Physios urge parents and kids to enjoy the great outdoors during school hols, CSP publishes new population density map of UK

Back to listing

Published: 28 Jul 2005

The CSP is urging parents and kids to get out and enjoy the open space in the UK this summer, as the society publishes new information on population density.

27 July 2005 - for immediate release

Physios urge parents and kids to enjoy the 'great outdoors' during school holidays. CSP publishes new population density map of the UK.

Physiotherapists are urging parents to ensure couch potato kids can make the most of the UK's great outdoor spaces over the summer break. To coincide with the start of the school holidays, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has published new information on population density, revealing where people have the most space for outside activity.

The Highlands of Scotland has the lowest population density in the UK, with just 0.1 people per hectare. By contrast, Kensington and Chelsea has the highest population density, with 131 people per hectare.

Regional statistics put Scotland at number one in the league, with an average of 0.7 people per hectare. Northern Ireland (1.2 people per hectare), Wales (1.4 people) and East Anglia (1.7 people) also fare well in the league. There are fewer than nine people per hectare in all other regions of the UK except for London where there are 45.6 people per hectare.

Rank	Location	All people	Area in hectares	Population Density No of people per hectare
1	Scotland	5,062,011	7,792,452	0.7
2	Northern Ireland	1,685,267	1,413,540	1.2
3	Wales	2,903,085	2,073,210	1.4
4	East Anglia	2,174,000	1,256,155	1.7
5	Northern	3,003,049	1,534,099	2.0
6	South West	4,928,434	2,383,712	2.1
7	East Midlands	4,172,174	1,560,650	2.7
8	Yorkshire & the Humber	4,964,833	1,540,764	3.2
9	West Midlands	5,267,308	1,299,833	4.1
10	South East	11,214,785	2,561,774	4.4
11	North West	6,242,157	733,864	8.5
12	London	7,172,091	157,208	45.6

Despite high populations in some metropolitan areas, the CSP says people need to remember the UK has some of the greenest cities in the world, with plenty of park and woodland space for all. CSP chair of Council Grahame Pope says:

'Although the UK is a densely populated country, these figures show there is enough open space for everyone to get outside and get active.

'Physiotherapists know that exercise is key to healthy minds and bodies, and that physically active children have fewer chronic health problems than their sedentary counterparts. We are concerned that in an age of cars and computers, children today are far less active than previous generations.

'We are calling on parents to encourage their children to take more exercise and we see the long summer holidays as a great starting point. It needn't cost any money, or be an organised team sport; anything that gets your kids running, jumping, balancing, throwing or dancing will help them develop into strong, healthy adults.'

The league table of UK population density was compiled for the CSP from the 2001 Census of Population. A league table of all 435 areas is available at www.csp.org.uk or by calling the CSP press office on the numbers below.

Notes to Editors

For more information, please call the CSP press office on 020 7306 6616/6163/6628.

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is the professional, educational and trade union body for the country's 45,000 chartered physiotherapists, physiotherapy students and assistants.