Editing Somerset (section)

== Demography ==
{{see also|List of settlements in Somerset by population}}

In the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]] the population of the [[Somerset County Council]] area was 571,600<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=2021 Census Somerset Data |url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/census2021/ |website= Somerset Intelligence |publisher= [[Somerset Council]] |access-date=29 October 2022}}</ref>
with 193,400 in [[Bath and North East Somerset]],<ref name="BANESppln-ONS">{{cite web |title=How the population changed in Bath and North East Somerset, Census 2021 - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000022/ |website=www.ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=29 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> and 216,700 in [[North Somerset]]<ref name="NSppln-ONS">{{cite web |title=How the population changed in North Somerset, Census 2021 - ONS |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censuspopulationchange/E06000024/ |website=www.ons.gov.uk |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=29 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref> giving a total for the ceremonial county of 981,700.

[[Population growth]] is higher than the national average, with a 6.4% increase, in the Somerset County Council area, since 1991, and a 17% increase since 1981. The population density is 1.4 persons per hectare, which can be compared to 2.07 persons per hectare for the South West region. Within the county, population density ranges 0.5 in [[West Somerset]] to 2.2&nbsp;persons per hectare in [[Taunton Deane]]. The percentage of the population who are economically active is higher than the regional and national average, and the unemployment rate is lower than the regional and national average.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unemployment and Economic Inactivity: Rural-Urban Analysis |url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/unemployment-and-economic-inactivity-rural-urban-analysis/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006161937/http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/unemployment-and-economic-inactivity-rural-urban-analysis/ |archive-date=6 October 2017 |access-date=6 October 2017 |publisher=Somerset Intelligence}}</ref>

Somerset has a high white British population, with 94.6% registering as [[white British]], and 2.0% as belonging to Black and ethnic minority (BME) groups, according to the [[2011 UK Census|2011 Census]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnicity and National Identity |url=http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/census-ethnicity.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812022459/http://www.somersetintelligence.org.uk/census-ethnicity.html |archive-date=12 August 2018 |access-date=11 August 2018 |publisher=somersetintelligence.org.uk}}</ref> Over 25% of Somerset's population is concentrated in Taunton, Bridgwater and Yeovil. The rest of the county is rural and sparsely populated. Over 9&nbsp;million tourist nights are spent in Somerset each year, which significantly increases the population at peak times.<ref name="dandsfire" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Population of Somerset since 1801
|-
!Year
|'''1801'''
|'''1851'''
|'''1901'''
|'''1911'''
|'''1921'''
|'''1931'''
|'''1941'''
|'''1951'''
|'''1961'''
|'''1971'''
|'''1981'''
|'''1991'''
|'''2001'''
|'''2011'''
|'''2021'''
|-
!Somerset CC area<ref>{{cite web |title=Somerset: Total Population |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=17483&st=Somerset |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106015144/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=17483&st=Somerset |archive-date=6 January 2012 |access-date=12 December 2007 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project}}</ref>
|187,266
|276,684
|277,563
|280,215
|282,411
|284,740
|305,244
|327,505
|355,292
|385,698
|417,450
|468,395
|498,093
|529,972
|571,600<ref name=":0" />
|-
!BANES<ref>{{cite web |title=Bath and North East Somerset: Total Population |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=1008&st=Bath%20and%20North%20East%20Somerset |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120106015428/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=1008&st=Bath%20and%20North%20East%20Somerset |archive-date=6 January 2012 |access-date=13 December 2007 |work=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=Great Britain Historical GIS Project}}</ref>
|57,188
|96,992
|107,637
|113,732
|113,351
|112,972
|123,185
|134,346
|144,950
|156,421
|154,083
|164,737
|169,045
|176,015
|193,400<ref name="BANESppln-ONS"/>
|-
!North Somerset
|16,670
|33,774
|60,066
|68,410
|75,276
|82,833
|91,967
|102,119
|119,509
|139,924
|160,353
|179,865
|188,556
|202,566
|216,700<ref name="NSppln-ONS"/>
|-
!Total
|'''261,124'''
|'''407,450'''
|'''445,266'''
|'''462,357'''
|'''471,038'''
|'''479,758'''
|'''520,396'''
|'''563,970'''
|'''619,751'''
|'''682,043'''
|'''731,886'''
|'''812,997'''
|'''855,694'''
|'''908,553'''
|'''981,700'''
|}