Summary
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Our people and place
In 2021, the estimated population in Medway was 279,827.
The number of live births was 3,272, and the number of deaths from all causes was 2,671.
In 2018 to 2020, the overall life expectancy for males was 78 years and for females it was 82 years.
Healthy life expectancy was 61 years for males, and 64 years for females.
Medway covers a total area of 19,200 hectares and has 5 main towns:
- Gillingham
- Rochester
- Chatham
- Rainham
- Strood.
Medway has a total of 37 neighbourhoods ranked in the 20% most deprived areas nationally, 14 of the neighbourhoods are in the 10% most deprived areas nationally in 2019.
In Medway in 2022 the median gross annual pay of a full-time employee was £33,403.
There were also approximately 8,815 businesses in Medway.
Our health and wellbeing
In 2021 to 2022, 2 out of 3 adults were considered obese or overweight.
In 2017 it's estimated that 38,260 people in Medway were living with a common mental health disorder.
In 2022, 9% of adults in Medway smoked.
In 2021 there were 1,048 premature deaths which is worse compared to England. Premature deaths are deaths under the age of 75 years.
Cancer is a major cause of premature deaths. Cancer accounts for 40% of premature deaths in females and 28% of premature deaths in males.
Cardiovascular diseases are the next largest cause of premature death. Cardiovascular diseases account for 14% of premature deaths in females and 22% of premature deaths in males.
Our health inequalities
Life expectancy in Medway is worse than the England Average.
In Medway, there is a gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived deciles.
The main contributors to this gap are circularity disease, cancer, and respiratory disease.
In males, there is a 9 year gap between those in the most deprived areas with a life expectancy of 73 years, and those in the least deprived areas with a life expectancy of 82 years.
In females, there is a 7 year gap between those in the most deprived areas with a life expectancy of 79 years, and those in the least deprived areas with a life expectancy of 86 years.
The gap in life expectancy has widened since 2011 to 2013.