East Dorset is a local government district in Dorset, England. Its council is based in Wimborne.

The district was formed on April 1, 1974 by the merger of Wimborne Minster urban district with part of the Ringwood and Fordingbridge Rural District and the Wimborne and Cranbourne rural district. The district was originally known as Wimborne.

As of October 2004, statistics released[1] (http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=8841) by the Office for National Statistics show that life expectancy at birth for males in East Dorset was 80.1 years in 2001-2003, the highest in the United Kingdom. Female life expectancy at birth for the same period was 83.4 years, ranking seventh in the UK. The figures for East Dorset during 1991-1993 were 77.9 years for males and 82.5 for females.

Settlements

Settlements with a population over 2,500 are in bold.

• Alderholt
• Chalbury, Colehill, Corfe Mullen, Cranborne
• Edmondsham
• Ferndown
• Gussage
• Hinton Martell, Hinton Parva, Holt, Horton
• Long Crichel
• Moor Crichel
• Pamphill, Pentridge
• St Ives, St Leonards, Shapwick, Sixpenny Handley, Sturminster Marshall
• Verwood
• West Moors, West Parley, Wimborne Minster, Wimborne St Giles, Witchampton, Woodlands