There were over 4.7 million people aged between 30 and 34 in the United Kingdom in 2023, making it the most populous age group in that year. Those aged between 35 and 39 years comprised the next most numerous age group in 2023, at over 4.64 million people. Millennials overtake Boomers as biggest generation Post-war demographic trends, particularly the 'baby boom' phenomenon, have significantly influenced the current age distribution in the UK. The postwar peak of live births in 1947 resulted in the dominance of the Baby Boomer generation for several decades, until 2020 when Millennials became the largest generational cohort, surpassing the Boomers for the first time. The following year, the UK Boomer population was then overtaken by Generation X, the generation born between Boomers and Millennials. Generation Z, however, remains smaller than the three generations that preceded it, at 12.9 million individuals in 2022. Aging UK population poses challenges The median age of the UK population is projected to reach 44.5 years by 2050, compared to 34.9 years in 1950. This aging trend is indicative of broader global demographic shifts, with the median age of people worldwide forecasted to increase from 23.6 years in 1950 to 41.9 years by 2100. How countries like the UK manage their aging populations will be one of the key challenges of the next few decades. It is likely the UK's struggling National Health Service (NHS) will come under even more pressure in the coming years. There are also tough economic questions, in particular as more people enter retirement age and the UK's working population gets smaller in relation to it.

In 2023, there were estimated to be 956,116 people who were aged 35 in the United Kingdom, the most of any age in this year. The two largest age groups during this year were 30-34, and 35 to 39, at 4.7 million and 4.64 million people respectively. There is also a noticeable spike of 693,679 people who were aged 76, which is due to the high number of births that followed in the aftermath of the Second World War. Over one million born in 1964 In post-war Britain, there have only been two years when the number of live births was over one million, in 1947 and in 1964. The number of births recorded in the years between these two years was consistently high as well, with 1955 having the fewest births in this period at 789,000. This meant that until relatively recently, Baby Boomers were the largest generational cohort in the UK. As of 2022, there were approximately 13.76 million Baby Boomers, compared with 14 million in Generation X, 14.48 million Millennials, and 12.9 million members of Gen Z. The youngest generation in the UK, Generation Alpha numbered approximately 7.5 million in the same year. Median age to hit 44.5 years by 2050 The population of the United Kingdom is aging at a substantial rate, with the median age of the population expected to reach 44.5 years by 2050. By comparison, in 1950 the average age in the United Kingdom stood at 34.9 years. This phenomenon is not unique to the United Kingdom, with median age of people worldwide increasing from 23.6 years in 1950 to a forecasted 41.9 years by 2100. As of 2022, the region with the oldest median age in the UK was South West England, at 43.9 years, compared with 35.9 in London, the region with the youngest median age.

In 2023, there were estimated to be around 4.01 million people aged between 30 and 34 living in England, the most of any age group. Those aged 35 to 39 comprised the next highest age group, at 3.95 million, while the age group with the fewest people was among those aged 90 and over.

National and subnational mid-year population estimates for the UK and its constituent countries by administrative area, age and sex (including components of population change, median age and population density).

Office for National Statistics’ national and subnational mid-year population estimates for England and Wales for a selection of administrative and census areas by additional useful age for 2012 to 2020. Age categories include: 0-15, 5-11, 11-15, 16-17, 16-29, 16-64, 18-24, 30-44, 45-64, 65+ & 70+. The data is source is from ONS Population Estimates. Find out more about this dataset here.

This data is issued at (BGC) Generalised (20m) boundary type for:

Country, Region, Upper Tier Local Authority (2021), Lower Tier Local Authority (2021), Middle Super Output Area (2011), and Lower Super Output Area (2011).

If you require the data at full resolution boundaries, or if you are interested in the range of statistical data that Esri UK make available in ArcGIS Online please enquire at dataenquiries@esriuk.com.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces annual estimates of the resident population of England and Wales at 30 June every year. The most authoritative population estimates come from the census, which takes place every 10 years in the UK. Population estimates from a census are updated each year to produce mid-year population estimates (MYEs), which are broken down by local authority, sex and age. More detailed information on the methods used to generate the mid-year population estimates can be found here.

For further information on the usefulness of the data and guidance on small area geographies please see here.The currency of this data is 2021.

Methodology

The total and 5-year breakdown population counts are reproduced directly from the source data. The age range estimates have been calculated from the published estimates by single year of age. The percentages are calculated using the gender specific (total, female or male) total population count as a denominator except in the case of the male and female total population where the total population is used to give female and male proportions.

This dataset will be updated annually, in two releases.

Creator: Office for National Statistics. Aggregated age groupings and percentages calculated by Esri UK._The data services available from this page are derived from the National Data Service. The NDS delivers thousands of open national statistical indicators for the UK as data-as-a-service. Data are sourced from major providers such as the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and Police UK and made available for your area at standard geographies such as counties, districts and wards and census output areas. This premium service can be consumed as online web services or on-premise for use throughout the ArcGIS system.Read more about the NDS.

The census is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics every 10 years and gives us a picture of all the people and households in England and Wales. The most recent census took place in March of 2021.The census asks every household questions about the people who live there and the type of home they live in. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of society. Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, doctors' surgeries and roads.Key census statistics for Leicester are published on the open data platform to make information accessible to local services, voluntary and community groups, and residents.Further information about the census and full datasets can be found on the ONS website - https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/aboutcensus/censusproducts

Principal projection for the UK - population by five-year age groups and sex.

As of 2023, the population of young children aged between 0 and 4 years old in the United Kingdom was estimated to be just under 3.57 million, with 667,182 under 12 months old, 712,250 at age one, 709,269 aged two, 734,023 aged three, and 749,283 aged four.

Census 2021 student estimates for local authorities in England and Wales, by single year of age from 18 to 30 years.

These datasets provide a breakdown of detailed ethnic group by age and sex, ethnic group by age and ethnic group by sex

Information from Census 2021 on the sex and age characteristics of ethnic groups and how this has changed since 2011 in England and Wales.

Since 1991, the census for England and Wales has included a question about ethnic group.

Ethnic group The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity or physical appearance.

Respondents could choose 1 out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.

Usual resident A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

Census 2021 data on religion by general health, by sex, by age; religion by disability, by sex, by age; and, religion by unpaid care, by sex, by age; England and Wales combined. This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

The religion people connect or identify with (their religious affiliation), whether or not they practise or have belief in it.
This question was voluntary and the variable includes people who answered the question, including “No religion”, alongside those who chose not to answer this question.

Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

The population base for unpaid care is usual residents aged 5 years and above. We have used 5-year age bands for the majority of analysis; however, age groups "5 to 17" and "18 to 24" have been used to allow commentary on young carers and young working age carers.

Quality notes can be found here

Religion

The 8 ‘tickbox’ religious groups are as follows:

• Buddhist
• Christian
• Hindu
• Jewish
• Muslim
• No religion
• Sikh
• Other religion

General health

A person's assessment of the general state of their health from very good to very bad. This assessment is not based on a person's health over any specified period of time.

Disability

The definition of disability used in the 2021 Census is aligned with the definition of disability under the Equality Act (2010). A person is considered disabled if they self-report having a physical or mental health condition or illness that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more, and that this reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Unpaid care

An unpaid carer may look after, give help or support to anyone who has long-term physical or mental ill-health conditions, illness or problems related to old age. This does not include any activities as part of paid employment. This help can be within or outside of the carer's household.

Mid-year (30 June) estimates of the usual resident population for health geographies in England and Wales.

Office for National Statistics’ national and subnational mid-year population estimates for England and Wales for a selection of administrative and census areas by additional useful age for 2012 to 2020. Age categories include: 0-15, 5-11, 11-15, 16-17, 16-29, 16-64, 18-24, 30-44, 45-64, 65+ & 70+. The data is source is from ONS Population Estimates. Find out more about this dataset here.

This data is issued at (BGC) Generalised (20m) boundary type for:

Country, Region, Upper Tier Local Authority (2021), Lower Tier Local Authority (2021), Middle Super Output Area (2011), and Lower Super Output Area (2011).

If you require the data at full resolution boundaries, or if you are interested in the range of statistical data that Esri UK make available in ArcGIS Online please enquire at dataenquiries@esriuk.com.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces annual estimates of the resident population of England and Wales at 30 June every year. The most authoritative population estimates come from the census, which takes place every 10 years in the UK. Population estimates from a census are updated each year to produce mid-year population estimates (MYEs), which are broken down by local authority, sex and age. More detailed information on the methods used to generate the mid-year population estimates can be found here.

For further information on the usefulness of the data and guidance on small area geographies please see here.The currency of this data is 2021.

Methodology

The total and 5-year breakdown population counts are reproduced directly from the source data. The age range estimates have been calculated from the published estimates by single year of age. The percentages are calculated using the gender specific (total, female or male) total population count as a denominator except in the case of the male and female total population where the total population is used to give female and male proportions.

This dataset will be updated annually, in two releases.

Creator: Office for National Statistics. Aggregated age groupings and percentages calculated by Esri UK._The data services available from this page are derived from the National Data Service. The NDS delivers thousands of open national statistical indicators for the UK as data-as-a-service. Data are sourced from major providers such as the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and Police UK and made available for your area at standard geographies such as counties, districts and wards and census output areas. This premium service can be consumed as online web services or on-premise for use throughout the ArcGIS system.Read more about the NDS.

Census 2021 data on international student population of England and Wales by country of birth, passport held, age, sex and other characteristics.

These datasets are part of the release: The changing picture of long-term international migration, England and Wales: Census 2021. Figures may differ slightly in future releases because of the impact of removing rounding and applying further statistical processes.

Figures are based on geography boundaries as of 1 April 2022.

This release includes comparisons to the folllowing 2011 Census data:

• Students in full-time education
• International students (by Region)
• International students by country of birth
• International students by Top 100 countries of birth

Quality notes can be found here

Quality information about demography and migration can be found here

Quality information about labour market can be found here

Usual resident

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

International student

An international student is defined as someone who was a usual resident in England and Wales and meets all the following criteria:

• in-full-time education
• non-UK-born
• non-UK passport holder
• aged 17 years or over upon most recent arrival in the UK
• aged 18 years or over on Census Day.

Country of birth

The country in which a person was born. The following country of birth classifications are used in this dataset:

• Country of birth 12a: Political groupings of countries by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Country of birth 190a: Individual countries. This classification includes geographical groupings for low volume countries.
• Country of birth (3 categories): These categories have been derived from country of birth 12a and include all UK countries in "Europe: United Kingdom", all EU countries in "Europe: EU countries" and all remaining countries including British Overseas territories in "Non-EU countries (including British Overseas)".

More information about country of birth classifications can be found here.

Passports held

The country or countries that a person holds, or is entitled to hold, a passport for. Where a person recorded having more than one passport, they were counted only once, categorised in the following priority order: 1. UK passport, 2. Irish passport, 3. Other passport. The following classifications were created for this dataset for comparability with other international migration releases:

• Passports held (4 categories): High level political groupings of passport held by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Passports held (12 categories): Political groupings of passport held by EU membership and geographical location for non-EU countries.
• Passports held (150 categories): Individual countries for passport held. This classification includes geographical groupings for low volume countries.

More information can be found here

Economic activity status

The economic activity status of a person on Census Day, 21 March 2021. The following classification is used in this dataset:

• Economic activity status classification status_12a

Industry

The industry worked in for those in current employment. The following classification was used for this dataset:

• Industry (current) classification 22a

Student accommodation

Student accommodation breaks down household type by typical households used by students. This includes communal establishments, all student households, households containing a single family, households containing multiple families, living with parents and living alone.

More information can be found here

Second address indicator

The second address indicator is used to define an address (in or out of the UK) a person stays at for more than 30 days per year that is not their place of usual residence. Second addresses typically include: armed forces bases, addresses used by people working away from home, a student’s home address, the address of another parent or guardian, a partner’s address, a holiday home. There are 3 categories in this classification.

Detailed description can be found here

Main language (detailed)

This is used to define a person's first or preferred language. This breaks down the responses given in the write-in option "Other, write in (including British Sign Language)". There are 95 categories in the primary classification.

More details can be found here

Proficiency in English language

Proficiency in English language is used to determine how well a person whose main language is not English (English or Welsh in Wales) feels they can speak English. There are a total number of 6 categories in this classification.

More details can be found here

Every ten years since 1801 the nation has set aside one day for the census - a count of all people and households. It is the most complete source of information about the population that we have. The latest census was held on Sunday 21 March 2021.

Every effort is made to include everyone, and that is why the census is so important. It is the only survey which provides a detailed picture of the entire population, and is unique because it covers everyone at the same time and asks the same core questions everywhere. This makes it easy to compare different parts of the country.

The information the census provides allows central and local government, health authorities and many other organisations to target their resources more effectively and to plan housing, education, health and transport services for years to come.

In England and Wales, the census is planned and carried out by the Office for National Statistics. Elsewhere in the UK, responsibility lies with the National Records of Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

A usual resident is anyone who on Census Day, 21 March 2021 was in the UK and had stayed or intended to stay in the UK for a period of 12 months or more, or had a permanent UK address and was outside the UK and intended to be outside the UK for less than 12 months.

The ONS have three processes for checking and resolving duplicate responses so that the main census data should simply be one record for each person:

1. The ONS resolve duplicates coming in for the same postcode using a process called Resolve Multiple Responses (RMR). For instance, if two people both fill in a form for their whole household, or someone from a household also submits an individual response unknown to the main submission. They have rules for checking they are duplicates, and rules for which to keep.

2. The ONS also do an over coverage check on a sample basis for duplicates across the rest of the country, and then factor the findings into their coverage estimation calculations. This sampling focuses on the types of population which are more likely to be duplicated (people who have indicated they have a second residence on the census, students aged 18-25, armed forces personnel, children, adults enumerated at a communal establishment, etc.) but also samples from the remaining population.

3. The ONS ask parents to fill in basic demographic information for any children who are away studying, and when they get to the question on their term-time address, if they answer that the term-time address is elsewhere, we then use that to filter those out-of-term students out of the main database. Then when that student does respond actually at their term-time address, they only include them there.

Note: variables RELAT06, RELAT11, RELAT16, RELAT21, RELAT26, GENDER_IDENTITY are not available in the data

This statistic depicts the age distribution of the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, about 17.41 percent of the population in the United Kingdom fell into the 0-14 year category, 63.35 percent into the 15-64 age group and 19.24 percent were over 65 years of age. The same year, the total UK population amounted to about 67.26 million people.

This dataset represents ethnic group (19 tick-box level) by general health, by disabled and non-disabled populations, and provision of unpaid care, for England and Wales combined. The data are also broken down by age and sex for each subtopic.

The ethnic group that the person completing the census feels they belong to. This could be based on their culture, family background, identity, or physical appearance. Respondents could choose one out of 19 tick-box response categories, including write-in response options.

Total counts for some population groups may not match between published tables. This is to protect the confidentiality of individuals' data. Population counts have been rounded to the nearest 5 and any counts below 10 are suppressed, this is signified by a 'c' in the data tables.

"Asian Welsh" and "Black Welsh" ethnic groups were included on the census questionnaire in Wales only, these categories were new for 2021.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify usual residents in England and Wales by ethnic group. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Read more about this quality notice.

The population base for unpaid care is usual residents aged 5 and above. 5-year age bands have been used for the majority of analysis; however, age groups "5 to 17" and "18 to 24" have been used to allow commentary on young carers and young working age carers.

Ethnic Group (19 tick-box level)

These are the 19 ethnic group used in this dataset:

• Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh
  • Bangladeshi
  • Chinese
  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Other Asian
• Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African
  • African
  • Caribbean
  • Other Black
• Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
  • White and Asian
  • White and Black African
  • White and Black Caribbean
  • Other Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups
• White
  • English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
  • Gypsy or Irish Traveller
  • Irish
  • Roma
  • Other White
• Other ethnic group
  • Arab
  • Any other ethnic group

_General health _

A person's assessment of the general state of their health from very good to very bad. This assessment is not based on a person's health over any specified period of time.

_Disability _

The definition of disability used in the 2021 Census is aligned with the definition of disability under the Equality Act (2010). A person is considered disabled if they self-report having a physical or mental health condition or illness that has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more, and that this reduces their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

Unpaid care

An unpaid carer may look after, give help or support to anyone who has long-term physical or mental ill-health conditions, illness or problems related to old age. This does not include any activities as part of paid employment. This help can be within or outside of the carer's household.

This report contains results from the latest survey of secondary school pupils in England in years 7 to 11 (mostly aged 11 to 15), focusing on smoking, drinking and drug use. It covers a range of topics including prevalence, habits, attitudes, and wellbeing. This survey is usually run every two years, however, due to the impact that the Covid pandemic had on school opening and attendance, it was not possible to run the survey as initially planned in 2020; instead it was delivered in the 2021 school year. In 2021 additional questions were also included relating to the impact of Covid. They covered how pupil's took part in school learning in the last school year (September 2020 to July 2021), and how often pupil's met other people outside of school and home. Results of analysis covering these questions have been presented within parts of the report and associated data tables. It includes this summary report showing key findings, excel tables with more detailed outcomes, technical appendices and a data quality statement. An anonymised record level file of the underlying data on which users can carry out their own analysis will be made available via the UK Data Service later in 2022 (see link below).

The population of the United Kingdom in 2023 was estimated to be approximately 68.3 million in 2023, with almost 9.48 million people living in South East England. London had the next highest population, at over 8.9 million people, followed by the North West England at 7.6 million. With the UK's population generally concentrated in England, most English regions have larger populations than the constituent countries of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which had populations of 5.5 million, 3.16 million, and 1.92 million respectively. English counties and cities The United Kingdom is a patchwork of various regional units, within England the largest of these are the regions shown here, which show how London, along with the rest of South East England had around 18 million people living there in this year. The next significant regional units in England are the 47 metropolitan and ceremonial counties. After London, the metropolitan counties of the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire were the biggest of these counties, due to covering the large urban areas of Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds respectively. Regional divisions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The smaller countries that comprise the United Kingdom each have different local subdivisions. Within Scotland these are called council areas whereas in Wales the main regional units are called unitary authorities. Scotland's largest Council Area by population is that of Glasgow City at over 622,000, while in Wales, it was the Cardiff Unitary Authority at around 372,000. Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has eleven local government districts, the largest of which is Belfast with a population of around 348,000.

Office for National Statistics’ national and subnational mid-year population estimates for England and Wales for a selection of administrative and census areas by additional useful age for 2012 to 2020. Age categories include: 0-15, 5-11, 11-15, 16-17, 16-29, 16-64, 18-24, 30-44, 45-64, 65+ & 70+. The data is source is from ONS Population Estimates. Find out more about this dataset here.

This data is issued at (BGC) Generalised (20m) boundary type for:

Country, Region, Upper Tier Local Authority (2021), Lower Tier Local Authority (2021), Middle Super Output Area (2011), and Lower Super Output Area (2011).

If you require the data at full resolution boundaries, or if you are interested in the range of statistical data that Esri UK make available in ArcGIS Online please enquire at dataenquiries@esriuk.com.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces annual estimates of the resident population of England and Wales at 30 June every year. The most authoritative population estimates come from the census, which takes place every 10 years in the UK. Population estimates from a census are updated each year to produce mid-year population estimates (MYEs), which are broken down by local authority, sex and age. More detailed information on the methods used to generate the mid-year population estimates can be found here.

For further information on the usefulness of the data and guidance on small area geographies please see here.The currency of this data is 2021.

Methodology

The total and 5-year breakdown population counts are reproduced directly from the source data. The age range estimates have been calculated from the published estimates by single year of age. The percentages are calculated using the gender specific (total, female or male) total population count as a denominator except in the case of the male and female total population where the total population is used to give female and male proportions.

This dataset will be updated annually, in two releases.

Creator: Office for National Statistics. Aggregated age groupings and percentages calculated by Esri UK._The data services available from this page are derived from the National Data Service. The NDS delivers thousands of open national statistical indicators for the UK as data-as-a-service. Data are sourced from major providers such as the Office for National Statistics, Public Health England and Police UK and made available for your area at standard geographies such as counties, districts and wards and census output areas. This premium service can be consumed as online web services or on-premise for use throughout the ArcGIS system.Read more about the NDS.