Census shows rise in sickness

Sooty was used to publicise the 2001 census

The East Midlands has seen the highest increase of people suffering ill health, census figures have revealed.

Nearly one in five people (18.4%) across the region reported suffering long term illness when asked in 2001.

That compared to a figure of 12.9% ten years earlier revealing a rise of 5.5%.

The figures, which were released on Thursday, showed more than four million people live in the East Midlands.

Single fathers

A spokeswoman for the Office of National Statistics, which collected the figures, could not explain the rise in ill health.

"People experiencing long term illness has risen nationally but we couldn't say why the East Midlands has suffered the greatest rise."

The East Midlands was also top for the number of single parent families being headed by a man.

East Midlands figures

Click here for East Midlands census figures

Some 11% of lone families were headed by men compared to the national average of 9.5%.

There were a total of 4,172,179 people living in the East Midlands which is made up of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland.

The results also show that a quarter of all Indian people in the UK live in Leicester.

Caring county

In total 37% of people living in Leicester are from an ethnic minority background according to the figures.

That compares with 28% 10 years ago. In the county, the ethnic population has dropped from 11% to 8%.

The figures also show that in the city 44% of the population is Christian compared to 15% who are Hindu and 11% who are Muslim.

Derbyshire had the greatest number of carers while women in north-east Lincolnshire were most likely to work part-time.

Reputation gone

In Nottinghamshire, the figures have revealed there has been a fall in the population of Nottingham, with a corresponding rise in the number of people living outside the city in Nottinghamshire.

Nottingham's reputation as a great place for single men to meet women has been dealt a blow by the latest census figures.

The city is famed for having seven women for every man but the 2001 count tells a different story with roughly the same number of men and women.

Single men fare better than another part of the East Midlands though as Rutland has the second highest ratio of men to women in the country.

Both Derby and Nottingham City Councils have objected to the figures saying they are lower than their estimates and the difference could cost the cities millions of pounds.