In mid-2004 the UK was home to 59.8 million people, of which 50.1 million
lived in England. The average age was 38.6 years, an increase on 1971 when
it was 34.1 years. In mid-2004 approximately one in five people in the UK
were aged under 16 and one in six people were aged 65 or over.
The UK has a growing population. It grew by 281,200 people in the year to
mid-2004, and the average growth per year has been 0.4 per cent since mid-2001.
The UK population increased by 7.0 per cent since 1971, from 55.9 million.
Growth has been faster in more recent years. Between mid-1991 and mid-2003
the population grew by an annual rate of 0.3 per cent.
The mid-2004 population of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom
is estimated as follows:
The UK has an ageing population. This is the result of declines both in
fertility rates and in the mortality rate. This has led to a declining proportion
of the population aged under 16 and an increasing proportion aged 65 and
over.
In every year since 1901, with the exception of 1976, there have been more
births than deaths in the UK and the population has grown due to natural
change. Until the mid-1990s, this natural increase was the main driver of
population growth. Since the late 1990s, although there has still been natural
increase, net international migration into the UK from abroad has been an
increasingly important factor in population change.
Sources: Mid-year
population estimates: Office for National Statistics, General Register
Office for Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
Notes:
The average age of the population has been estimated using the median
value. The median is the mid-point age that separates the younger half
of the population from the older half.
Published on 25
August 2005 at 9:30 am – Britain’s Office of National Statistics
