The parish has an area of 59.45 km2 (23 sq miles), and is one of the most sparsely populated. The population count in 2001 found that 1,540 people lived in the parish. The parish coincides with the similarly-named electoral ward, and at the 2011 census the population had decreased to 1,445. The ward contains the villages of Dousland, Meavy, Sheepstor and Walkhampton, and also Burrator Reservoir which is the main water supply for Plymouth. The parish is twinned with the municipality of Mathieu, in Normandy, France.