wiltshires_population

Below are the available results of the national census, showing population of Westbury from 1801 up to the last census, done in 2001 (yes the one that got 'Jedi' instated as an official religion!) I have included the population results for the whole of Wiltshire, to give a comparison, and calculated annual percentage growth.

Year	Westbury's Population	Westbury's Percentage Growth	Wiltshire's Population	Wiltshire's Percentage Growth
1801	1,837		185,107
1811	1,799	-2.07	193,828	4.71
1821	2,117	17.68	222,157	14.62
1831	2,495	17.86	240,156	8.10
1841			258,733	7.74
1851			254,221	-1.74
1861			249,311	-1.93
1871			257,177	3.16
1881			258,965	0.70
1891			264,997	2.33
1901	3,305		271,394	2.41
1911	3,433	3.87	286,822	5.68
1921	3,712	8.13	292,208	1.88
1931	4,044	8.94	303,373	3.82
1951	5,260	30.07	386,692	27.46
1961	5,417	2.98	422,950	9.38
1971	6,464	19.33	486,747	15.08
1981	7,280	12.62	518,545	6.53
1991	9,512	30.66	564,471	8.86
2001	11,135	17.06	613,024	8.60

Notes: There are some apparent anomalies in the census figures. There are some large increases or decreases in population over a ten year period. There are lots of reasons for this. Boundary changes, influx or efflux of military personnel, expansion or closure of industries, and in the extreme case of Imber, an entire village being relocated (largely to Westbury). There are gaps within the population table. Where there is no population figure against a date in the table above, I've been unable to identify a figure. As an example of the difficulties faced, 1881 showed a population of more that 4000, due to all the surrounding villages being included.

A couple of extra things to note; war and 80's music appear to be good for the sex drive of Westbury. The hippies took their 'make love not war' slogan seriously. Also television and the internet hasn't dented the population growth. And, there is a marked correlation between boom time and babies - When you're happy... you're happy!