Holborn & Covent Garden ward profile

A summary of Holborn & Covent Garden ward in the South neighbourhood of Camden

Author

Profile

Published

July 6, 2025

Abstract
The population of Camden is among the most diverse in London and health outcomes vary significantly across its different neighbourhoods. Understanding the impact of environment on resident health is crucial for informed decision-making and the development of interventions. This area profile focuses on the ward of Holborn & Covent Garden.

Introduction

This is a summary profile of Holborn & Covent Garden ward in the South neighbourhood of Camden. It includes data on the neighbourhood’s demography, levels of deprivation, and key health indicators such as life expectancy and prevalence of long-term conditions.

Demography

Population

The London Borough of Camden has approximately 219,900 residents according to the latest population projections. Of this total, 11,400 reside in Holborn & Covent Garden, making it the ward with the thirteenth most number of residents. There are 5,700 female residents and 5,600 male residents in Holborn & Covent Garden.

The 2021 Census reported a population in Camden of 220,000. This is substantially lower than expected based on previous projection of 280,000 from the 2011 Census.

Factors such as temporary relocation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the discrepancy, with some evidence this is now reversing.[1] Camden Council’s position is that the 2021 Census likely underestimates the population but that 2011 Census projections may overestimate. Census 2021 population projections are expected in May 2025. Despite the limitations, these will likely be the most appropriate source for population data.

When interpreting or producing statistics using the Camden population it is important to be clear which population estimate has been used (source and year) as these can produce very different metrics even when the numerators (i.e. observations of interest) are similar.

[1]
Population change in london during the pandemic - london datastore n.d.

Age

Children and young people (0-24 years old) make up 32.03% of the population of Holborn & Covent Garden which is more than Camden overall (30.85%). Additionally, the percentage of older adults aged 65+ years is 11.56% compared to 12.02%.

Ethnicity

The following data uses the Office of National Statistics (ONS) ethnicity classifications. When looking at the broader ethnicities (e.g. ‘Asian’ instead of ‘Asian: Indian’), the most frequently reported ethnicity in Holborn & Covent Garden is White (52.82%), which is lower than Camden (59.52%). Additionally, this ward exhibits higher proportions of residents identifying as Asian, and Black.

Looking at the specific subgroups of ethnicity, Holborn & Covent Garden shows higher proportions of residents identifying as Bangladeshi, African, Chinese, Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups, White and Black African, Other Black, and Roma compared to the borough.