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This section looks at data relating to population & migration. Please use the menu links on the left hand side to access this data.

As a relatively new town Bournemouth has grown from the Parish of Holdenhurst with a population of just 489 in 1801 to the Borough of Bournemouth, which in Mid-2007 had an estimated population of 163,200.

The Borough currently has eighteen wards, which vary in population and size.  The smallest in terms of population is Boscombe West with a population of 7,598 and the largest is Kinson South, with a population of 10,229 in Mid-2001.  In terms of population density the most populated ward is Boscombe West with around 77 persons per hectare while the least populated is East Southbourne and Tuckton with only 20 people per hectare.  The Borough as a whole has an average population density of 35 persons per hectare.  This compares with an England and Wales average of 3.5 persons per hectare.

Bournemouth has a lower birth rate than the national average, and a higher death rate than the national average.  In recent years the number of deaths per year has outweighed the numbers of births in Bournemouth, for example in 2005 there were 1,619 live births and 1,996 deaths.  In 2007, however, for the first time in many years the number of births exceeded deaths, albeit by a modest 29.  As a result the population increase in 2007 isn't solely based on people moving to the area as it has been in previous years.

Statistics for the mid-2004 to mid-2005 period show that allowing for the excess of deaths over births in Bournemouth the migration component, including internal (within the UK) as well as international migration accounted for around 340 more residents moving to Bournemouth than moved away from the area.  Among internal migrants the largest movements of migrants is in the 16-24 age group with a net increase of around 700 migrants to Bournemouth within this group.  This is largely due to students moving to the area to attend the university.

Bournemouth has a relatively small but diverse ethnic community with White Irish, White Other, Mixed race, Chinese and Other Ethnic groups making up the largest populations.

There were 1,015 marriages in 2003 with civil ceremonies making up 73% of all marriages compared with 68% in England and Wales.