ONS On Living Longer - How Our Population Is Changing and Why It Matters

By 2066, one in four people in the UK will be aged 65 and over. How does this affect the economy, services and society?  

In mid-2016 there were 1.6 million people aged 85 years and over (2% of the total population); by mid-2041 this is projected to double to 3.2 million (4% of the population) and by 2066 to treble, by which time there will be 5.1 million people aged 85 years and over making up 7% of the total UK population.  

Meanwhile, the population aged 16 to 64 years is projected to increase by only 2% over the next 25 years and by 5% by 2066.
Population ageing is a global phenomenon. In 2015 there were around 901 million people aged 60 years and over worldwide, representing 12.3% of the global population. By 2050, it will have increased to 2.1 billion or 21.3% of the global population.

The populations of ‘more developed’ countries have aged most rapidly but the proportion of older people is projected to grow in all regions of the world. By 2050, the developed nations of Europe, Japan and North America will still be amongst the countries with the oldest populations, but China and Latin America will also have experienced considerable population ageing.

Within the UK, the older population makes up higher proportions of the populations of rural and coastal areas than urban areas.

Half of the local authorities with the highest percentage of the population aged 65 years and over are in the South West region of England.

Nine out of ten local authorities with the lowest percentage of the population aged 65 years and over were in the Greater London region.

Employment rates for those aged 65 years and over doubled between 1993 and 2018.

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