Our population
Our people
We serve a large and diverse population. Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland has a population of more than 1.1 million. Of these around 360,000 people live in the city of Leicester and 40,000 in the county of Rutland.
In some wards within the city up to 80% of residents are from ethnic minority groups. Leicester is a growing city with a younger than average population, in part due to its two universities as well as the high number of children who call it home.
Rutland has an older population, on average, with nearly 24% aged over 65.
Typically, Leicester is characterised by its high levels of ethnic diversity, with more than 50% of the city’s population belonging to an ethnic minority, and high levels of migration into the city.
Leicestershire and Rutland are less diverse, with around 10% and 3% respectively belonging to ethnic minority groups.
Leicester’s diversity also extends to other communities including a significant Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) population, as well as being a ‘City of Sanctuary’ welcoming asylum seekers and refugees. Recently this has seen Leicester receive Afghan refugees and likely to see Ukrainian refugees, with our system responsible for ensuring they were safe and looked after following their initial arrival into the country.
Our health
We have many stark health inequalities across our area. In Leicester we serve some of the poorest areas of the country alongside some of the most affluent, in Rutland.
Leicester is ranked as the 32nd most deprived local authority area in the country (out of 317). Just over a third (35%) of our residents live in an area classified as being in the most deprived 20% nationally.
Although Leicestershire and Rutland are not particularly deprived there are some small pockets of significant deprivation for a proportion of the population, particularly in parts of Loughborough and Coalville.
Rutland is more affluent than England as a whole. However, issues regarding rurality and access contribute to inequalities of other kinds.
Often the localities with the highest deprivation are also those with the highest number of citizens from ethnic minority backgrounds.
In Leicestershire life expectancy for both men and women is slightly above the national average and in Rutland men tend to live for around 1.4 years longer than national average for both men and women.
Whilst life expectancy is improving in Leicester it is not rising as fast as nationally. Women live 1.2 years less than the national average and men 2.3 years less.
On average more than 17 years for men and 25 years for women are spent in poor health, whilst life expectancy varies significantly across the city with a difference of 8.3 years for men and 5.9 years for women between areas with the highest deprivation and the least deprived areas. This unacceptable gap drives our relentless determination to put reducing health inequalities at the forefront of our strategy for the ICS.
Find out more about how we are tackling health inequalities
