One in six of NI population now 65 or older

More than one in six of the population of Northern Ireland is aged 65 or over, new official data suggests.

A range of figures from the NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) show how the Northern Ireland population is continuing to age.

The over-65s made up almost 18% of the population in 2023 compared to less than 14% in 2003.

In 2023, the number of over-65s rose by 2.1% from 335,400 to 342,500 while the population as a whole grew by 0.5%.

The number of children (0-15) in the population fell slightly while the working age population (16-64) rose by 0.3%.

The working age population only increased because of increased immigration, having fallen in 2022.

The median age of Northern Ireland is now 40, having steadily risen from 30 in 1986.

Longer life expectancy means there is also a growing number of people aged over 85, up from 33,300 in 2013 to 41,900 in 2023.

"The population aged 85 and over increased by 25.8% in the decade since mid-2013, a rate over five times higher than the population as a whole," said Nisra.

An aging population presents a range of societal and economic challenges, for example older people tend to require more health and social care.