Background
The Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IoD25) measure relative deprivation for small areas (lower super output areas 2021, LSOAs) in England. The most recent Indices were published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in November 2025, and updates the Indices of Deprivation 2019.
The IoD25 includes seven standalone indexes which are combined and weighted together to form the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 (IMD25). This is the official measure of deprivation in England. These include:
- Income (22.5%)
- Employment (22.5%)
- Education (13.5%)
- Health (13.5%)
- Crime (9.3%)
- Barriers to Housing and Services (9.3%)
- Living Environment (9.3%)
Two supplementary indexes focusing on income deprivation affecting children (IDACI) and older people (IDAOPI) have also been updated.
New datasets, methodologies and geographies have been used to produce the IoD25, which means outputs are less comparable to previous published indices.
What do we mean by relative deprivation?
Across the IoD25, deprivation is measured on a relative rather than an absolute scale. This means that it can show if one area is more deprived than another but not by how much. For example, whilst an area with a rank of 100 is more deprived than an area with a rank of 200, this does not mean that it is twice as deprived.
What measures are commonly used to describe the IMD?
The IMD25 ranks every small area (LSOA) in England from most to least deprived, according to their level of multiple deprivation relative to that of other areas. These are commonly described using deciles, where all small areas are divided into 10 equal groups according to their deprivation rank. This means that areas in decile 1 are among the 10% most deprived areas in England.
Whilst the IoD25 is primarily intended for use at small areas, a range of summary measures have also been produced for larger areas, such as upper tier local authorities, local authority districts, built up areas, and NHS Integrated Care Boards. Information about how these summary measures were developed is available in a technical report and how they can be interpreted in a research report.
West Sussex picture:
The following briefing provides a high-level summary of the IoD25 in West Sussex:
This page will be updated as more analyses are produced.