Population by age group in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Population by age group was 3.59 million people in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
3.59 million people
Change on year
down 1.9%
World rank
39th
of 236 countries
All-time high
4.78 million people
in 1967
All-time low
3.38 million people
in 1979
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Population by age group in United Kingdom, 1950–2023

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 3.59 million people for population by age group in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, population by age group in United Kingdom peaked at 4.78 million people in 1967 and was at its lowest, 3.38 million people, in 1979.

United Kingdom ranks 39th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 4.02 million people 3.85 million people 4.33 million people 10
1960s 4.58 million people 4.17 million people 4.78 million people 10
1970s 3.99 million people 3.38 million people 4.61 million people 10
1980s 3.60 million people 3.41 million people 3.74 million people 10
1990s 3.76 million people 3.62 million people 3.87 million people 10
2000s 3.58 million people 3.45 million people 3.85 million people 10
2010s 4.00 million people 3.88 million people 4.07 million people 10
2020s 3.71 million people 3.59 million people 3.82 million people 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 36 Mali 4.16 million people compare
  2. 37 Japan 4.14 million people compare
  3. 38 Germany 3.91 million people compare
  4. 40 Colombia 3.55 million people compare
  5. 41 Chad 3.55 million people compare
  6. 42 Somalia 3.41 million people compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is population by age group in United Kingdom?
Population by age group in United Kingdom was 3.59 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest population by age group recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 4.78 million people in 1967.
What is the lowest population by age group recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 3.38 million people in 1979.
How does United Kingdom rank for population by age group?
United Kingdom ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is population by age group rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population by age group. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Population by age group
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-4.