The number of Kent neighbourhoods ranked among the country’s most deprived has increased over the last six years, new government data reveals.

Ramsgate town centre has the county’s highest levels of deprivation, according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2025, published this week.

More than 70 neighbourhoods across Kent now fall inside England’s most deprived 10% – up from 51 in 2019.

Parts of Swale and Medway are also now scoring worse compared to other areas on measures such as income, employment, education, health and crime.

In Ramsgate, several neighbourhoods have fallen sharply in the rankings.

The area covering the town centre – where one in four shops is empty – is now ranked the 48th most deprived in England.

Nearby parts of Newington and central Ramsgate also feature inside the worst 1%, making the town the most deprived in Kent.

Councillor Steve Albon (Lab) told KentOnline: “Obviously, this hasn't happened overnight. This has been a long-term thing.

“There are, which is pretty common across the country, drug problems, alcohol problems, and there aren’t enough places for work that give a decent salary to make their people's lives better.

“It's a sad indictment of over years of how things are in seaside towns.

“Councils are scraping around for money to get things done, just to get the everyday things that we should get done and that's not just in Thanet, that's across the country.”

Cllr Albon says he is very proud to represent Ramsgate, both on Thanet District Council and as chair of the town council.

“We do a lot for our residents to try and make things better - but it’s going to take some time,” he added.

“What I would say about Ramsgate is if you're around in the area, come down to Ramsgate, come and have a walk around and see what it's like.”

The figures come despite years of promised regeneration and millions of pounds in government funding.

In 2021, Thanet District Council secured £19.8 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund, aimed at transforming the Royal Harbour and port area, restoring historic buildings and creating new jobs.

Earlier schemes – including the Coastal Communities Fund and the Future High Streets initiative – were also intended to revive the town centre and boost tourism.

In 2019, the most deprived part of Ramsgate, covering much of Eastcliff and central Ramsgate, was ranked 997th out of 32,844 neighbourhoods. Six years on, it has plunged to 48th, meaning it is now in the most deprived 0.2% of England.

Other nearby areas have followed a similar pattern.

Newington has fallen from around the 1,800 mark in 2019 to within the bottom 200 nationally, while much of central Ramsgate remains within the poorest 1%.

The new figures also show that many of Kent’s worst-performing areas in 2019 remain near the bottom of the national table.

Neighbourhoods in Cliftonville West and Dane Valley in Margate, which both featured among the most deprived 1% six years ago, are still ranked among England’s 200 poorest areas.

Parts of Sheerness East and West on the Isle of Sheppey and Chatham Central in Medway have seen little change, continuing to fall inside the country’s most deprived areas.

Gillingham North in Medway has also fallen into the lower echelons of the list.

The index ranks all 33,755 neighbourhoods in England on measures such as income, employment, education, health, housing, crime and access to services.

Each “neighbourhood” represents a small area known as a Lower Layer Super Output Area (LSOA) – typically home to about 1,500 people – used by the government to compare deprivation levels consistently across the country.

While districts in west Kent – including Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone – remain among the least deprived, coastal and industrial areas in the east continue to slide.

Nationally, the trend of coastal towns performing poorly has continued, with Tendring in Clacton-on-Sea rated the most deprived in the whole country.

While the IMD does not measure absolute poverty or living standards, Kent’s drop relative to other regions indicates its poorest communities have been left behind.

A place can rise or fall in the rankings even if its own circumstances stay the same, simply because other parts of the country have changed more quickly.

For that reason, experts say the figures are best used to identify patterns and inequalities, rather than to make direct year-on-year comparisons or to measure how much an individual town has improved.

The Department for Levelling Up says the index helps councils and charities target resources where they are most needed.