General health 

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Around four in five Waltham Forest residents (80%) describe themselves as being in ‘very good or good health’, up from 76% in 2011. Waltham Forest ranks sixth lowest out of 33 London boroughs in terms of the proportion of the population in 'good or very good' health, slightly below the London and England averages (82%).  

The proportion of people reporting ‘very good’ health increased in almost every local authority in England and Wales compared to 2011.   

Around 12,000 people in Waltham Forest (6.1%) described their overall health as 'bad or very bad' in the 2021 Census, reducing from 13,500 (7.6%) in 2011. Around 3,000 residents in the 2021 Census described their health as ‘very bad’ (1.5% of population).  

The proportion of people in Waltham Forest reporting ‘bad or very bad’ health (6.1%) is higher than compared to the London (5.4%) and England averages (5.3%).  

Source: Office for National Statistics – Census 2021 Data  Date accessed: 9 March 2023 

Note that the 2021 Census was conducted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which may have influenced how people perceived and rated their health.