Over-60s outnumber children in UK

7:17pm Thursday 21st August 2008

Children are outnumbered by the over-60s in Britain for the first time ever, official figures show.

In the latest sign of the UK's ageing population, the Office of National Statistics revealed 13,262,256 people were 60 or over in mid-2007.

That was up from 12,928,071 the previous year, while the number of under-18s fell from 13,119,654 to 13,111,023 over the same time period.

The disclosure came as it emerged that the population of the UK grew by nearly two million between 2001 and 2007.

The Office of National Statistics said the number of people in Britain reached 60,975,000 by the middle of last year, up 388,000 on mid-2006.

Mervyn Kohler, special adviser at Help the Aged, said the figures were "cause for celebration" and would have implications for policymakers as older people became increasingly more important.

"The key task for policy makers going forward is to ensure that older people can increasingly play an active role in our ageing society," he said. "The days of assuming older people are dependants must now come to an end."

Mr Kohler said there needed to be an improved housing supply for the aged, reform of social care and the removal of "arbitrary" ages for retirement.

"Changes to our population are inevitable over time," he added.

"An ageing society is a fact of life which should be welcomed and embraced, not treated with concern. These new figures should give everyone pause for thought about our future."

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