Executive Summary
- The Isle of Man resident population in the April 1996 (Interim) Census was 71,714, an increase of 2.8% on the 1991 Census figure. This represents a significant slowdown in population growth from the 1986-91 period when the population grew by 8.6%. The census population figure increased 4.8% in 1991-96 to stand at 74,680.
- The populations of the two main Island towns, Douglas and Ramsey, grew at a steady rate of around 6%, but the increase in Ramsey (and subsequent decline in Lezayre) was at least partly due to boundary changes. Of the other towns, Castletown’s population fell by over 6% whereas Peel’s experienced very little change. The populations of the four Island villages all increased, with the largest increases in the southern villages of Port Erin and Port St. Mary. The parishes all showed modest changes in population levels with the exceptions of Braddan and Lezayre. Recent residential development in Braddan led to its population rising by nearly one-quarter on its 1991 level. The population of Lezayre fell significantly, mainly due to boundary changes. The population of the Isle of Man is becoming denser in the eastern districts of Douglas, Onchan and Braddan, which now account for 48.3% of the total population compared to 46.9% in 1991.
- The rate of increase in household formation continues to outstrip growth in the general household population, with the number of households increasing by 7.5%. Average household size has therefore fallen again, from 2.49 persons per household in 1991 to 2.38 in 1996. This is substantially due to the increase in one person households, which have increased by nearly 16% over the five years. Over 86% of householders live in houses or bungalows and just under 14% live in flats or maisonettes, representing little change on 1991. There are now more households with at least one person economically active (68.7% in 1996 compared to 66.3% in 1991).
- The broad age structure of the population has changed over the five-year period, with the number of those of retirement age falling and the number of children and the number of people of working age increasing, as anticipated in Government population projections. This has had the effect of again reducing the Island’s dependency ratio from 68.3% in 1991 to 65.7% in 1996. The dependency ratio has now fallen by over 20 percentage points in the last 20 years. The population tends to be younger than the average age (40 years old) in the east and west of the Island and older in the north (particularly) and south.
- The proportion of the total population born in the Isle of Man increased for the first time since 1961, rising by 0.3 percentage points on its 1991 level to stand at 49.9%. A further 10.2% of those born outside the Isle of Man have Manx born parents. Just over 60% of the Manx born have UK parents or grandparents.
- The number of residents employed on the Island is at a record 33,577. One of the significant post-war demographic and economic changes has been the steady increase in women as a proportion of the labour force, from under 30% in 1951 to nearly 45% in 1996. The largest occupational groups for men and women are:
Occupation
% of Total Males Economically Active
Occupation
% of Total Females Economically Active
Corporate Managers & Administrators
12.6%
Clerical Occupations
22.3%
Other Skilled Trades
11.7%
Personal Service Occupations
14.7%
Clerical Occupations
9.1%
Secretarial Occupations
11.1%
- Men are far more likely than women to be in full-time employment or self-employed, whereas women are far more likely than men to be working part-time. Men make up nearly 60% of all full-time occupations and account for nearly 80% of all self-employed occupations. Women account for nearly 90% of all part-time occupations.
- In terms of number of employees, the traditional industries of agriculture, forestry and fishing and tourism have continued to decline, but the manufacturing sector showed a slight increase on 1991 levels. This increase and decline in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was partly due to a reclassification of some employment between the two sectors. Most employment growth occurred in the financial services sector, which now accounts for 17.7% of total employment in the Isle of Man. The largest industrial sector, with over 18% of all Manx employees, remains professional services.
- Unemployment on the Island is relatively low compared to the UK and other industrialised countries, but unemployment rates tend to be higher in the north of the Island.
- Men tend to be without work because they are in education or retirement. For women, it is mainly because they are retired or looking after the home or family. Despite economic changes generally leading to more equality between the sexes, women are nearly forty times more likely than men to be without work because they are looking after the home or family.
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