Quarter of Sark’s population arrived in last three years

Sark’s first census in more than 50 years was conducted in April 2022, but was only published last week, ahead of Sark’s Michaelmas meeting in October.

It confirmed that there were 562 people in the island, up from 493 in the last census in 1971.

There is just more than 350 people in the working age bracket between 16 and 64 – 63% of the population.

‘However it should be noted that Sark has a higher proportion of over-65s who are economically active compared to many other jurisdictions,’ the report notes, adding that 365 people were working.

The major occupations were skilled trades, at 27%, and managers and directors, at 25%.

In terms of where residents were born, 28% were born in Sark or Guernsey, and half were born in the British Isles. About one in seven islanders were born in Europe.

Fewer than 20% of current residents have lived in Sark for more than 40 years. More than half have moved to the island in the past decade.

The numbers have increased sharply since the start of the pandemic, with 11% of the population arriving in 2020, 10% in 2021 and 6% in early 2022.

Sark does not have free healthcare, and 71% of islanders have private health insurance. It was found that younger, working-age residents were the least likely to have insurance.

In terms of the health of residents, one in five said they had a long-standing conditions, but only 3% of residents described their health as poor or very poor.