Median age of the population

The median age of the population in 2022-23 is set to rise 0.2% to 40.5 years. The average age of the population has increased over the past five years as the share of older people within the population has grown as a result of extended life expectancy and lower birth rates. In total IBISWorld estimates that the median age will increase at a compound annual rate of 0.1% over five years through 2022-23, from rising from 40 years in 2016-17.

The median age varies reasonably significantly across the constituent regions. In London the average age was the lowest, 35.8 years in 2020, whereas the South West was highest, at 44.1 years. Over the past thirty years the life expectancy of both men and women has been increasing as medical advances have helped to keep more people alive for longer. Though females still live longer on average, male life expectancies have been increasing at a faster rate. The slight closing of the gap has been influenced by lower prevalence of smoking among men and the shift in typical male occupations, which have tended to be less physical and safer.

The expansion of the median age has slowed over the past decade, compared to the previous 10-year period. This is predominantly because of a surge in the number of births throughout the 2000s. This helped to boost the share of young children within the UK population and counter the swelling of the older generations. Furthermore, the global outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) resulted in excess deaths throughout the United Kingdom in 2020-21. As of 8 December 2021, the United Kingdom has had a total of 145,987 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test since the start of the pandemic. Of the UK's deaths from coronavirus, the ONS estimate that 69.1% of fatalities were aged 75 and over, which is another rationale for a slowing expansion of the median age.