Wiltshire (district)

Wiltshire
Unitary authority area
Clockwise from top: Salisbury Cathedral; Trowbridge Town Hall; Lacock Abbey; Stonehenge; and Chippenham Market Place
Coat of arms
Shown within the ceremonial county of Wiltshire
Wiltshire Location within England Show map of England Wiltshire Location within the United Kingdom Show map of the United Kingdom Wiltshire Location in Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 51°21′07″N1°58′41″W / 51.352°N 1.978°W / 51.352; -1.978
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	England
Region	South West England
County	Wiltshire
Unitary Authority	1 April 2009
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district
• Local Authority	Wiltshire Council
• Council Leader	Ian Thorn
Population  (2024)
• Total	523,700 (Ranked 11th)
Ethnicity (2021)
•  Ethnic groups	List 94.3% White 2.1% Asian 1.7% Mixed 1.1% Black 0.7% other
Religion (2021)
•  Religion	List 50.2% Christianity 41.3% no religion 0.7% Islam 0.5% Hinduism 0.5% Buddhism 0.1% Sikhism 0.1% Judaism 0.6% other 6.0% not stated
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
Postcode	SP, SN4-6, SN8-14, BA2, BA12-15, RG17
Post town	Bath, Salisbury, Swindon and Reading
Dialling code	01249 and others
ISO 3166 code	GB-WIL
Police	Wiltshire Police
Fire	Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
Ambulance	South Western
Website	www.wiltshire.gov.uk

Wiltshire is a unitary authority area ^{[1] [2]} in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire, ^[3] South West England. It was formed on 1 April 2009 following the abolition of Wiltshire County Council and the districts of Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire, all of which were replaced by Wiltshire Council, ^[4] which is based at County Hall in Trowbridge. The remaining part of the ceremonial county is the Borough of Swindon, administered by a separate unitary authority. In 2024, the population was 523,700.

Salisbury, the district's only city, is its largest settlement, ^[5] followed by Chippenham and Trowbridge.

History

Main article: Wiltshire Council

Until 2009, Wiltshire had four districts – Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, and West Wiltshire ^[6] – together with the Borough of Swindon, which had been made a separate unitary authority in 1997. Proposals were made to abolish the four districts and form a unitary area covering the whole of the county outside the Borough of Swindon. In April 2009, Wiltshire Council assumed the roles and responsibilities of the four former districts. ^{[7] [8]}

Main settlements

See also: List of places in Wiltshire and List of settlements in Wiltshire by population

• Amesbury
• Bradford-on-Avon
• Calne
• Chippenham
• Corsham
• Cricklade
• Devizes
• Larkhill
• Ludgershall
• Malmesbury
• Marlborough
• Melksham
• Mere
• Royal Wootton Bassett
• Salisbury
• Tidworth
• Trowbridge
• Warminster
• Westbury
• Wilton

Demographics

Ethnicity

The population of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire (district) was historically ethnically homogeneous, White British, but is now becoming less homogeneous, with the largest ethnic group, White British, constituting 90.1% of the population in the 2021 census. This proportion has consistently declined in each modern census, down from 96.2% in the 2001 census.

In the 2021 census, the ethnic composition of Wiltshire (district) comprised: 94.3% White, 2.1% Asian, 1.1% Black, 1.7% Mixed, and 0.7% Other.

• White (94.3%): English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British (90.1%), Irish (0.5%), Gypsy or Irish Traveller (0.1%), Roma (0.1%), and Other White (3.6%).
• Asian (2.1%): Indian (0.6%), Pakistani (0.1%), Bangladeshi (0.2%), Chinese (0.3%), and Other Asian (1.0%).
• Black (1.1%): African (0.6%), Caribbean (0.3%), and Other Black (0.2%).
• Mixed (1.7%): White and Asian (0.5%), White and Black African (0.2%), White and Black Caribbean (0.5%), and Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (0.5%).
• Other (0.7%): Arab (0.1%) and Any other ethnic group (0.6%).

Note: Sub-group totals may not sum exactly to the group total due to rounding.

Ethnic groups in Wiltshire (district)

Ethnic Group	2001 Census [9]	2011 Census [10]	2021 Census [11]
				White	98.4%	96.6%	94.3%
Asian	0.5%	1.3%	2.1%
Black	0.3%	0.7%	1.1%
Mixed	0.7%	1.2%	1.7%
Other	0.2%	0.2%	0.7%

Note: The 2001 census figures for 'Asian' and 'Other' have been adjusted to reflect the 2011 reclassification of the Chinese ethnic group from 'Other' to 'Asian' to allow comparison across census years.

Religion

Religion in Wiltshire (district) (2021 United Kingdom census)

1. Christian (50.2%)
2. No religion (41.3%)
3. Muslim (0.70%)
4. Hindu (0.50%)
5. Buddhist (0.50%)
6. Sikh (0.10%)
7. Jewish (0.10%)
8. Other religion (0.60%)
9. Not stated (6.00%)

In the 2021 census, the religious composition of Wiltshire (district) comprised: 50.2% Christian, 41.3% No religion, 0.7% Muslim, 0.5% Hindu, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.5% Sikh, 0.1% Jewish, 0.6% Other religion, and 6.0% Not stated.

Religion in Wiltshire (district)

Religion	2001 Census [12]	2011 Census [13]	2021 Census [14]
				Christian	76.6%	64.0%	50.2%
No religion	15.0%	26.5%	41.3%
Muslim	0.3%	0.4%	0.7%
Hindu	0.1%	0.3%	0.5%
Buddhist	0.2%	0.3%	0.5%
Sikh	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Jewish	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
Other religion	0.3%	0.5%	0.6%
Not stated	7.3%	7.7%	6.0%

References

1. "Wiltshire Council". Business South. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
2. "Wiltshire Council - view and make Freedom of Information requests". WhatDoTheyKnow. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
3. "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 21 August 2024
4. "Written evidence submitted by Wiltshire Council [OSG 034]". committees.parliament.uk. committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
5. "Salisbury - Market Town". Visit Wiltshire. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
6. Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
7. "This Order provides for the establishment, on 1st April 2009, of a single tier of local government in Wiltshire (article 3). The area of the county remains unchanged. A new district is created, with the same area as the county". www.legislation.gov.uk. www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
8. "Plans for solar farm outside Salisbury refused by Wiltshire Council". Salisbury Journal. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
9. "KS006 - Ethnic group". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
10. "KS201EW - Ethnic group". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
11. "TS021 - Ethnic group". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
12. "KS007 - Religion". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
13. "KS209EW - Religion". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
14. "TS030 - Religion". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 27 October 2025.