Population aged 65 and over in United Kingdom
18.4% of people in United Kingdom were aged 65 or over on 1 January 2019. The value for 2019 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1960.
The latest value for United Kingdom is for 2019. Most countries have figures for 2025.
United Kingdom, 2019
18.4%
Change from 2018
+0.2percentage points
European Union, 2019
20.3%
Median of OECD (38 countries), 2019
19.3%
Population aged 65 and over in United Kingdom over time
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United Kingdom
European Union
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of total population. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | United Kingdom | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | 22.0%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2024 | – | 21.6%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2023 | – | 21.3%bep (break in time series, estimated, provisional) |
| 2022 | – | 21.1%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2021 | – | 20.9%bep (break in time series, estimated, provisional) |
| 2020 | – | 20.6%e (estimated) |
| 2019 | 18.4% | 20.3% |
| 2018 | 18.2% | 20.0%e (estimated) |
| 2017 | 18.1% | 19.7%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2016 | 17.9% | 19.4%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2015 | 17.7% | 19.1%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2014 | 17.5% | 18.7%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2013 | 17.2% | – |
| 2012 | 16.8% | 18.0%b (break in time series) |
| 2011 | 16.4% | 17.8%b (break in time series) |
| 2010 | 16.3% | 17.6%b (break in time series) |
| 2009 | 16.1% | 17.4% |
| 2008 | 15.9% | 17.3%b (break in time series) |
| 2007 | 15.9% | 17.1% |
| 2006 | 15.9% | 16.9% |
| 2005 | 15.9% | 16.7% |
| 2004 | 15.9% | 16.4% |
| 2003 | 15.9% | 16.2% |
| 2002 | 15.9% | 16.0% |
| 2001 | 15.8% | 15.8%b (break in time series) |
Flags: b break in time series; be break in time series, estimated; e estimated; bep break in time series, estimated, provisional; ep estimated, provisional . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of +0.2 percentage points from 18.2% in 2018.
- Since 2009, when it was 16.1%, the figure has changed by +2.3 percentage points.
- The figure for the European Union in 2019 was 20.3%.
More for United Kingdom
All statistics for United Kingdom
Population aged 65 and over
19.7%
2025 · World Bank
Old-age dependency ratio
28.9 per 100 working-age people
2019 · Eurostat
Median age of the population
40.2 years
2019 · Eurostat
Population on 1 January
67,025,542p (Provisional) people
2020 · Eurostat
Population by age and sex
67,025,542p (Provisional) people
2020 · Eurostat
Crude birth rate
9.3 per 1,000 people
2025 · Eurostat