December 2018

Did you know that in 2001, there were 224,090 people aged 65 or over living in Northern Ireland. By 2017, there were 302,975 people in this age group, which represents an increase of 35%.  There has been an increase of 26% in the number of women aged 65 or over, and the number of men in this age group has increased by 49%.

For more information, see the 2017 Mid Year Population Estimates for Small Areas on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency website.

November 2018

Did you know that 1 in every 10,000 of Northern Ireland's population is a centenarian?

This statistic was part of an infographic which was published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, to mark International Day of Older Persons on 1 October 2018.

October 2018

Did you know that in 2016/17 210,000 people in Northern Ireland made or received contributions to a personal pension?  This is double the figure for 2007/08 (100,000).

More information is available on the National Statistics website.

September 2018

Did you know that figures from the 2016/17 Family Resource Survey indicate that 16% of pensioners were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), representing approximately 46,000 pensioners.  Based on relative low income, 19% of pensioners were in poverty, representing approximately 57,000 pensioners.

For more information, see Households Below Average Income: Northern Ireland 2016/17 on the Department for Communities website. Click here to find out about the Family Resources Survey and other related publications.

August 2018

Did you know that in June 2018, the highest number of attendances at hospital emergency departments was for people aged 75 years or over - 63.7 per 1,000 people in that age group. The lowest proportion of attendance was for 45-64 year olds (31.5 per 1,000 people).

For more information, see the Emergency Care Waiting Time Statistics for Northern Ireland, April to June 2018 on the Department of Health website.

July 2018

Did you know that the 2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland shows that the number of people aged 65 years or over in Northern Ireland is 303,000 people (16.% of the population)?  Of those, 27,200 people are aged 85 years or over (2% of the population).

For more information, see 2017 Mid-year Population Estimates for Northern Ireland on the website of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

June 2018

Did you know that the Labour Force Survey tables for January – March 2018  show that the economic activity rate for people aged 65 years or over in Northern Ireland is 10.8% (15.8% for men and 6.6% for women).

Full details can be found on the website of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

May 2018

Did you know that between mid-2016 to mid-2016, the population aged 85 and over in Northern Ireland is projected to increase by 31.4 per cent (equivalent to 11,400 people aged 85 and over)?  The largest increase is projected for Mid-Ulster (48.1%), and the smallest increase is projected for Belfast (5.2%).

Full details on the 2016-based Population Projections can be found on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency website.

April 2018

Did you know that approximately two thirds (68%) of employees in Northern Ireland belong to a workplace pension scheme?  The 2017 Northern Ireland Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings shows that 88% of public sector employees belong to a workplace pension scheme, but only 58% of private sector employees.

Further details are available on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) website.

March 2018

Did you know that results from the 2017 Omnibus survey show that approximately one half of respondents aged 65 years or over say that they are not intereted in using online services offered by government.  However, only 11% of those aged 25-34 years think this.

Full results from this survey are available on the Department of Communities website.

February 2018

Did you know that men retiring in 2017 in the United Kingdom are likely to be 45% better off than women?

For more information, see the report Women’s Economic Transition to Retirement by Sarah McKenna, on the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information website. This publication discusses how demographically-driven policy change, combined with differing lifetime incomes and employment patterns, make older women susceptible to short-term poverty risk, later life disadvantage, and an over reliance on state support.

January 2018

Did you know that during 10-16 September 2017, Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland provided domiciliary care services for 23,195 clients?  Of these, 83% were aged 65 years or over.

For more information, see the Domiciliary Care Services for Adults in Northern Ireland 2017 report, produced by the Information Services Directorate.

December 2017

Did you know that the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA) includes interviews with over 8,300 people aged 50 years or over? This represents 1 in 70 people within that age group.

For more information on the survey, and to see the first report on key findings, visit the NICOLA website.

November 2017

Did you know that between 2016 and 2041, there is estimated to be a 65% increase in the number of people aged 65 and over in Northern Ireland, rising from 297,800 people to 491,700?

The 2016-based Population Projections for Northern Ireland are available on Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) website.

October 2017

Did you know that in June 2016, the number of people aged 85 years and over in Northern Ireland was estimated to be 36,500? This represents 2.0% of the population, which is higher than the figure of 1.6% in mid 2006.

For full information, see the report on the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency website.

September 2017

Did you know that figures from the 2015/16 Family Resource Survey indicate that 15% of pensioners were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), representing approximately 46,000 pensioners.  Based on relative low income, 17% of pensioners were in poverty, representing approximately 52,000 pensioners.

For more information, see Households Below Average Income: Northern Ireland 2015/16 on the Department for Communities website. Click here to find out about the Family Resources Survey and other related publications.

August 2017

Did you know that in 2013/14, people aged 65 or over were least likely than other age groups to have participated in sports or physical activities, arts activities,  attended arts events, or visited national museums in the previous year?  However, the proportion of older people taking part in these activities has risen since 2009/10.

For more information, see Engagement in culture, arts and leisure by adults in Northern Ireland: Analysis by Section 75 groups on the Department of Communities website.

July 2017

Did you know that data for 2013-2015 show that the healthy life expectancy at birth in Northern Ireland is 61.5 for males, and 62.0 for females?  These figures are lower than those for the United Kingdom: 63.1 for males, and 63.9 for females.

For more information, see the UK National Wellbeing Measures report on the website of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).

June 2017

Did you know that in 2015/16 Northern Ireland Continous Household Survey, the highest life satisfaction scores were recorded by the youngest (16-25 and 25-34) and oldest (65+) age groups? However, people aged 65+ had the lowest locus of control (which is the degree to which someone feels they have control over events that shape their lives.)

Tor more information, see the Self-efficacy, Locus of Control & Life Satisfaction in Northern Ireland, 2014/15 and 2015/16 report, on The Executive Office website.

May 2017

Did you know that results from the 2015/16 Northern Ireland Crime Survey show that older respondents were least likely to be victims of violent crime than other age groups?  Among respondents aged 60 years or over, the prevalence rate for violent crime was 0.4%, compared to 1.0% for those aged 30-59, and 3.7% for those aged 16-29. The prevalence rates for violent crime among these 3 age groups in Northern Ireland were lower than for England and Wales.

For more information, see Experience of Crime: Findings from the 2015/16 Northern Ireland Crime Survey, on the Department of Justice website.

April 2017

Did you know that among respondents to the 2014/15 Continuous Household Survey, 40% of those aged 70 years or over had access to the internet (home or work computer, digital television, mobile phone or other)? In  2010/11, the figure was only 24%.

For more information on the lives of older people living in Northern Ireland, see A Profile of Older People in Northern Ireland, Annual Update 2015, which was published by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

March 2017

Did you know that in 2015, 210 men aged 60 years or over got married, which is 2.5% of all men getting married?  In that same year, 88 women aged 60 years or over got married, which is 1.1% of women getting married.

The highest proportions of older people getting married were in North Down and Ards: 4.7% of men, and 2.4% of women who got married were aged 60 years or over.

Information on marriages by age and sex, within District Council Areas, is available on the Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service (NINIS).

February 2017

Did you know that, among respondents to the 2015 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey aged 65 years or over, 16% are carers? Of these, one quarter were caring for their own parent/parent in law.

For more information, see The Impact of Caring (Research Update 109) by Paula Devine and Ann Marie Gray.

January 2017

Did you know that, for households with a head of household aged 75 years or over, 74% are owned outright, 18% are within the social rented sector, and 5% are rented privately? Among all households in Northern Ireland, the figures are 55%, 15% and 19% respectively.

These figures are taken from the 2014-2015 Family Resource Survey. Further information is available on the website of the Department of Communities.

December 2016

Did you know that in 2015/6, 5% of the Average Daily Northern Ireland Prison Population under Sentence of Immediate Custody was aged 60 years or over. This comprises 62 men, and 2 women.

More information can be found in The Northern Ireland Prison Population 2015 and 2015/16 statistical bulletin, published by the Department of Justice.

November 2016

Did you know that 13,600 people living in Northern Ireland have received a diagnosis of dementia? In addition, it is estimated that a further 7,000 people are living with dementia, but have not been diagnosed.

More information is available from The Detail. This includes a map of dementia prevalence (for people aged over 50) across Northern Ireland,

October 2016

Did you know that 21% of people aged 60 and over in Northern Ireland are affected by some level of financial abuse?  This study published by the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland is the first time that the prevalence of financial abuse of older people in Northern Ireland has been calculated.

For more information, see the report on the website of the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland.

September 2016

Did you know that there were 9,621 households presenting as homeless in Northern Ireland in 2014/15? Of these, approximately 11% (2,146) were pensioner households.

More information is available in the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service briefing paper 'What do we know about homelessness in NI? An overview of some of the evidence-base', by Eleanor Murphy.

August 2016

Did you know that Eddie Lynch became the new Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland (COPNI) in June 2016? He has identified a set of draft priorities for action, which fall under the themes of respect, value and protect.  The COPNI office is inviting feedback on these until 30th September 2016.

Further information is available on the COPNI website.

July 2016

Did you know that there were 144,522 people aged 65 years or over living in Northern Ireland in 1962?  By 2015, this figure had doubled to 291,824.

For more information, see the latest Population and Migration Estimates 2015.

June 2016

Did you know that data from the 2014/15 Northern Ireland Home Safety Database suggest that 35% of accidents among people aged 65 years or over take place in or near the garage?

Further information is available in the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland 2015.

May 2016

Did you know that over 9,000 people have taken part in the Arts Council's Arts and Older People programme?

More information on the programme, as well as case studies of individual projects, are available on the Arts Council website.  The case studies were used to evidence, anecdotally, the impact of arts participation on alleviating isolation and loneliness amongst older people.

April 2016

Did you know that in 2013/14, 16% of adults above the State Pension Age in Northern Ireland were in relative poverty after housing costs?  This is two percentage points higher than in the United Kingdom as a whole (14%).

Further information is available within A profile of older people in Northern Ireland – Annual Update (2015) report, published by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

March 2016

Did you know that the 2013 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey asked respondents if they thought that doctors should be allowed by law to end the life of a patient with a painful incurable disease, if the patient requests it?  Six out of ten respondents (63%) thought that this should definitely or probably be allowed, although there were differences depending on the age of respondent: 48% of those aged 65 years or over were in support, compared with 76% of those aged 18-24 years.

The full results to this question can be seen on the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey website.

February 2016

Did you know that the 2013/14 Health Survey for Northern Ireland suggests that 1 in 10 men aged 75 years or over drink more than the recommended weekly limit (which was 21 units in 2013/14).

For more information, see the recent report Drink Wise, Age Well: Alcohol Use and the Over 50s in the UK by George Holley-Moore and Brian Beach.

January 2016

Did you know that just under one in five respondents (19%) to the 2014 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey were aware that high blood pressure increases the chances of getting dementia?

Further information on the survey results are available in the Research Update Dementia: look closer, by Elizabeth Byrne McCullough and Paula Devine.  Full information on the questions on dementia is available on the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey website.

December 2015

Did you know that in 2014/15, 69% of 60-69 year olds in Northern Ireland had access to the internet, with a lower proportion of 40% for those aged 70 years or over.  These figures indicate a large increase since 2001/2, when the figures were 10% and 3% respectively.

Further information is available within A profile of older people in Northern Ireland – Annual Update (2015) report, published by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

November 2015

Did you know that male life expectancy at birth in Northern Ireland increased by 1.4 years from 76.3 in 2006-08 to 77.7 years in 2010-12.  During the same period, female life expectancy increased by 0.9 years to 82.1 years.  These improvements were mainly driven by falling mortality among people aged 60 years and over and reduced mortality due to circulatory disease and avoidable causes.

Further information about life expectancy are available in the Life Expectancy Decomposition 15: Explaining the variations report

October 2015

Did you know that, in Northern Ireland, over the decade mid-2004 to mid-2014, the growth of the population aged 85 and over (41.3 per cent) has been six times faster than that of the population aged under 85 (6.9 per cent)?

For full details, see the report Estimates of the population aged 85 and over, Northern Ireland, 2014 (and revised 2001-2013). You can also see Methodology details and statistical tables on the NISRA website.

September 2015

Did you know that in Northern Ireland, 57% of women and 74% of men aged 50-64 are in employment? In comparison, 6% of women and 16% of men over the age of 65 are in employment.

For more information, see Focus on ... Health of older women in employment on the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) website.

August 2015

Did you know that in 2009-11, the differential in life expectancy between the 20% most deprived areas and the Northern Ireland average was 4.1 years for males and 2.6 years for females?

For more information, see Making Life Better: Monitoring the Wider Social Determinants of Health & Wellbeing (Key Indicators 2015) on the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety website.

July 2015

Did you know that the prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) among people aged 50 years or over in Northern Ireland is 12.4%? This is higher than in the Republic of Ireland, where it is 8.6%.

For more information, see the report Understanding disability in older heart disease patients in Ireland and Research Brief Disability in older heart disease patients on the website of the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI).

June 2015

Did you know that research undertaken on behalf of AgeNI in 2014 showed that 77% of people aged 65 and over say that government in Northern Ireland does not make a sufficient effort to listen to the needs and experiences of older people?

For more information, see Agenda for Later Life: Public policy for later life in Northern Ireland, published by AgeNI in 2015.  This report reflects on how effectively policies have delivered for older people during 2014.

May 2015

Did you know that the Policing Plan 2015-2016 sets a series of targets to be achieved by 31 March 2016? One of these is to increase by 2 percentage points the outcome rate for domestic burglary in which older persons are victims compared to the outcome rate 2014-15.

For more information, see the Policing Plan 2015-2016 on the Northern Ireland Policing Board website.

April 2015

Did you know that there is a lack of data on older adults with an intellectual disability in Northern Ireland, and the most recent data are from 2006?  In that year, there were 16,720 people in Northern Ireland known to services with an intellectual disability. Of these, 14% (2,340) were aged 50 or over.

For more information, see the report 'Social inclusion and ageing with an intellectual disability' on the website of the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI).

March 2015

Did you know that studies have shown that one third of people aged over 65 in the general population have one fall per year, with 40–60% of these falls causing injury?

Falls are one of the issues raised in the Home Accident Prevention Strategy 2015 - 2025, which was published by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in February 2015.

February 2015

Did you know that one quarter (25%) of people in Northern Ireland aged 50-54 have low physical activity rates, and this is similar (25%) among people aged 65-69 years?  In the Republic of Ireland, these figures are 45% and 54% respectively.

For more information, see the report 'Inequalities in Health Behaviours' on the website of the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI).

January 2015

Did you know that one in five people aged 60 years or over in Northern Ireland can be described as 'frail'? There are differences according to age, sex and social class.

For more information, see the report 'Frailty and Disability' on the website of the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI).

December 2014

Did you know that results from the 2013/14 Continuous Household Survey show that eight out of ten people aged 60 or over in Northern Ireland use a mobile phone - compared to 6% in 1999/2000.

For more information, see the report 'A Profile of Older People in Northern Ireland – 2014 update' on the website of the Office of the First Minster and Deputy First Minister.

November 2014

Did you know that the 2013/4 Continuous Household Survey shows that 45% of people living alone in Northern Ireland are aged 65 years or over?

For more information, see the report 'A Profile of Older People in Northern Ireland – 2014 update' on the website of the Office of the First Minster and Deputy First Minister.

October 2014

Did you know that people aged 60 or over in Northern Ireland will contribute almost £25 billion to the economy over the next 50 years through volunteering, caring, childcare, replacement parenting and working?

For more information, see the report 'Appreciating Age: Valuing the positive contributions made by older people in Northern Ireland' on the website of the Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland (COPNI).

September 2014

Did you know that long-term sleep loss can be associated with an increased risk of a number of adverse health outcomes including diabetes, heart disease, cardiovascular disease and stroke.  Data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) fround that 12% of people aged 65 and over in the Republic of Ireland  have trouble falling asleep while 17% experience waking up too early.

For more information, see the report 'Focus on ... Sleep and Older People' on the Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland (CARDI) website.

August 2014

Did you know that in a 2014 survey commissioned by AgeNI and Age Sector Platform, 83% of people aged 65 and over agreed/strongly agreed that full protection from discrimination on the grounds of age must be an urgent priority for the NI Assembly? The Northern Ireland Executive has pledged in the Programme for Government 2011-2015, to extend age discrimination legislation to the provision of goods, facilities and services (GFS) during the lifetime of this administration.

Full information is available on the AgeNI website.

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, which seeks to address barriers to using the public transport system by older people and people with disabilities. The removal of these barriers will assist older and disabled people to participate more fully in community life and to feel included in the activities that others are able to enjoy. 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

Research for 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.