There are 1,030 rapists, paedophiles and other sex offenders living in the county - that amounts to 64 offenders for every 100,000 of the population.

Of those, 74 have breached their licence in the past year.

Medway and south Kent have the highest number of offenders, with 201 living in each area, whilst the lowest number (98) reside in north Kent.

The report from the Kent Multi-Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Annual report has been published since 2001.

The organisation is a partnership between Kent Probation, Kent Police and HM Prison that monitors sexual or violent offenders.

The 2007-2008 report shows the number of sex offenders in the county has risen by almost 50 people in the past year, up from a total of 983 in March 2007.

Medway has had the sharpest rise in numbers in the county - there are 15 more offenders living in the area compared to last year.

A Kent MAPPA spokesman said that the rise in figures across the county was to be expected because of the nature of the sex offender register.

He said: "More offenders on the sex offenders' register does not mean more sex offenders on the streets. What is does mean is more are subject by law to notification requirements and therefore are in a position to be rigorously monitored and managed by the police, probation and other agencies.

"Many sex offenders are required to register for long periods of time, with some registering for life.

"This has a cumulative effect on the total number of offenders required to register at any one time and therefore, we have always expected to see an increase in this total number over time."