Britain now home to more pensioners than children for first time

Britain is now home to more pensioners than children for the first time in the country's history, official population figures have disclosed. By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor There are 11.58 million pensioners - classed as men over 65 and women over 60 - compared to 11.52 million under-16s, according to the Office for National Statistics. In figures which illustrate how Britain's population is ageing rapidly, the ONS said that the number of people aged over 80 had almost doubled over the past three decades to 2.7 million. The over 80s are now the fastest growing age group as a result of medical advances and their number is expected to continue rising sharply. With life expectancy improving, the number of deaths recorded each year has dropped from 599,000 in 2001 to 571,000 last year. Britain's population is ageing... [read full story]