Posted on 08/21/2008 9:35:58 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Britain is now home to more pensioners than children for the first time in the country's history, official population figures have disclosed
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 despite record numbers of immigrants arriving in the country and immigrant mothers having more children.
According to the ONS, a record number of immigrants settled in this country last year, increasing the overall population to a record 61 million, with almost a quarter of babies now born to a foreign-born mother.
The data reignited the debate over whether the Government is sufficiently prepared to deal with the long-term effects of an ageing population.
Ministers are currently grappling with the problem of how to fund the growing costs of social and nursing home care for the elderly. The NHS is also restricting access to drugs which could benefit sufferers of Alzheimer's and other conditions amid fears that the costs could cripple the health service.
The state retirement age is already due to increase to 68 for both men and women by 2050. However, the sharp rise in the number of over 80s in particular is likely to lead to calls for the retirement age to be raised still further.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I wonder if they’d take some of these “anchor babies.”
It’ll get worse as more Britons emigrate to other countries to escape the insanity washing over the UK.
pssh we are ones to talk. If Obama is president Britain might look sane by comparison.
Funny, the multiculti-crap really doesn’t design Parliament or Big Ben, does it?
“The NHS is also restricting access to drugs which could benefit sufferers of Alzheimer’s and other conditions amid fears that the costs could cripple the health service. “
—Welcome to ObamaCare
I doubt this has improved. In fact, it's headed here.
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