Manx Radio website Thursday, March 9th, 2017 6:16am
Population drops by more than 1,100 in five years
Rewnewed efforts will be made to expand the Island's working population, after official confirmation of a drop in those contributing to the economy. The results of the 2016 Census published this morning (9 March), show the Island's population has fallen by more than 1,100 in the past five years, down by 1.4%. A much sharper drop in those working of 2,000 is a blow for government, which says a bigger population is vital, to pay taxes which fund public services and care for the elderly.
According to the Census, young people in their 20s are leaving the Island in their droves - with the number coming to live here dwarfed by those emigrating. Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas says it's a challenging picture - but work is already under way to address key issues.
Isle of Man Online (IM Newspapers) March 9th 6.00am
Census shows that Isle of Man's population has dropped
The number of people who live in the Isle of Man has fallen the census, published today, shows. The resident population on census night in April 2016 was 83,314 - 1.4 per cent lower than the figure in 2011. The economically active population decreased to 42,777 from 44,609.
Chief Minister Howard Quayle said he believed there were signs that the population was now increasing again.
He said: ’The economy grew by more than 15 per cent in real terms between 2011 and 2015, for example, but this was also a period of changing employment patterns and that may help to explain at least some of the movement in population.’
Government estimates indicate an increase of around 200 in the overall population since the census was taken nearly one year ago.
