Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of children, working-age adults, and older people was 11.96 million people in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
11.96 million people
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
35th
of 236 countries
All-time high
13.46 million people
in 1972
All-time low
10.76 million people
in 1987
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom stood at 11.96 million people.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom peaked at 13.46 million people in 1972 and was at its lowest, 10.76 million people, in 1987.
United Kingdom ranks 35th 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.
Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 11.26 million people | — |
| 1951 | 11.36 million people | +0.9% |
| 1952 | 11.45 million people | +0.8% |
| 1953 | 11.55 million people | +0.9% |
| 1954 | 11.65 million people | +0.9% |
| 1955 | 11.76 million people | +0.9% |
| 1956 | 11.89 million people | +1.1% |
| 1957 | 12.01 million people | +1.0% |
| 1958 | 12.10 million people | +0.8% |
| 1959 | 12.18 million people | +0.6% |
| 1960 | 12.27 million people | +0.7% |
| 1961 | 12.34 million people | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 12.37 million people | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 12.44 million people | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 12.56 million people | +1.0% |
| 1965 | 12.71 million people | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 12.87 million people | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 13.03 million people | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 13.18 million people | +1.2% |
| 1969 | 13.30 million people | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 13.39 million people | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 13.44 million people | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 13.46 million people | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 13.41 million people | -0.4% |
| 1974 | 13.28 million people | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 13.09 million people | -1.4% |
| 1976 | 12.85 million people | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 12.57 million people | -2.2% |
| 1978 | 12.30 million people | -2.2% |
| 1979 | 12.04 million people | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 11.81 million people | -2.0% |
| 1981 | 11.58 million people | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 11.35 million people | -1.9% |
| 1983 | 11.16 million people | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 11.02 million people | -1.3% |
| 1985 | 10.90 million people | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 10.82 million people | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 10.76 million people | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 10.80 million people | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 10.90 million people | +0.9% |
| 1990 | 10.98 million people | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 11.10 million people | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 11.21 million people | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 11.30 million people | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 11.34 million people | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 11.34 million people | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 11.32 million people | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 11.31 million people | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 11.29 million people | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 11.27 million people | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 11.18 million people | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 11.08 million people | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 11.01 million people | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 11.02 million people | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 11.04 million people | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 11.02 million people | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 11.00 million people | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 11.01 million people | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 11.06 million people | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 11.12 million people | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 11.19 million people | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 11.27 million people | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 11.36 million people | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 11.46 million people | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 11.57 million people | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 11.69 million people | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 11.83 million people | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 11.96 million people | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 12.05 million people | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 12.09 million people | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 12.10 million people | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 12.07 million people | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 12.02 million people | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 11.96 million people | -0.5% |
United Kingdom compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom's 11.96 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 424,895 people, 28.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom's 11.96 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 979,980 people, 12.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 11.72 million people | 11.26 million people | 12.18 million people | 10 |
| 1960s | 12.71 million people | 12.27 million people | 13.30 million people | 10 |
| 1970s | 12.98 million people | 12.04 million people | 13.46 million people | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.11 million people | 10.76 million people | 11.81 million people | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.25 million people | 10.98 million people | 11.34 million people | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.05 million people | 11.00 million people | 11.18 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.65 million people | 11.19 million people | 12.09 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.04 million people | 11.96 million people | 12.10 million people | 4 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More population data for United Kingdom
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1791 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.1389 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1791 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.0706 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 71,685 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.2666 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.169 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Population density 307.14 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 3.21 million people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom?
- Share of children, working-age adults, and older people in United Kingdom was 11.96 million people in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 13.46 million people in 1972.
- What is the lowest share of children, working-age adults, and older people recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.76 million people in 1987.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of children, working-age adults, and older people?
- United Kingdom ranks 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children, working-age adults, and older people rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. 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 Share of children, working-age adults, and older people. 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
Total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown. This only includes people aged 0-14.