Subtopic: Atmospheric Emissions

List of those receiving pre-release access to Life in the UK report.

The article is published as part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Measuring National Well-being programme. The programme aims to produce accepted and trusted measures of the well-being of the nation – how the UK as a whole is doing. This article explores in more detail the aspects of the Natural Environment that are considered important for measuring National Well-being. It includes information on the environmental assets available to us, how they are used and the pressure that places on the natural environment.

Most people have a clear impression of what the cities, towns and countryside look like in the UK, both physically and in terms of the lives of the people who live there. This article compares rural and urban areas statistically for themes such as working, income and earnings, services and population, using geographical classifications. There is quantitative evidence that rural areas are better off than urban areas on a number of different measures, such as unemployment and crime. In a few respects rural areas are worse off. Using classifications that show sparse areas of England and Wales, some topics show ‘two countrysides’ – a better off, less sparse and more accessible one, and a less populous and isolated sparse countryside. Patterns within urban areas often differ, with the most urban areas of England frequently showing particular trends and the widest variations.