Older Women are Most Vulnerable

Abstract

In common with the rest of the western industrialised world, the UK has an ageing population. In 1901, about one person in 20 was over the age of 65 and one in 100 was over the age of 75. By 1998, this increased to just over one in six for those over the age of 65 and one in fourteen for those over the age of 75. At the same time, the proportion of the population under the age of 16 fell from a third to just over a fifth. Demographic projections suggest that these trends will continue. For example, by 2011, it is predicted that the number of people over the age of 65 will be greater than the number under the age of 16 — 11.9 million as compared to 11.3 million — and the majority of dependants in the UK will be retired people (ONS, 2000a: 8).