Estimates by East Sussex County Council show that there are now 506,200 people in the county – 13,000 more than five years ago.
Of the five boroughs and districts, the population of Eastbourne has grown the fastest – by 5,100 people over the five years from 2001 to 2006 – aided by the completion of new housing at Sovereign Harbour, while Hastings has grown the least at less than 800 people.
The continuing population growth – 2.7 per cent over the last five years – is largely thought to have been caused by increasing numbers of working age people moving to this part of the south coast from other parts of the UK.
It is thought the 500,000 mark was exceeded in 2004, although statisticians did not know this at the time as methods of calculating how many migrants there were was were not as accurate as current methods.
The rise in population comes despite there having been more deaths than births in the county during 2006.
The figures showed yet again that East Sussex has the highest proportion of residents aged over 85 of any county in England at (3.7 per cent), and ranks second for the percentage aged over 65 (22 per cent).
The population figures are collated annually by the County Council's Research and Information team for its East Sussex in Figures website, which reports on population trends so that resources can be allocated intelligently to community services.
Alistair Robson, the County Council's Assistant Director (Policy), said: "This sort of information on population trends is essential if we are to get the right services to the right people, be it education, social care, public transport or any other publicly-provided service.
"These latest figures confirm that we are facing a demographic time bomb as the proportion of very elderly residents continues to rise and hence more people will need services such as meals in the community, occupational therapy, and many others. The County Council has said on many occasions that older people are a priority and you can really understand why when you log on to the East Sussex in Figures website to see how many residents there are in each age group."
Notes to editors
Mid-Year Estimates are produced annually by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for every local authority and health area in England & Wales. The figures relate to the estimated population on 30 June and are produced retrospectively. The estimates for 2006 are the latest available.
For more information, please call Mike Taggart at East Sussex County Council on 01273 482155.
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