Census 2021: Proportion of over-65s in City of London remains steady

A woman reading a leaflet from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) containing information about The Census 2021, sent to households in England and Wales. Picture date: Monday March 22, 2021.

City of London's pensioners make up a similar proportion of the area's population as they did a decade ago despite a rise in older residents, new Census figures outline.

The Census takes place every 10 years, with the latest snapshot captured on March 21 2021.

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show there were 1,200 people aged 65 and over living in City of London on census day last year – up from 1,035 in 2011, when the Census was last carried out.

It means the proportion of over-65s living in the area remained steady over the decade at 14%.

But across England and Wales as a whole, the population has aged over the last decade.

There were 11.1 million over-65s in 2021 – 18.6% of the population – up from 9.2 million in 2011 (16.4%) and 7.3 million (15.0%) 40 years ago.

There were 3,000 people aged 29 and under living in City of London on March 21 last year, who accounted for 34.9% of the population – up from 2,285 (31%) in 2011.

Of them, 400 under-10s called City of London home.

Data from the 2021 census for England and Wales will be published in stages over the next two years, the ONS said.

Future releases will include figures on ethnicity, religion, the labour market, education and housing plus – for the first time – information on UK armed forces veterans, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The census was taken at a time when coronavirus restrictions were still in place across the UK, with people only allowed to leave their homes in England for recreation and exercise outdoors with their household or support bubble, or with one person outside their household, and the rule-of-six on outside gatherings not coming into place until the end of March.

The Census, which is used to understand how the UK's population changes over time, shows the balance of men and women across the country.

In City of London, 55.8% of the population was male and 44.2% was female last year – respectively, this compares to 55.5% and 44.5% 10 years ago.

The City of London (55.8%) had the highest male-to-female ratio, while Kensington and Chelsea (46.7%) had the lowest.