South Tyneside population is getting older

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were 30,900 people aged 65 and over living in South Tyneside on census day – March 21 2021 – up from 26,853 in 2011.

That means the proportion of over-65s in the area rose over the last decade – from 18.1% to 20.9% of the population.

The figures also show there were 48,400 people aged 29 and under living in the area, accounting for 32.7% of the population – down from 51,807 (35%) in 2011.

Of them, 16,300 were under the age of 10.

This trend is reflected across England and Wales as a whole, where the population is ageing.

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.

The ONS say more data from the 2021 census will be published in stages over the next two years including figures on ethnicity, religion, the labour market, education and housing plus.

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

Earlier figures show that, in South Tyneside, 48.5% of the population was male and 51.5% was female last year – compared to 48.3% and 51.7% respectively 10 years ago.

They also showed that 147,800 people were living in the area – down slightly from 148,127 in 2011.