Population
Population of young people projected to fall
Proportion of UK-born population aged 16 to 24: by sex
The proportion of the UK-born population aged 16 to 24 rose in the 10 years from 1971 to 1981 from 13 to 14 per cent. This was partly due to the baby boom in the early 1960s when live births in the UK peaked at just over one million.
Since then the proportion has fallen steadily to a rate of 11 per cent in 2001 and 12 per cent in 2007. This pattern of peaks and troughs since the early 1970s was similar for both young men and women. In 2007 young men and women accounted for 12.7 per cent and 11.5 per cent of the population respectively. The 2006-based population projections suggest that young men will account for 11 per cent of the population in 2026 and young women around 10 per cent.
Although the proportion of young people in the population has been declining, there has been a recent increase in those aged 16 to 24 across all ethnic groups. Using three-year rolling averages to compare the proportions for 2003-2005 and 2006-2008, the most notable increases over the period were for the 'Other White' group (32.7 per cent) and the 'Other Asian' group (24.2 per cent). The ethnic groups with the smallest increases over this period were 'White British' (2.0 per cent) and Chinese (4.4 per cent). However the number of 'White British' young people is far higher than those of the minority ethnic groups.
Proportion of resident population aged 16 to 24: by UK country, 2007
In 2007, the population of young people in the four constituent countries of the UK was similar to that of the UK as a whole. The proportion of the population aged 16 to 24 in England, Wales and Scotland was around 12 per cent, while Northern Ireland had a slightly higher proportion (13.3 per cent). Wales had the largest proportional difference between the sexes of around 1.3 percentage points with young men representing 13.0 per cent of the population and young women 11.7 per cent. In England the highest proportion of young men was in Yorkshire and the Humber (14.0 per cent). Inner London had the highest proportion of young women (12.8 per cent). The lowest proportion of young men was in the East of England (11.7 per cent), and the lowest proportion of young women was in the South West (10.7 per cent).
Source: Office for National Statistics; Government Actuary's Department; General Register Office for Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Notes: The first chart contains mid-year population estimates for 1971 to 2007; 2006-based projections for 2011 to 2026.
The estimated resident population of an area includes all people who usually live there, whatever their nationality. Members of HM and US Armed Forces in England and Wales are included on a residential basis wherever possible. HM Forces stationed outside England and Wales are not included. Students are taken to be resident at their term time address.
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