Socio-economic statistics for Rotherhithe, Southwark

Is Rotherhithe in Southwark 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 Rotherhithe older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Rotherhithe and Southwark? What is the claimant count in Rotherhithe and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Rotherhithe 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 Southwark.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Southwark	5.1%	-0.7%
London	4.8%	-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 Rotherhithe 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 Rotherhithe.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	66.75%
In Part-Time Work	17.5%
Unemployed	6.04%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

82.5% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Rotherhithe

What are the occupations of the residents of Rotherhithe?

The largest employment sector in Rotherhithe is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	33.42%
Associate Professional & Technical	17.05%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	16.75%
Elementary Occupations	7.83%
Administrative & Secretarial	6.82%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.07%
Skilled Trades	4.4%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	2.94%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

How many residents own or rent their home in Rotherhithe and Southwark

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Rotherhithe either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 24.38 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 75.62 of Rotherhithe residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
North Bermondsey	24.38%	75.62%
Southwark	28.86%	71.14%
London	45.23%	54.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe has a significantly lower level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically deprived area.

Rotherhithe compared to other wards in Southwark

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Dulwich Village	68.37%	31.63%
2	Dulwich Hill	53.84%	46.16%
3	Peckham Rye	50.44%	49.56%
4	Dulwich Wood	48.22%	51.78%
5	Goose Green	47.83%	52.17%
6	Champion Hill	38.76%	61.24%
7	Surrey Docks	35.31%	64.69%
8	Rye Lane	33.18%	66.82%
9	St Giles	31.66%	68.34%
10	Nunhead & Queen's Road	30.12%	69.88%
11	North Bermondsey	24.38%	75.62%
12	London Bridge & West Bermondsey	23.14%	76.86%
13	Rotherhithe	22.78%	77.22%
14	St George's (Southwark)	22.32%	77.68%
15	Camberwell Green	22.01%	77.99%
16	Borough & Bankside	21.99%	78.01%
17	Newington (Southwark)	20.45%	79.55%
18	South Bermondsey	20.4%	79.6%
19	Chaucer	19.34%	80.66%
20	Peckham	19.19%	80.81%
21	North Walworth	18.27%	81.73%
22	Old Kent Road	17.63%	82.37%
23	Faraday	15.66%	84.34%

Rotherhithe is ranked 11 out of 23 wards in Southwark for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe Health Statistics

North Bermondsey has significantly more residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
North Bermondsey	56.73%	29.64%	9.46%	3.13%	1.03%
Southwark	55.79%	30.34%	9.75%	3.1%	1.02%
London	53.55%	31.85%	10.33%	3.23%	1.05%
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 Southwark changed since 2011?

Southwark residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.42% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	53.49%	31.22%	10.38%	3.66%	1.25%
2021	55.79%	30.34%	9.75%	3.1%	1.02%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Rotherhithe 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 Rotherhithe to the national average for England.

Level	North Bermondsey	England
No Qualifications	13.72%	18.08%
Level 1	5.33%	9.69%
Level 2	7.08%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	2.29%	5.32%
Level 3	10.41%	16.92%
Level 4	58.82%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe & Southwark 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 Rotherhithe in the Southwark local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
North Bermondsey	56.85%	43.15%
Southwark	59.29%	40.71%
London	59.37%	40.63%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe compared to other wards in Southwark

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	North Walworth	50.66%	49.34%
2	Borough & Bankside	51.33%	48.67%
3	Old Kent Road	51.96%	48.04%
4	Faraday	52.15%	47.85%
5	Chaucer	52.67%	47.33%
6	Rotherhithe	53.12%	46.88%
7	Surrey Docks	53.97%	46.03%
8	London Bridge & West Bermondsey	54.33%	45.67%
9	St George's	54.41%	45.59%
10	Camberwell Green	54.8%	45.2%
11	Peckham	56.05%	43.95%
12	North Bermondsey	56.85%	43.15%
13	Newington	57.84%	42.16%
14	South Bermondsey	57.89%	42.11%
15	St Giles	60.84%	39.16%
16	Champion Hill	62.2%	37.8%
17	Nunhead & Queen's Road	65.94%	34.06%
18	Rye Lane	66.06%	33.94%
19	Dulwich Wood	67.81%	32.19%
20	Dulwich Hill	73.17%	26.83%
21	Goose Green	73.93%	26.07%
22	Peckham Rye	74.16%	25.84%
23	Dulwich Village	77.38%	22.62%

';Rotherhithe is ranked 12 out of 23 wards in Southwark for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rotherhithe Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

What is the population of Rotherhithe and Southwark?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Southwark including Rotherhithe. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Borough & Bankside	11108
Camberwell Green	15162
Champion Hill	10512
Chaucer	15172
Dulwich Hill	9804
Dulwich Village	11199
Dulwich Wood	10638
Faraday	12385
Goose Green	14083
London Bridge & West Bermondsey	17743
Newington	14328
North Bermondsey	18003
North Walworth	13717
Nunhead & Queen's Road	16524
Old Kent Road	18255
Peckham	14499
Peckham Rye	10586
Rotherhithe	18259
Rye Lane	15622
South Bermondsey	17072
St George's	7124
St Giles	15376
Surrey Docks	12846
Southwark Total	320017

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024