National Statistical

The Office for National Statistics has been working to better understand the impact of an ageing population on society. In today’s blog, Rich Pereira gives us the latest insights into our elderly population and the work we’ve done in recent years to improve age related statistics.

Populations around the world are ageing because of longer life spans and slowing birth rates. Our latest data on Estimates of the Very Old shows there are more people aged 90 years and older living in England and Wales than ever before. In fact, since 2002, the number of centenarians has more than doubled.

A global challenge

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs projects a global population of  2.1 billion people aged 60 years and over by 2050, accounting for 26% of the global population. This is double the number in 2024 (1.2 billion, accounting for 12%). This rapid demographic change will create challenges and opportunities. Statistical evidence about older persons has not kept pace with these trends, and strategies to collect data from older age groups are urgently needed to understand this important issue.

In 2018, the UN Statistical Commission (UNSC) endorsed the creation of the Titchfield Group to assess evidence on ageing within the UN global indicator framework for sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to contribute to establishing internationally harmonised standards to improve ageing-related statistics. The ONS has been privileged to lead the Group, whose work concludes this year. Today, on the United Nations International Day of Older People, the Titchfield Group publishes its final report ‘Improving the visibility of older persons in global statistics’.

What did we find?

The Group reviewed SDG data from 193 UN member states, surveyed National Statistical Offices (NSOs) from 13 countries, and conducted three case studies. We examined data for 56 indicators spanning five policy priorities for older persons: Health and Care; Financial Security; Violence, Abuse, and Safety; Participation; and Enabling Environment. We found that data was available for nearly all indicators for 60% of countries worldwide, and for 69% of indicators in our survey. However, disaggregated data for older age groups was only available for one third of indicators; availability was highest for Health and Care indicators (47%) and lowest for Enabling Environment indicators (0%).

NSOs produced the most data (55%), particularly for Financial Security indicators. NSOs’ role was smaller for Health and Care indicators, where relevant ministries produced 35% of the data. International organisations produced data for 4% of all indicators. Surveys were the most used data source (39% of indicators) followed by administrative data (22%), particularly for Financial Security indicators. Administrative or registration data were the primary sources for most Health and Care indicators.

When the Group looked at data harmonisation, our survey showed that data was collected consistently within countries for 55% of indicators, and that data was harmonised with other countries for 56% of indicators. There was significant variability in both measures across countries. Improving international data harmonisation is therefore essential for implementing and monitoring ageing-related SDGs across the world.

What’s next?

The report, available on the UN website, makes a number of key recommendations to improve global data about older persons.

One of the key messages is the need for improved age-disaggregated data in SDG reporting, and we recommend that countries use a more diverse range of data sources. The findings also emphasise the importance of standardised definitions of ageing and disaggregation methods to ensure consistent and comparable data across countries and indicators. The report highlights the need for improved data infrastructure, with greater coordination and notification systems between different organisations.

We would like to thank all our partner countries and organisations who have helped deliver this report, and for their collaboration over the past few years. We hope these findings will improve our understanding of global population ageing and have helped shine a light on an important societal issue.