History of Barrow-in-Furness - Demographics

Demographics

Population
Barrow's population numbered in its low thousands at the turn of the 19th century and increased over the next century to over 60,000, peaking at almost 76,000 in the 1960s. Since the start of the 20th century the population of the town has gradually diminished to just under 60,000. The Barrow council district, which includes adjacent urban areas, has a population of around 69,100 according to the most recent census. This is 4% less than the 2001 figure of 71,900, and the highest percentage population loss in the country between 2001 and 2011. The Barrow-in-Furness metropolitan area consists of numerous commuter towns and villages within the Furness peninsula and has a population of around 108,000. Barrow is also the only major urban area within South West Cumbria, a region with a population in excess of 130,000.

Barrow can be regarded as the largest town in Cumbria, Carlisle in the north of the county having city status. It is also the 15th largest settlement in North West England. People from Barrow are known as Barrovians.

Historical population of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness

Year	1801	1811	1831	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001	2011
Population	1,958	2,078	2,702	4,684	22,513	40,343	58,172	62,694	67,354	72,360	73,394	74,447	75,509	76,619	75,902	72,192	72,645	73,704	71,979	69,087

Ethnicity and country of birth
The 2011 census states 97.08% of Barrow's population as White British, and ethnic minority populations in Barrow stood at 2.92%. Other ethnic groups in Barrow include Other White 1.25%, Asian 0.92%, Mixed Race 0.52%, Black 0.05%, Arab 0.02% and all other ethnic groups represented 0.07% of the population. The first people to settle in what is now Barrow were the Celts and Scandinavians followed by the Cornish although in the late 19th century there was mass immigration from Scotland, Ireland and other parts of England. Barrow has significant Chinese (in particular those originating from Hong Kong), Filipino and Indian communities as well as a large Polish population post the 2004 EU enlargement, however in general has a much lower proportion of ethnic minorities than national average.

In 2011 93.38% of the borough's population was born in England, 2.58% in Scotland, 0.56% in Northern Ireland and 0.56% in Wales. 2.92% of the town's 2011 population were born elsewhere in the world, 1.18% of which were born in the European Union. The five most common foreign countries of birth were Poland, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the Philippines and India.

Language
According to the 2011 census, 98.81% of Barrovian's spoke English as a main language, although around 40 languages are spoken in the town with Polish, various Chinese languages and Tagalog prevailing as the second, third and fourth most common main languages (0.28%, 0.15% and 0.10% of the population respectively). Of the 797 Barrovians who had a main language other than English, 82.9% can speak English well to very well.

Religion

See also: List of places of worship in Barrow-in-Furness

In the 2011 census 70.68% of Barrow's population stated themselves as being Christian. People stating no religion or chose not to state totalled 28.44% combined. Other religious groups represented 0.89% of the population, with Islam and Buddhism prevailing as the first and second most common groups. Conishead Priory, the first Kadampa Buddhist centre in the west, is home to around 100 Buddhists and is located on the outskirts of Barrow within the South Lakeland district. Historically Barrow was home to a notable Ashkenazi Jewish community that peaked in size during the 1930's with a synagogue in the town. Despite this it closed in 1974 and only a dozen Jews were recorded by the 2011 census.

Other
Out of the 56,110 age 16 or over in 2001, 46.12% were married or in a civil partnership, 23.44% single, 12.05% cohabiting, 8.05% divorced and 7.58% widowed. 188 Barrovians were working in the Armed Forces in 2001