UK national parks combine large protected landscapes with relatively small resident populations. The latest comparable census figures for England and Wales counted 399,400 usual residents in national parks on 21 March 2021, while the wider UK had 15 national parks according to a 2024 page statement. The figures below bring together coverage, communities, tourism and protection measures, with each measurement period kept explicit.
Contents
- National park coverage across the UK
- Resident population and density
- Age, language, ethnicity and religion
- Education, work and household economy
- Health, housing and living conditions
- Visitors, tourism and environmental protection
National park coverage across the UK
England had 10 national parks and Wales had three in 2021. Together, those 13 parks covered more than 16,000 square kilometres, equivalent to 10.97% of the land area of England and Wales. These counts and coverage measures come from the Office for National Statistics’ National park residents, England and Wales: Census 2021.
A separate 2024 page statement from Exmoor National Park gives the UK total as 15 national parks. It also says that the UK’s 15 national parks and 46 national landscapes together account for around 18% of UK land and are home to more than 1.5 million residents. That combined figure covers both types of designation, so it should not be read as the resident population of national parks alone.
The English 2016 plan set out a historical expansion expectation: boundary extensions were projected to create about 188 square miles of new national park land. This is a plan-era figure, not a current total. The National Parks: 8-point plan for England (2016 to 2020) also provides the period’s visitor and economic baseline used later in this article.
Resident population and density
The 2021 Census counted 399,400 people living in an England or Wales national park on Census Day, 21 March 2021. National park residents represented 0.67% of the usual resident population of England and Wales. The same ONS comparison put overall population density in England and Wales at 395 people per square kilometre.
Population size varied substantially between parks:
| National park | Usual residents, 2021 |
|---|---|
| South Downs | 113,300 |
| Lake District | 39,000 |
| Peak District | 35,900 |
| Dartmoor | 34,100 |
| Bannau Brycheiniog | 33,500 |
| Pembrokeshire Coast | 20,900 |
| The Broads | 6,300 |
| Northumberland | 1,800 |
South Downs had the largest national park population in England, with 113,300 usual residents. Northumberland was England’s least populated national park, with 1,800. Bannau Brycheiniog had 33,500 residents, while Pembrokeshire Coast had 20,900. These are ONS Census 2021 figures.
The change between censuses was not uniform. Pembrokeshire Coast fell 7.6%, from 22,600 residents in 2011 to 20,900 in 2021. Northumberland fell 7.3%, from 2,000 to 1,800. Dartmoor moved in the opposite direction, rising 1.6%, from 33,600 to 34,100.
Density also shows why a resident count alone can be misleading. South Downs was the most densely populated national park in the ONS comparison, at 68.7 people per square kilometre in 2021. Northumberland was the least dense, at 1.8 people per square kilometre. Both remain far below the England-and-Wales comparison of 395 people per square kilometre.
Age, language, ethnicity and religion
National park populations were older overall than a typical national profile in the ONS comparison. Median ages ranged from 49 years in South Downs to 57 years in the Broads in 2021. The Broads therefore had the highest median age, while South Downs had the lowest among the parks covered by the comparison.
Ethnic composition varied within a generally high White-majority profile. The share identifying as White: English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British ranged from 90.7% in South Downs to 96.7% in North York Moors. Looking at any White ethnic group, the range was 95.8% in South Downs to 98.6% in both Northumberland and Yorkshire Dales.
The Asian ethnic-group share ranged from 0.4% in Exmoor, Northumberland, North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales to 1.9% in Bannau Brycheiniog. These are proportions from the 2021 Census and describe the parks included in the ONS comparison; they are not estimates for every protected landscape in the UK.
English, or English or Welsh in Wales, was the main language for between 94.5% of residents in the Lake District and 97.9% in Northumberland. Welsh-language ability creates a marked distinction between the two Welsh parks with supplied figures: 56.0% of residents aged three and over in Eryri could speak Welsh in 2021, compared with 12.7% in Bannau Brycheiniog.
Christian identification ranged from 47.7% in Dartmoor to 60.3% in North York Moors. No national park had a Muslim-identification share above 0.4%; South Downs was the highest at 0.4%. All demographic figures in this section are from National park residents, England and Wales: Census 2021.
Education, work and household economy
Qualification levels differed between parks. Peak District and South Downs had the highest supplied shares among English national parks for residents with a Level 4 qualification, both at 36.6% in 2021. In Wales, Bannau Brycheiniog had the highest supplied Level 4 share, at 33.2%. Eryri had the lowest no-qualification share among Welsh national parks, at 13.9%.
Retirement was a substantial part of the resident profile. Among residents aged 16 and over, the retired share ranged from 28.4% in South Downs to 37.3% in the Broads. The spread is consistent with the variation in median age, but the figures measure different characteristics and should not be treated as interchangeable.
Among the working-age population, the share who were full-time employees ranged from 20.0% in Exmoor to 27.8% in Bannau Brycheiniog. National park unemployment shares ranged from 1.2% in Northumberland to 2.4% in Eryri.
Home working was common in the 2021 Census employment comparison. Among employed residents, the share working mainly at or from home ranged from 34.7% in North York Moors to 48.5% in Northumberland. These work measures describe resident status and working arrangements at the census period, rather than the number of jobs physically located inside each park.
Health, housing and living conditions
Age-standardised health measures allow comparisons that account for differences in population age structure. The New Forest had the highest supplied share reporting very good health, at 56.5% in 2021. Yorkshire Dales recorded 55.2%, and Eryri recorded 53.3%.
Among English national parks, Yorkshire Dales had the lowest age-standardised shares reporting very bad health, at 0.5%, and bad health, at 2.2%. In Welsh national parks, the age-standardised disabled share ranged from 16.1% in Eryri to 17.5% on the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Housing stock and tenure also varied. Households in detached properties ranged from 39.3% in the Lake District to 67.7% in the New Forest. The share of households owning their property outright ranged from 41.9% in Northumberland to 54.3% in the New Forest.
The New Forest had the highest English national park share of households with three or more bedrooms, at 75.7%. Northumberland had the highest share of households with more bedrooms than required, at 89.1%. These household measures come from the 2021 Census and describe homes and occupancy at that point in time, not current housing availability or affordability.
Visitors, tourism and environmental protection
Visitor statistics use earlier study periods and should not be presented as current annual totals. The 2016 English national parks plan estimated 90 million visitors per year to England’s national parks. It said visitors generated £4 billion for the parks and surrounding areas each year, and cited evidence that 7% of overseas visitors who came to Britain on holiday visited a national park. These are estimates and evidence cited by the 2016 to 2020 plan, not a new independent verification here.
A Visit England study for 2014–2015 recorded 3.81 million domestic overnight trips per year in England that involved visiting a national park. It recorded nearly 53 million domestic day visits per year involving a national park. National park-involving day visits represented 19% of domestic day trips to countryside and villages, with associated spending above £1.5 billion. The figures are reported in the Volume and value of tourism | State of the Park Report.
Protection measures provide a longer environmental time series. England’s effectively protected land and sea increased from 1.3 million hectares in 2005 to 3.5 million hectares in 2025. The 2025 total included 1 million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater areas, about 8% of England’s land area. These figures come from Extent and condition of protected areas and refer to effectively protected areas, a wider measure than national park designation alone.
The overall picture is therefore mixed: national parks cover a large share of the landscape but a small share of the England-and-Wales population; their communities differ sharply in size, age, language and housing; and their visitor economy is documented through estimates and studies from different periods. Keeping those geographies, definitions and measurement dates separate is essential when using UK national parks statistics.