Understanding who lives in Portsmouth helps us shape how we serve our communities. The JSNA Demography Report gives a detailed snapshot of the city – from population trends to language, ethnicity, disability and more. By utilising this data, we design and tailor our services to be inclusive and responsive to the unique needs of Portsmouth’s diverse population.
The following data from the JSNA report was taken at the time of the 2021 census.
Disability
The percentage of disabled residents in Portsmouth (19.2%) was higher than England (17.7%), and the South East region (16.1%)
Ethnicity
Portsmouth had a lower percentage of residents from ethnic minority groups (22.3%) compared to England (26.5%)
Main language
The main languages spoken in Portsmouth: 90.8% of residents over the age of 3 had English as their main language.
The most common main languages, other than English:
- Romanian 1.25%
- Polish 1.14%
- Bengali 0.8%
- Portuguese 0.48%
Religion
“No religion” was the most common response in Portsmouth in 2021, increasing to 47.1% in 2021 from 35.0% in 2011.
In 2021, less than half of the population described themselves as “Christian” in Portsmouth (39.4%, a 12.8% decrease from 52.2% in 2011
There were increases in the number of people in Portsmouth who described themselves as:
- “Muslim” (10,174 residents; 4.9% in 2021; up from 7,162 residents; 3.5% in 2011)
- “Hindu” (1,596 residents; 0.8% in 2021; up from 1,282 residents; 0.6% in 2011)
- “Other religion” (1,259 residents; 0.6% in 2021; up from 1,050 residents; 0.5% in 2011)
For more details about Portsmouth demography, read our full JSNA report.