Where the UK is Getting Old

The UK is getting old. Although some areas of the country are managing to stay relatively young. In 2016 18% of the population were aged 65 and over. 2.4% were aged 85 and over. As lifestyles & healthcare improve and people continue to have children later in life the percentage of the elderly is expected to increase. You can see how and where on a new map from the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS's UK Population Age map shows the percentage of the UK population over 65, over 85 and the old age dependency ratio at local authority level. The map allows you to view the percentage of the aged population by year for 1996, 2006 and 2016. It also allows you to view the projected growth in the percentage of the population over 65 and 85 for the years 2026 and 2036.

The map reveals that there are geographical differences in the proportion of the local population with high percentages of older or younger people. The bigger cities tend to have a higher proportion of younger people than more rural locations. This presumably reflects a tendency for people to live in cities for work and then move to more rural areas when they retire. Many local authorities in the south have the highest proportions of elderly people, indicating that these are popular areas to retire.

If you want to know how your local authority compares to the rest of the country you can select it on the map. You can then view charts showing how your authority compares to the national average for the percentage of the population over 65 and over 85.