Figure 1 shows the percentage of Britain's population that are aged 65 and over and also those aged 85 plus. In 1901, people aged 65 and over comprised around 5 per cent of the total population, by 1941 this had doubled to 10 per cent and by 1981 the percentage reached 15 per cent. Today 16 per cent of Britain's population is aged 65 and over, and this proportion has been fairly stable for the last 20 years.
However, over the next 20 years, we can expect to see a significant rise in the share of the older population as the baby boom cohorts born after the second world war and during the late 1950s/early 1960s begin to retire. In 2021, a fifth of the population will be aged 65 and this will rise to a quarter by 2041.
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