Population and people who use our services

Population

About 355,000 people live in Wakefield District. This is forecast to grow in line with the rest of England by around 2.8% over the next five years. Population growth will be highest in those aged 65 years and over, where the increase will be by around 14.4%. Wakefield has a relatively small ethnic minority population. The 2001 Census recorded that 96.7% of people identified themselves as White British, 1.4% of people described their ethnicity as Asian or Asian British and 1.1% described their ethnicity as White Irish or White Other.

About 185,000 people live in North Kirklees and this is forecast to grow by 3.8% over the next five years, with those aged 65 and over expected to increase by around 14.3%. Older people are those most likely to need to use health services and need healthcare. The areas covered by North Kirklees are Mirfield, Spen, Batley, Birstall, Birkenshaw and Dewsbury. The Asian population is increasing, especially in Batley and Dewsbury where 38% of those aged under 18 are now south Asian. There are a higher proportion of babies being born to south Asian mothers, now up to 2 in 5 births and 38% of all those aged under 18 in North Kirklees. 85% of these are living in Dewsbury and Batley.

Further information about the populations of Wakefield and North Kirklees and the related health needs are available in the respective Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA) reports for the two areas available on the websites of the relevant local authority: