People
Our residents
Kensington and Chelsea is the smallest borough in London both by size and population. It is home to 147,500 residents. Despite its size, the borough is remarkably diverse and densely populated, with a significant number of working age residents, and people living alone.
While the number of children living in the borough is expected to decline, the population aged 65 or over is expected to increase by almost 40 per cent in the next 20 years.
A lot of residents move in and out of the borough each year: 19 per cent of residents did not live at the same address as the year before. This is because of the large private rental sector (40 per cent of households). International migration is among the highest in England, more than 12,000 Kensington and Chelsea residents arrived in the UK in the past two years, nine per cent of the borough’s population.
36 per cent of residents are from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds. From our local data, we can see that these communities have poorer health. For example, residents from a Black ethnic background have almost double the rate of hypertension, and almost three times the rate of diabetes and obesity than those from a White background.
There are 80 language spoken in Kensington and Chelsea, and 24 per cent of residents do not have English as their main language. French is the most spoken language after English, but it is different across the borough. In the 2021 Census, just over one per cent of residents reported that they could not speak English well or at all.
The most common religions in the borough are Christianity (48 per cent) and Islam (12 per cent). In the 2021 Census there was also an increase in residents who say they have no religion (from 21 per cent to 25 per cent). Those who identified as Muslim or 'other religion' are more likely to say their health is bad or very bad.
Our diverse borough…
- 36 per cent of our residents are from a Black, Asian or other minority ethnic background.
- 53 per cent of our residents are female.
- 20,200 (14 per cent) are aged 0-15 years, 105,300 (71 per cent) are aged 16-64 and 20,800 (15 per cent) are aged 65+.
- 13 per cent of our residents have a long-term condition or disability.
- One in 25 residents identify as being LGBTQ+.
- 65 per cent of residents have a religion.
- Just over half a per cent (685 residents) have a gender identity different from their sex registered at birth.
- 36 per cent are married or in a registered civil partnership
