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Business Environment Profiles - United Kingdom

Population aged 65 years and over

Published: 04 July 2024

Key Metrics

Population aged 65 years and over

Total (2025)

13 Millions of people

Annualized Growth 2020-25

1.4 %

Definition of Population aged 65 years and over

This report analyses the number of people aged 65 years and over in the United Kingdom. The data is sourced from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and forecasts are based on ONS projections and IBISWorld estimates. ONS data is given as mid-year estimates which used for the financial year (i.e., June 2019 = 2019-20).

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Recent Trends – Population aged 65 years and over

The number of people aged 65 years and over is expected to increase by 1.6% over 2021-22 to total 12.7 million, accounting for 18.9% of total UK population, the highest proportion this age group has ever comprised. The growth in the age group has been driven by longer life expectancies and improved nutrition, living conditions, and health care. Reductions in smoking rates and the smoking ban in public places have led to fewer smoking-related diseases and therefore deaths. Moreover, the aging of the high number of as people born from the mid-to-late 1940s and into the 1950s, so called Baby-Boomers, has contributed to the larger number of people aged 65 years and over. This rate of increase slowed in 2020-21 as a result of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak and its high mortality rate for this age group, with over 128,000 deaths of 65s and over as of the 01 October 2021, representing 88.8% of all COVID-related deaths.

Over the five years through 2021-22, the number of people aged 65 years and older is expected to increase at a compound annual rate of 1.5%. Following the end of World War II, individuals were more at peace and many started to plan for a future that was not certain prior to that. There was a general sense of calm and happiness among the population and returning soldiers were reunited with spouses. This prompted a baby boom lasting from 1946 to the early 1960s. The number of people aged 65 and over has generally increased in line with UK life expectancy throughout the period.

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5-Year Outlook – Population aged 65 years and over

Following the post-World War II baby boom, birth rates in the United Kingdom did not begin to dec...

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