by Jess Banham

There are now more than 1.7 million people living in Kent.

Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics from the
2011 Census show the population for Kent and Medway has reached
1,727,800.

The last time they were officially recorded was during the 2001
Census when 1, 580, 800 people lived in Kent – that’s an increase of
9%.

Ashford has seen the largest population surge in the county, with
15,000 new residents since the 2001 Census - making the total number of
inhabitants 118,000, a rise of 14.6%.

Meanwhile, Shepway is 10th in a list of local and unitary authorities
across England and Wales with the highest growth in the number of
households.

A further breakdown of the statistics show there are more 45-49 year
olds in Kent, than people of any other age.

The South East remains the region in England and Wales with the
largest population after it grew by 8% between 2001 and 2011.

The population of England and Wales has also gone up to a record 56.1
million, an increase of 3.7 million on the past decade.

The average age is 39, which compares to 25 a century ago.