Editing Kirkby (section)

==Demographics==
Kirkby's population was 42,744 in the 2011 census.<ref name="knowsley.gov.uk">{{Cite web |title=Census profile |url=http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/your-council/about-your-council/census-profile.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622063246/http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/your-council/about-your-council/census-profile.aspx |archive-date=22 June 2013 |website=Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council}}</ref> This was just over a quarter of the total population of the borough of Knowsley and was down from its peak of 52,207 in the 1961 census, largely due to a falling birth rate and the slow decline of the industrial estate. Housing demand has increased, however, with significant developments built across the town. Part of the demand may be attributed to a need for replacement housing stock due to the demolition of [[High-rise building|high-rise flats]] and [[Apartment#Maisonette|maisonettes]], built during the 1960s and now in disrepair.

According to [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] statistics, the borough of Knowsley (including Kirkby) had a population of 145,900 in the 2011 census and a gender balance of 52.6&nbsp;per cent female to 47.4 per cent male.<ref name="knowsley.gov.uk" /> This is down from 150,459 in the 2001 census.<ref name="knowsley.gov.uk" /> The borough has a [[White people|white population]] of 98.42 per cent, compared with the national average of 90.9 per cent. Other ethnic groups are [[multiracial]] (0.83 per cent), Chinese (0.24 per cent), other Asian (0.23 per cent) and Black (0.22 per cent). A large proportion of the population is of Irish Catholic descent as a result of immigration into Liverpool.

The borough is mostly [[Christians|Christian]] (85.63 per cent),<ref>{{cite web|title=Religion in England and Wales 2011|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-religion.html|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|access-date=22 February 2022|archive-date=26 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126035607/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-religion.html|url-status=live}}</ref> compared to the national average of 71.74 per cent. The next-largest group (5.84 per cent) describe themselves as non-religious, significantly lower than the national average of 14.59 per cent. [[Muslims]], [[Hindus]], [[Buddhism|Buddhists]] and [[Jews]] are 0.17, 0.11, 0.07 and 0.03 per cent of the population.
{{anchor|Population change}}

===Population changes===

Kirkby's population was on a gradual downward trend from 1861 to 1931 before it rose when the Liverpool Corporation began to develop the region. Its annual growth rate from 1951 to 1961 was over 30&nbsp;per cent, making it England's fastest-growing town by far. Kirkby's population peaked in 1971 at 59,917, before declining. The town's population has again begun to increase.<ref name="knowsleyprofile">{{Cite web |title=Knowsley Profile |url=http://www.knowsley.nhs.uk/library/documents/knowsleyoutline.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112130906/http://www.knowsley.nhs.uk/library/documents/knowsleyoutline.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2008 |access-date=1 June 2008 |website=Knowsley Public Health Intelligence Team |publisher=Knowsley NHS Primary Care Trust}}</ref>
{{historical populations|align=none
|cols=3
|percentages = pagr
|1861|1,451
|1871|1,397
|1881|1,401
|1891|1,283
|1911|1,211
|1921|1,116
|1931|1,151
|1951|3,078
|1961|52,088
|1971|59,917
|2001|40,472
|2006|44,120
|2011|42,744
|2016|41,495
|||source = ''A Vision of Britain through Time''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kirkby Ch/CP: Total Population |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10368900&c_id=10001043&add=N |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022173144/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10368900&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=22 October 2012 |access-date=1 June 2008 |website=A Vision of Britain Through Time |publisher=[[Great Britain Historical GIS]]}}</ref>

"Knowsley Kirkby Profile" <ref name="auto1"/>}}
{{anchor|Economic output}}