Welcome to the Did you know section of the ARK Ageing Programme. Every month we will highlight some useful facts and figures relating to age and ageing in Northern Ireland.

July 2014: One third of respondents to the 2013 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey thought that elderly people are treated better now compared to five years ago? However, while 44% thought that elderly people were treated the same as five years ago, 17% thought that that this group were treated worse than five years ago. Full information is available on the Northern Ireland Life and Times survey website.

June 2014: The Department for Regional Development published an Accessible Transport Strategy in 2005, with an a series of action plans and monitoring reports. The most recent monitoring report highlights that 200,000 journeys were made by older people and people with disabilities on public transport in 2013-14. Full information is available in the Accessible Transport Strategy – Action Plan 2012 – 2015 2nd Year Monitoring Report, produced by the Department for Regional Development.

May 2014: Pensioner units (all pensioner couples and single pensioners) in Northern Ireland received on average £385 per week in gross income in 2011/12, which was a decrease of 8 per cent from 2010/11. Approximately half of this total (£199) was sourced from state benefits. Full information is available in the Pensioners’ Income Series Bulletin, Northern Ireland 2011-12, produced by the Department for Social Development.

April 2014: Since 2008, employment rates for people aged 50-64, and those over 65, have been increasing. A recent report estimated that that economic output for Northern Ireland could increase by £2.3 billion by 2037, which equates to an additional 4.4%, if employment rates for the over 65s continue to increase. Full information is available in the Valuing an Ageing Workforce report, produced by the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland.

March 2014: The most recent Carers' Statistics publication shows that 1,115 Carers' Assessments were completed in the quarter ending 31 December 2013. Of the 1,086 adult carers with completed assessments, 66% were aged 18-64, 20% were aged 65 - 74, and 13% were aged 75 and above. Carers' Statistics are produced quarterly, and are available on the DHSSPS website.

February 2014: By 2015, Northern Ireland will have 11 Local Government Districts (LGD) instead of 26. Data based on 2012 population figures suggest that 12.9% of the population living in the new Mid Ulster LGD will be aged 65 years or over, compared with 18.4% in North Down and Ards. Further information is available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.

January 2014: Did you know that the 2013 Northern Ireland Pensioners' Parliament found that the price of energy and food are the top concerns for older people, whilst worries about accessing health and social care have risen significantly over the last year.

December 2013: In 2012/13, 61% of people aged 60-69 had access to the internet, compared with only 10% in 2001/2? For people aged 70 or over, access to the internet rose from 3% in 2001/2 to 28% in 2012/12. These figures come from A Profile of Older People in Northern Ireland - 2013 update (OMFDFM, 2013). CARDI published a report in 2013 looking at e-government and older people - click here to see a summary of this report.

November 2013: Approximately one quarter (24%) of respondents to the 2012 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey thought that elderly people were generally treated unfairly when compared with other groups. To see the full results for this survey question, please click here.

October 2013: In June 2012, there were 241 centenarians in Northern Ireland. This is an increase of 91% since 2002. To link to a statistical report by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency on estimates of the population aged 85 and over, please click here.

Please come back soon!