United Kingdom population pyramid 2026
69,931,528 people in 2026 (projected). The UK pyramid is unusually straight-sided from birth to the early sixties, with small ripples from past booms and troughs and adults added by migration.
- 2026 population
- 69.9Mrank 22 of 237
- Median age
- 40.2 yearsoldest rank 62
- Fertility rate
- 1.53births per woman · below replacement
- Structure
- Older19.9% age 65+
United Kingdom population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
United Kingdom age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 16.7% of the population, while 19.9% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 63.3% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies United Kingdom’s age structure as older; the guide to constrictive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 57.9: about 58 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (26.4 children and 31.5 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes United Kingdom’s population pyramid
Ripples instead of bulges
The UK never had birth swings as violent as those of Germany, Russia or Japan, and its pyramid shows it. Every five-year band from 0 to 64 holds between about 5% and 7% of the population, close to the column shape of a stationary pyramid. The variations that do exist line up with known birth cycles. The postwar boom, with a sharp spike in 1947, means the 75–79 band (born 1947–51) is much wider than the 80–84 band above it. A trough in births in the late 1970s leaves the 45–49 band slightly narrower than its neighbors, and a second, smaller trough around 2001–02 does the same for ages 20–24. Births then rose to a peak in 2012, and those children are now in the 10–19 bands.
Migration in the working ages
Since the late 1990s net international migration has been the main driver of UK population growth, reaching record levels in the years after 2021. Most migrants arrive in their twenties and thirties, so they thicken the bands from about 25 to 44 and help explain why ages 30–44 are now among the widest. The United Kingdom vs United States comparison shows two pyramids shaped by similar mixes of moderate fertility and sustained immigration, while United Kingdom vs France contrasts the UK with a neighbour that has had slightly higher fertility.
A tapering base
The base is narrowing. Ages 0–4 hold about 5.1% of the population, compared with about 6.1% at 10–14, because births have fallen most years since 2012 and fertility in England and Wales has reached record lows in recent ONS figures. With life expectancy over 81, women outnumber men from the mid-forties onward, though the gap at older ages is narrower than in the past as male survival has improved. The UK 1950 pyramid shows how much more weight the top has gained since then.
Under the UN medium scenario the UK grows to about 75 million people by 2050, with a median age near 43 and growth then close to zero, sustained mainly by migration.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so United Kingdom’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
Births outnumber deaths in 2026 (deaths were higher in 1976); the medium scenario projects deaths to exceed births from 2027. People aged 65 and older came to outnumber children under 15 between 2015 and 2020.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, United Kingdom is projected to record 678,001 births (about one birth every 47 seconds) and 677,695 deaths, a natural increase of 306. Net migration adds +364,099 people, ranking #21 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 17,845,292 births, 14,504,961 deaths, and cumulative net migration of +6,636,211. Over that period migration moved the total more than the balance of births and deaths did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of +6,605,636 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 83.6 years70.9 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 79.9 years66.2 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 20.3 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 3.4per 1,000 births · 30 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 4.0per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 31.2 yearssex ratio at birth 105.5
Women in United Kingdom are projected to live 3.7 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 30 to 3.4 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #198 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 31.2 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for United Kingdom
The median age of 40.2 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 1.53 births per woman is below the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 81.7 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 69,931,528 | #22 | Largest first |
| Median age | 40.2 years | #62 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 1.53 | #157 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | +0.5% | #132 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 81.7 years | #46 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 19.9% | #47 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in United Kingdom
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30–34 | 4,673,485 | 6.7% | 2.4M / 2.3M |
| 2 | 40–44 | 4,622,983 | 6.6% | 2.3M / 2.3M |
| 3 | 35–39 | 4,592,835 | 6.6% | 2.3M / 2.3M |
| 4 | 55–59 | 4,574,887 | 6.5% | 2.2M / 2.4M |
| 5 | 25–29 | 4,403,203 | 6.3% | 2.3M / 2.1M |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, United Kingdom has 34,453,134 males and 35,478,395 females. That is 97.1 males per 100 females, ranking #149 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.3% of the population and females for 50.7%. There are 1,025,261 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 83.9 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 105.5 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, close to the biological norm of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How United Kingdom has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 50,121,017 in 1950 to 69,931,528 in 2026, a change of 40%. Over the same span, median age moved from 33.9 to 40.2 years.
The under-15 share changed from 22.5% to 16.7%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 10.8% to 19.9%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately. See the United Kingdom population pyramid in 1950 for the full starting shape.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, United Kingdom’s population is projected to grow by about 8%, reaching 75,504,681 in 2050. The median age changes from 40.2 to 42.9 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 4.8 percentage points to 24.7%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 15.1%. The United Kingdom population pyramid for 2050 shows the projected shape in detail. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The annual UN series reaches its highest projected population of 76,068,383 in 2072. That turning point depends on the medium scenario and may move in later revisions. Compare timing across countries in the population peak ranking.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 50,121,017 | 33.9 | 2.22 | 68.6 | 817,314 | 589,015 | +151,663 | +0.8% |
| 1960 | 52,538,548 | 34.5 | 2.70 | 71.0 | 910,595 | 601,038 | +19,953 | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 55,663,801 | 33.2 | 2.42 | 71.9 | 896,322 | 658,140 | −15,254 | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 56,282,103 | 33.3 | 1.89 | 73.6 | 749,962 | 663,701 | −25,187 | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 57,367,862 | 34.9 | 1.83 | 75.7 | 797,555 | 648,416 | +57,132 | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 59,057,338 | 36.6 | 1.64 | 77.8 | 684,572 | 616,828 | +153,917 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 63,006,483 | 38.2 | 1.92 | 80.4 | 812,048 | 567,680 | +274,811 | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 67,351,862 | 39.2 | 1.57 | 80.4 | 687,269 | 691,537 | +144,221 | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 68,682,962 | 39.8 | 1.56 | 81.3 | 688,388 | 653,747 | +445,523 | +0.7% |
| 2024* | 69,138,192 | 40.0 | 1.55 | 81.4 | 683,910 | 670,730 | +417,114 | +0.6% |
| 2026* | 69,931,528 | 40.2 | 1.53 | 81.7 | 678,001 | 677,695 | +364,099 | +0.5% |
| 2030* | 71,286,992 | 40.7 | 1.52 | 82.4 | 678,641 | 695,826 | +330,856 | +0.4% |
| 2040* | 73,774,626 | 42.1 | 1.53 | 83.8 | 728,234 | 757,171 | +236,786 | +0.3% |
| 2050* | 75,504,681 | 42.9 | 1.55 | 85.1 | 727,015 | 805,480 | +196,199 | +0.2% |
| 2060* | 76,010,356 | 44.7 | 1.56 | 86.3 | 676,802 | 839,862 | +162,550 | 0.0% |
| 2070* | 76,049,084 | 45.9 | 1.57 | 87.4 | 680,206 | 835,039 | +164,505 | +0.0% |
| 2080* | 75,956,251 | 46.4 | 1.58 | 88.5 | 684,852 | 853,557 | +136,684 | -0.0% |
| 2090* | 75,378,279 | 47.0 | 1.59 | 89.5 | 651,693 | 854,571 | +116,228 | -0.1% |
| 2100* | 74,305,411 | 47.9 | 1.60 | 90.6 | 635,537 | 869,387 | +97,329 | -0.2% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 1,807,431 | 1,716,530 | 3,523,961 | 5.0% |
| 5–9 | 1,991,858 | 1,891,784 | 3,883,642 | 5.6% |
| 10–14 | 2,196,617 | 2,089,063 | 4,285,680 | 6.1% |
| 15–19 | 2,205,030 | 2,100,313 | 4,305,343 | 6.2% |
| 20–24 | 2,124,343 | 2,023,832 | 4,148,175 | 5.9% |
| 25–29 | 2,263,267 | 2,139,936 | 4,403,203 | 6.3% |
| 30–34 | 2,379,930 | 2,293,555 | 4,673,485 | 6.7% |
| 35–39 | 2,292,531 | 2,300,304 | 4,592,835 | 6.6% |
| 40–44 | 2,287,783 | 2,335,200 | 4,622,983 | 6.6% |
| 45–49 | 2,125,113 | 2,167,997 | 4,293,110 | 6.1% |
| 50–54 | 2,176,120 | 2,202,784 | 4,378,904 | 6.3% |
| 55–59 | 2,189,149 | 2,385,738 | 4,574,887 | 6.5% |
| 60–64 | 2,053,557 | 2,248,965 | 4,302,522 | 6.2% |
| 65–69 | 1,822,217 | 1,987,589 | 3,809,806 | 5.4% |
| 70–74 | 1,521,267 | 1,733,834 | 3,255,101 | 4.7% |
| 75–79 | 1,409,465 | 1,603,887 | 3,013,352 | 4.3% |
| 80–84 | 880,539 | 1,128,845 | 2,009,384 | 2.9% |
| 85–89 | 488,519 | 683,284 | 1,171,803 | 1.7% |
| 90–94 | 192,650 | 330,809 | 523,459 | 0.7% |
| 95–99 | 41,712 | 99,313 | 141,025 | 0.2% |
| 100+ | 4,033 | 14,834 | 18,867 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to United Kingdom’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Norway98% overlap · median age 40.1
- Sweden98% overlap · median age 40.4
- Belgium97% overlap · median age 42.1
- Australia97% overlap · median age 38.5
- United States97% overlap · median age 38.7
- New Zealand97% overlap · median age 38.0
Compare United Kingdom with other countries
Side-by-side pages put two pyramids on the same percentage scale, with a full indicator table and the projected change to 2050.
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for United Kingdom.
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Charts and tables may be reused with attribution. Please link to this page and credit the United Nations as the data source.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). United Kingdom Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/united-kingdom/
MLA
“United Kingdom Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/united-kingdom/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “United Kingdom Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/united-kingdom/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of United Kingdom in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, United Kingdom's population in 2026 is projected at 69,931,528.
What is the median age in United Kingdom?
The projected median age in United Kingdom in 2026 is 40.2 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in United Kingdom?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 1.53 births per woman, below the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is United Kingdom's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will grow by about 8%, from 69.9M to 75.5M.
What share of United Kingdom is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 19.9% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 24.7%.
How many babies are born in United Kingdom each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 678,001 births and 677,695 deaths in 2026, about one birth every 47 seconds. Births exceed deaths by 306.
What is life expectancy in United Kingdom for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 83.6 years for women and 79.9 years for men, a gap of 3.7 years in favour of women.
Does United Kingdom have more immigrants or emigrants?
United Kingdom is projected to gain about 364,099 more people through migration than it loses in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of +6,636,211.
What is the sex ratio in United Kingdom?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 97.1 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.