook	96.75%	3.25%
19	Coleford	96.81%	3.19%
20	Lydbrook	96.81%	3.19%
21	Berry Hill	97.55%	2.45%

';Christchurch is ranked 19 out of 21 wards in Forest of Dean for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Christchurch Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Coleford.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Christchurch Health Statistics

Coleford has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Coleford	42.15%	34.92%	16.55%	5.06%	1.33%
Forest of Dean	44.81%	35.52%	14.2%	4.21%	1.25%
South West	47.6%	34.21%	13.12%	3.95%	1.12%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in Forest of Dean changed since 2011?

Forest of Dean residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.26% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	44.27%	35.8%	14.49%	4.31%	1.13%
2021	44.81%	35.52%	14.2%	4.21%	1.25%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Christchurch?

The largest employment sector in Christchurch is Skilled Trades. The smallest employment sector is Administrative & Secretarial.

Sector	Proportion
Skilled Trades	15.32%
Professional Occupations	12.71%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	11.69%
Elementary Occupations	11.51%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	11.43%
Associate Professional & Technical	11.17%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	10.03%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.96%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Christchurch Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of Forest of Dean.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Forest of Dean	2.5%	0%
South West	2.5%	-0.4%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Christchurch on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Christchurch.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.83%
In Part-Time Work	30.36%
Unemployed	4.02%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

69.64% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Christchurch

What is the population of Christchurch and Forest of Dean?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Forest of Dean including Christchurch. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Berry Hill	4538
Bream	4934
Cinderford East	4635
Cinderford West	4443
Coleford	7575
Dymock	1880
Hartpury & Redmarley	5711
Longhope & Huntley	4006
Lydbrook	2249
Lydney East	6019
Lydney North	1779
Lydney West & Aylburton	2477
Mitcheldean, Ruardean & Drybrook	7391
Newent & Taynton	6655
Newland & Sling	2478
Newnham	4660
Pillowell	1954
Ruspidge	2321
St. Briavels	2367
Tidenham	6964
Westbury-on-Severn	2071
Forest of Dean Total	87107

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

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