Age groups

Published 22 August 2018

Last updated 7 August 2020 - see all updates

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• at the time of the 2011 Census, the median age for the population of England and Wales was 39 years
• among the broad ethnic groups, the White group had the highest median age, at 41 years, and the Mixed group had the lowest, at 18 years
• 21% of the overall population of England and Wales was aged under 18 years, 29% was aged 18 to 39 years, 27% was aged 40 to 59 years, and 22% was aged 60 years and over
• almost one third (31.3%) of people with Mixed ethnicity were aged under 10 years, the highest percentage in this age range out of all ethnic groups
• 25% of people from White ethnic groups (including White ethnic minorities) were aged 60 years and over, the highest percentage in this age range out of all ethnic groups
• 43% of people from Asian ethnic groups and 45% of people from the Other ethnic group were aged 20 to 39 years old; these were the highest percentages in this age range out of all ethnic groups

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

This data shows the age profiles for different ethnic groups in England and Wales. It shows:

• the average (median) age for the 5 aggregated ethnic groups
• the percentage of the population in each age group for the 18 individual ethnic groups

All percentages have been calculated using unrounded data. This means the percentages shown in the commentary may not match any calculations made using these percentages shown in the tables.

Read more about the 2011 Census.

Not included in the data

This data does not include households that did not answer the question about ethnicity.

94% of households completed the 2011 Census. Of those, 97% answered the question about ethnicity.

The data has been adjusted to take into account people and households who were not counted or counted incorrectly.

The ethnic groups used in the data

This data uses the standardised list of 18 ethnic groups that were developed for the 2011 Census.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for this data.

3. Average age by ethnicity

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Average (median) age by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Age
All	39
Asian	29
Black	30
Mixed	18
White	41
Other	30

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Average age by ethnicity Summary

This data uses the median for working out the average age for each ethnic group.

The data shows that:

• the average age of the population of England and Wales was 39 years
• the White ethnic group had the highest average age (41 years), and the Mixed group had the lowest (18 years)
• the Asian, Black and Other ethnic groups had similar average ages at 30, 30, and 29 years respectively

4. Age profile by ethnicity

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage and number of people within each broad ethnic group that falls into each age group

	All		Asian		Black		Mixed		White		Other
Age	All %	All Number	Asian %	Asian Number	Black %	Black Number	Mixed %	Mixed Number	White %	White Number	Other %	Other Number
Age 0 to 4	6.2	3,496,750	8.7	365,207	9.5	176,849	18.0	219,796	5.6	2,684,720	8.9	50,178
Age 5 to 9	5.6	3,135,711	7.7	323,251	8.4	156,365	13.3	162,596	5.1	2,451,735	7.4	41,764
Age 10 to 14	5.8	3,258,677	6.9	290,690	7.8	145,649	11.5	141,390	5.5	2,645,470	6.3	35,478
Age 15 to 17	3.7	2,079,229	4.2	176,135	4.7	88,220	6.5	79,614	3.6	1,713,250	3.9	22,010
Age 18 to 24	9.4	5,267,401	12.9	543,338	10.6	197,321	13.6	167,126	8.9	4,291,624	12.1	67,992
Age 25 to 29	6.8	3,836,609	10.7	450,383	7.9	146,941	8.1	98,861	6.4	3,076,127	11.4	64,297
Age 30 to 34	6.6	3,683,915	10.7	449,113	8.5	158,230	6.5	79,486	6.1	2,931,879	11.6	65,207
Age 35 to 39	6.7	3,732,161	9.0	378,009	8.2	153,117	5.2	63,413	6.4	3,083,346	9.6	54,276
Age 40 to 44	7.3	4,099,089	7.1	297,699	9.1	170,155	4.8	59,251	7.3	3,529,082	7.6	42,902
Age 45 to 49	7.3	4,100,526	5.2	220,332	8.5	159,252	4.1	50,245	7.5	3,637,280	5.9	33,417
Age 50 to 54	6.4	3,601,694	4.7	197,126	5.6	104,540	2.6	32,391	6.7	3,241,624	4.6	26,013
Age 55 to 59	5.7	3,183,915	4.0	166,627	3.1	57,825	1.6	19,970	6.1	2,919,608	3.5	19,885
Age 60 to 64	6.0	3,377,162	2.8	116,348	1.9	34,876	1.2	14,886	6.6	3,196,687	2.5	14,365
Age 65 to 69	4.8	2,674,161	1.8	77,482	1.7	32,032	0.9	11,574	5.3	2,543,742	1.7	9,331
Age 70 to 74	3.9	2,178,672	1.7	71,627	1.9	35,590	0.7	8,782	4.3	2,055,873	1.2	6,800
Age 75 to 79	3.2	1,777,547	1.2	49,198	1.4	26,074	0.6	6,816	3.5	1,690,772	0.8	4,687
Age 80 to 84	2.4	1,338,005	0.6	26,010	0.8	14,236	0.4	4,578	2.7	1,290,136	0.5	3,045
Age 85 and over	2.2	1,254,688	0.4	14,956	0.4	7,618	0.3	3,625	2.5	1,226,440	0.4	2,049

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Age profile by ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• 21.3% of the overall population of England and Wales was aged under 18 years, 29.5% was aged 18 to 39 years, 26.7% was aged 40 to 59 years, and 22.5% was aged 60 years and over
• 43.2% of people from Asian ethnic groups and 44.7% of people from the Other ethnic group were aged 20 to 39 years – these were the highest percentages in this age range out of all ethnic groups
• 31.3% of people with Mixed ethnicity were aged under 10 (the highest percentage in this age range out of all the ethnic groups), compared with 10.7% of White people (the lowest percentage)
• 25% of people from White ethnic groups were aged 60 years and over (the highest percentage in this age range out of all ethnic groups), compared with 4.1% of people with Mixed ethnicity (the lowest percentage)
• over half (52.8%) of people from Black ethnic groups were aged between 18 and 49 years, and just under one-third (30.4%) were aged under 18 years

5. Asian ethnic groups: age profile

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage of people within each Asian ethnic group that falls into each age group

Age group	Bangladeshi	Chinese	Indian	Pakistani	Asian other	Asian
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Age 0 to 4	11.4	4.7	7.0	11.5	8.0	8.7
Age 10 to 14	10.1	3.8	5.3	9.0	6.5	6.9
Age 15 to 17	5.4	3.9	3.3	5.0	4.0	4.2
Age 18 to 24	13.1	25.2	11.0	12.0	11.4	12.9
Age 25 to 29	10.5	12.2	11.2	10.3	9.7	10.7
Age 30 to 34	10.1	9.8	11.2	10.2	11.0	10.7
Age 35 to 39	8.6	7.7	8.9	7.8	11.5	9.0
Age 40 to 44	5.8	6.3	7.2	6.4	8.7	7.1
Age 45 to 49	3.6	5.8	6.1	3.9	6.2	5.2
Age 5 to 9	11.4	3.3	5.8	10.7	6.9	7.7
Age 50 to 54	2.9	5.1	5.9	3.7	4.8	4.7
Age 55 to 59	2.3	4.2	5.2	3.1	3.7	4.0
Age 60 to 64	1.2	3.0	3.8	1.8	2.9	2.8
Age 65 to 69	1.0	1.6	2.6	1.3	1.8	1.8
Age 70 to 74	1.4	1.4	2.4	1.4	1.3	1.7
Age 75 to 79	0.8	1.0	1.7	1.0	0.8	1.2
Age 80 to 84	0.4	0.6	0.9	0.5	0.4	0.6
Age 85 and over	0.1	0.4	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Asian ethnic groups: age profile Summary

The data shows that:

• 27.4% of the population of England and Wales identifying as Asian were aged under 18 years, 43.2% were aged 18 to 39 years, 20.9% were aged 40 to 59 years, and 8.4% were aged 60 years and over
• the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the highest percentage of people under 18 years (38.3%), followed by Pakistani (36.2%); the Chinese ethnic group had the lowest (15.7%)
• 37.4% of people from the Chinese ethnic group were aged 18 to 29 years, the highest percentage out of all Asian ethnic groups
• the Indian ethnic group had the highest percentage of people aged 65 years and over (8.2%), and the Bangladeshi group had the lowest (at 3.7%)

6. Black ethnic groups: age profile

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage of people within each Black ethnic group that falls into each age group

Age group	Black African	Black Caribbean	Black other	Black
	%	%	%	%
Age 0 to 4	11.0	5.0	13.8	9.5
Age 5 to 9	9.2	5.2	12.1	8.4
Age 10 to 14	8.2	5.9	10.3	7.8
Age 15 to 17	5.0	4.0	5.5	4.7
Age 18 to 24	11.4	9.4	10.1	10.6
Age 25 to 29	8.8	6.5	7.6	7.9
Age 30 to 34	10.4	6.1	6.9	8.5
Age 35 to 39	9.7	6.5	6.4	8.2
Age 40 to 44	9.1	9.6	8.4	9.1
Age 45 to 49	6.7	11.6	8.5	8.5
Age 50 to 54	4.3	8.3	4.3	5.6
Age 55 to 59	2.3	4.9	1.9	3.1
Age 60 to 64	1.4	3.0	1.1	1.9
Age 65 to 69	0.9	3.4	1.0	1.7
Age 70 to 74	0.8	4.2	0.9	1.9
Age 75 to 79	0.4	3.4	0.7	1.4
Age 80 to 84	0.2	1.9	0.3	0.8
Age 85 and over	0.1	1.0	0.2	0.4

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Black ethnic groups: age profile Summary

The data shows that:

• 30.4% of the population of England and Wales identifying as Black were aged under 18 years, 35.2% were aged 18 to 39 years, 26.4% were aged 40 to 59 years, and 8.1% were aged 60 years and over
• the Black African group had a younger age profile than the Black Caribbean group, partly due to different immigration patterns – the first large wave of immigrants from the Caribbean was in the 1950s and 1960s, and most of their children were aged 40 to 55 years at the 2011 Census (accounting for nearly 30% of this ethnic group); the more recent immigration of Black Africans explains why 29% of people in this ethnic group were aged 25 to 39 years at the Census
• out of all Black ethnic groups, the Other Black group had the highest percentage of people under 18 years (41.7%), and the Black Caribbean group had the lowest (20.1%)
• the Black Caribbean ethnic group had the highest percentage of people aged 65 years and over (13.9%), and the Black African group had the lowest (2.4%)
• 26% of people from the Other Black group were under 10 years old, compared with 20% of the Black African group and 10% of the Black Caribbean group

7. Mixed ethnic groups: age profile

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage of people within each Mixed ethnic group that fall into each age group

Age group	Mixed White/Asian	Mixed White/Black African	Mixed White/Black Caribbean	Mixed other	Mixed
	%	%	%	%	%
Age 0 to 4	19.6	21.9	15.6	17.3	18.0
Age 5 to 9	14.2	14.4	12.9	12.1	13.3
Age 10 to 14	11.4	10.9	13.0	10.0	11.5
Age 15 to 17	6.2	5.4	7.8	5.5	6.5
Age 18 to 24	13.3	10.9	15.9	12.3	13.6
Age 25 to 29	7.7	7.3	7.8	9.4	8.1
Age 30 to 34	6.2	6.9	5.5	8.2	6.5
Age 35 to 39	4.9	5.7	4.6	6.1	5.2
Age 40 to 44	4.7	4.9	4.7	5.2	4.8
Age 45 to 49	3.9	4.0	4.3	4.2	4.1
Age 50 to 54	2.4	2.9	2.5	2.9	2.6
Age 55 to 59	1.6	1.9	1.3	2.0	1.6
Age 60 to 64	1.3	1.0	1.0	1.6	1.2
Age 65 to 69	0.9	0.8	0.8	1.2	0.9
Age 70 to 74	0.7	0.5	0.8	0.8	0.7
Age 75 to 79	0.5	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.6
Age 80 to 84	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.4
Age 85 and over	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.3

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Mixed ethnic groups: age profile Summary

The data shows that:

• 49.3% of the population of England and Wales identifying as having Mixed ethnicity were aged under 18 years, 33.4% were aged 18 to 39 years, 13.2% were aged 40 to 59 years, and 4.1% were aged 60 years and over
• 52.6% of Mixed White and Black African people were aged under 18 years (the highest percentage out of all Mixed ethnicity groups), followed by 51.4% of Mixed White and Asian people
• 18.0% of people with Mixed ethnicity were under 5 years old, with the figure reaching 21.9% in the Mixed White and Black African group
• the percentage of the population aged 65 and over was small among Mixed ethnic groups, accounting for 1.9% of Mixed White and Black African people

8. White ethnic groups: age profile

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage of people within each White ethnic group that fall into each age group

Age group	White British	White Irish	White Gypsy/Traveller	White other	White
	%	%	%	%	%
Age 0 to 4	5.6	1.7	10.5	6.6	5.6
Age 5 to 9	5.2	1.7	9.5	4.3	5.1
Age 10 to 14	5.6	1.9	9.9	3.8	5.5
Age 15 to 17	3.7	1.2	5.9	2.2	3.6
Age 18 to 24	8.9	5.4	11.4	10.5	8.9
Age 25 to 29	5.8	5.7	7.6	16.2	6.4
Age 30 to 34	5.6	5.9	7.0	15.7	6.1
Age 35 to 39	6.2	6.1	6.8	10.8	6.4
Age 40 to 44	7.3	7.4	7.0	7.6	7.3
Age 45 to 49	7.6	8.0	6.5	5.7	7.5
Age 50 to 54	6.8	7.4	5.1	4.5	6.7
Age 55 to 59	6.2	7.9	3.8	3.3	6.1
Age 60 to 64	6.8	8.9	3.2	2.7	6.6
Age 65 to 69	5.4	8.8	2.2	1.8	5.3
Age 70 to 74	4.4	8.0	1.7	1.5	4.3
Age 75 to 79	3.6	6.4	1.1	1.1	3.5
Age 80 to 84	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.9	2.7
Age 85 and over	2.6	3.2	0.4	0.9	2.5

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups White ethnic groups: age profile Summary

The data shows that:

• 19.7% of the population of England and Wales identifying as White were aged under 18 years, 27.8% were aged 18 to 39 years, 27.6% were aged 40 to 59 years, and 24.9% were aged 60 years and over
• 6.5% of the Irish population were aged under 18 years, the lowest percentage out of all White ethnic groups; the highest percentage was in the Gypsy and Irish Traveller group, where 35.8% of people were aged under 18 years
• out of all White ethnic groups, the Irish group had the largest percentage of people aged 65 years and over (30.7%); the Gypsy and Irish Traveller had the lowest (6.0%)
• 42.4% of people from the Other White group were aged between 18 and 34 years, over twice the percentage of White British people in the same age group (20.3%)

9. Other ethnic groups: age profile

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2011
• Source: England and Wales 2021 Census

Percentage of people within each Other ethnic group that fall into each age group

Age group	Arab	Any other	Other
	%	%	%
Age 0 to 4	11.2	7.3	8.9
Age 5 to 9	9.2	6.1	7.4
Age 10 to 14	6.9	5.9	6.3
Age 15 to 17	3.8	3.9	3.9
Age 18 to 24	13.2	11.3	12.1
Age 25 to 29	11.4	11.4	11.4
Age 30 to 34	10.7	12.2	11.6
Age 35 to 39	9.0	10.0	9.6
Age 40 to 44	7.2	7.9	7.6
Age 45 to 49	5.3	6.4	5.9
Age 50 to 54	3.9	5.1	4.6
Age 55 to 59	2.8	4.1	3.5
Age 60 to 64	2.0	2.9	2.5
Age 65 to 69	1.3	1.9	1.7
Age 70 to 74	0.9	1.4	1.2
Age 75 to 79	0.6	1.0	0.8
Age 80 to 84	0.4	0.7	0.5
Age 85 and over	0.2	0.5	0.4

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Age groups Other ethnic groups: age profile Summary

The data shows that:

• 26.5% of the population of England and Wales identifying with an ethnic group under ‘Other’ were aged under 18 years, 44.7% were aged 18 to 39 years, 21.7% were aged 40 to 59 years, and 7.1% were aged 60 years and over
• people from the Arab ethnic group (55.7%) had a younger age profile (people aged under 30) than those with Any Other ethnicity (45.9%)
• the older age profile of people with Any Other ethnicity is reflected in the higher percentage of their population aged 60 years and over (8.4%), compared with the Arab ethnic group (5.4%)

10. Data sources

Source

England and Wales 2021 Census

Type of data

Survey data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Office for National Statistics

Publication frequency

Every 10 years

Purpose of data source

The Census takes place every 10 years. Census data gives the government the information it needs to plan and run public services. It is also used as a benchmark for other statistical estimates, and can help illustrate differences between various groups in the population.

11. Download the data

Age groups - Spreadsheet (csv) 5 KB

This file contains counts of the population by the 2011 ethnicity classification (18+1) and 22 age groups.

Publication release date: 22 August 2018

Updated: 7 August 2020

full page history

1. 7 August 2020 Moved all contextual information to ‘Things you need to know’ and its new subsections. Increased visibility by adding it to the table of contents. Removed any duplication and added links to content about understanding our data. Charts, tables and the data file have not been updated.
2. 31 July 2019 Fixed order of rows in table and changed "Age Bracket" to "Age group" in table headings.
3. 29 July 2019 Removed some empty cells from tables that were confusing for screenreader users.
4. 16 May 2019 Added a download file of population counts by ethnicity and age groups
5. 8 March 2019 Added a meta description (for search engines, social sharing, etc.)
6. 22 August 2018 First published

From: Office for National Statistics

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