New figures reveal the changing make-up of the population of Peterborough

The number of overseas-born people who were living in Peterborough last year increased by more than eight per cent over the last decade, according to new figures from the Census.

There were 60,886 people who had arrived in Peterborough from overseas at the time of last year’s Census compared to 154,787 people living in the city who were born in the UK.

It means people from overseas made up 28.2 per cent of the city’s population compared to 20.6 per cent a decade earlier at the time of the last Census in 2011 when 37,892 people were arrivals from overseas compared to 145,739.

The percentage of overseas arrivals is higher than the national average of 17 per cent.

The figures for England and Wales saw the number of people arriving from other parts of the world rise by 2.5 million to 10 million across the decade.

The number of people who listed Romania as their country of birth grew six-fold since the previous census, from 80,000 in 2011 to 539,000 in 2021. India remained the most common country of birth outside the UK in 2021, with more than 900,000 residents.

The United States and Jamaica have both fallen out of the top 10 non-UK countries of birth.

Some show 3,842 people born in Romania resided in Peterborough at the end of March 2021 – up from the 115 in 2011.

Census deputy director Jon Wroth-Smith said: “The census paints a picture of how the make-up of the population has changed in the past decade.

"That decade saw us leave the EU as well as live with the pandemic.

“While these may have impacted on decisions or ability to migrate or travel at a given time, the census tells us about the change – who was living here in March 2021, compared with March 2011.

"We see Romanians have been a big driver in this change, while there have also been increases due to migration from India, Pakistan and Poland, as well as southern European countries such as Italy.

“We can see migration in the year prior to census was lower in 2021 than it was in 2011. This is likely due to various travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.”