Kensington and Chelsea is a small densely populated borough with a wide range of poverty and wealth. situated in West London between the City of Westminster to the East and Hammersmith and Fulham to the West, there is a wide disparity of wealth and income between the richest areas (situated in the south of the Borough) and the poorest (in the north) The Borough has the smallest percentage of local authority housing stock in inner London alongside some of the most expensive private sector housing in Europe.

Population

The estimated resident population from the 1991 census is 141,400, with Kensington and Chelsea being the most densely populated inner London Borough (115.9 people per hectare) This is expected to rise slightly by the turn of the century. A breakdown by age reveals that 13% of the population are aged under 15, 73.6% between the ages of 15 and 64, 6.6% between the ages of 65 and 74 and 6.1% over 75.In two wards in the centre and south of the Borough the proportion of the population aged over 75 is twice the inner London average.

The Borough has a high proportion of single person households. An estimated 14% of households are pensioners living alone. Disabled and older people living alone often have specific needs, particularly when they do not have a carer living near them.

Age breakdown of population in Kensington and Chelsea