This is a modern unit which was reported on by the 2011 census. Most of our historical statistics were originally gathered for units with quite different boundaries. To give you a clear picture of long-run change, we have used our detailed information on boundaries and population distribution to redistrict the historical statistics to the modern units. More details here.

Statistical comparisons will be made with Northamptonshire (change comparison)

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Available Themes

Click on the hyperlinks for direct access to key graphs and tables.

• Total Population 1801 to 2011: Population grew from 23,329 in 1801 to 157,479 in 2011.
• Age Structure, in 5-year bands, from 1861 to 2011: In 1861, only 5.17 per cent of the population were aged 65 and over, but by 2011 15.79 per cent were.
• Infant Mortality Rate 1861 to 2011: The highest rate recorded was 157.1 infant deaths per thousand live births in 1861, and the lowest was 4.32 in 2001.
• Changing Industrial Structure 1841 to 2011: In 1841, 36.26 per cent of all workers worked in agriculture, but in 2011 this had fallen to .75 per cent.
• Male Unemployment from 1931 to 2011: The highest male unemployment rate recorded by the census was 9.91 per cent in 1991, and the lowest was .94 in 1951.
• Precentage of workforce with degrees 1951 to 2011: In 1951, only 2.563 per cent of occupied males had stayed in education past age 20, but in 2011 28.14 per cent of the population had degree-level qualifications.
• Proportion of male workers with professional and managerial jobs, from 1951 to 2011: In 1951, 17.74 per cent of men had these generally better paid jobs, and in 2011 this had risen to 25.14 per cent.
• Over-crowded housing, from 1911 to 2011: In 1911, 9.76 per cent of people were living in households with over 1.5 persons per room, but in 2011 this had fallen to .89 per cent.

We have created these time series for the modern local authority area by using a Geographical Information System to re-district statistics for a variety of historical units which covered the same area.

Alternative names

The following alternative names exist:

Name	Status	Language	Start	End	Authority
BEDFORD	Preferred	English			Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)
00KB	Code: Office for National Statistics	English	1-APR-2009		Census of Population (2011 Key Statistics)
09UD	Code: Office for National Statistics	English		1-APR-2009	Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)

Unit associations

We know of no associations with other units.

Unit history

This unit was part of the following units:

Name	Type	Start	End	Authority
EAST	Government Office Region			Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)
BEDFORDSHIRE	Modern (post 1974) County		1-APR-2009	Census of Population (2001 Key Statistics)

Boundary changes

We know of no boundary changes affecting this unit.

Lower level units

We know of no units which were contained within this unit.