NEW data has revealed how much Southampton's population has increased by over the last 10 years. 

Released today, the Census 2021 data by ONS (Office for National Statistics) shows the city's population has gone up by 5.1 per cent since 2011. 

At the time of the last census, Southampton's population sat at 236,900 - but now this has increased to 249,000 as of 2021. 

READ MORE: Population of England and Wales grows to nearly 60 million in a decade

Though lower than the overall increase of 6.6 per cent for England, Southampton is the second most densely populated local authority area in the South East. 

Around 36 people live on each football pitch-sized area according to the research which also showed there has been an increase of 11.1 per cent in people aged 65 and over. 

The number of people aged 15 to 64 increased by 3.2 per cent. The number of children aged under 15 increased by 8.2 per cent in the city. 

Meanwhile, Southampton was one of only 13 authorities in the country where men outnumber women - with 50.2 per cent of the population being male. 

Nearby areas such as Test Valley and Eastleigh have seen their populations increase by 12.1 per cent and 8.9 per cent respectively. 

Fareham however only saw a small increase of 2.6 per cent, while the New Forest's numbers dropped by 0.4 per cent.

Another authority which saw a decrease in the last 10 years was Gosport with a drop of 0.9 per cent. 

In 2021, Southampton ranked 70th for total population out of 309 local authority areas in England, maintaining the same position it held a decade ago.

The region with the largest population increase was the East of England, which grew by around 8.3 per cent.

The region with the smallest increase was the North East, growing by 1.9 per cent or around 50,000 people.

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