Demography
| The Borough of Burnley compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Census 2001 | Burnley | NW England | England |
| Total population | 89,542 | 6,729,764 | 49,138,831 |
| Foreign born | 5.7% | 5.1% | 9.2% |
| White | 91.8% | 94.4% | 90.9% |
| Asian | 7.2% | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Black | 0.1% | 0.6% | 2.3% |
| Christian | 74.5% | 78.0% | 71.7% |
| Muslim | 6.6% | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Hindu | 0.3% | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| No religion | 11.0% | 10.5% | 14.6% |
| Under 18 years old | 25.6% | 23.3% | 22.7% |
| Over 65 years old | 15.1% | 16.0% | 15.9% |
| Unemployed | 3.1% | 3.6% | 3.3% |
| Perm. sick / disabled | 8.9% | 7.7% | 5.3% |
The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed a total resident population for Burnley of 73,021. The town is the main population centre in the Burnley-Nelson urban area, which has an estimated population of 149,796; for comparison purposes, this is about the same size as Oxford, Swindon or Slough
The racial composition of the borough is 91.77% White and 7.16% South Asian or South Asian / British, predominantly from Pakistan. The largest religious groups are Christian (74.46%) and Muslim (6.58%). 59.02% of adults between the ages of 16 and 74 are classed as economically active and in work.
The town is noticeably segregated, with the majority of its Asian residents living in the neighbouring Daneshouse and Stoneyholme districts. In total, the size of its Asian community is much smaller than those in nearby towns such as Blackburn and Oldham.
In early 2010, the Lancashire Telegraph reported that Burnley topped Home Office figures for the highest number of burglaries per head in England and Wales between April 2008 – April 2009. This claim (minus the dates) was repeated during one of the questions in the first of the televised 2010 general election debates. However, in May 2010 the NPIA Local Crime Mapping System (believed to be the source of the data in the report) listed a 49.5% drop in this rate on the previous year.
Burnley has some of the lowest property prices in the country, with numerous streets appearing in the annual mouseprice.com most affordable streets in England & Wales report. These streets are concentrated in areas of terrace housing in poorer neighbourhoods adjacent to the town centre. Between 2005 and 2010 approximately £65m of government funds was invested into these areas through the Elevate East Lancashire housing market renewal company (replaced by Regenerate Pennine Lancashire in 2010).
| Year | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 2001 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 106,322 | 103,157 | 89,258 | 85,400 | 84,987 | 80,559 | 76,489 | 73,021 | |||||||||||||
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