The UK opt-out average is now 29.87 per cent, up from the 26 per cent figure in 2004, and now nearly 10 per cent higher than the 20 per cent figure for 2003 - the first year that Electoral Roll opt-out was available.
According to Skipton Information Group, this represents an extra 1.1 million people who do not want their address details sold to direct marketers.
This means 3.3 million UK consumers have now opted out since 2003.
The highest opt-out rates recorded so far include Wandsworth in London at 72.31 per cent, Kennet near Edinburgh at 72.24 per cent and Wokingham in Berkshire at 60.55 per cent. Wandsworth has been criticised by the DMA for pre-ticking the opt-out boxes on forms sent to householders who had opted out the year before.
"We are starting to see a disconcerting trend in data loss," said Mike Green, Skipton Information Group CEO. "The Electoral Roll is now 30 per cent less effective overall and significantly more in specific regions."
Those with the lowest opt-outs are Powys, Montgomeryshire at 4.5 per cent, Bradford at 6.44 per cent and Perth and Kinross at 6.61 per cent.
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