The bar charts below illustrate how the total population and the proportion of people across different age groups in a town in the UK changed over a span of 60 years, from 1951 to 2011. Overall, the population exhibited a fluctuating trend, which nearly doubled over the six decades.
One prominent feature is that initially, the total population increased steadily, doubling from 100,000 in 1951 to 200,000 in 1991, reaching its peak. However, it experienced a slight decline to about 175,000 in 2011, although this figure remained higher than those recorded in 1951 and 1971. Regarding the age group distribution, it is clear that the proportions of people in the 0-14 age group and the 15-29 age group both showed a similar rise. The proportion of the 0-14 age group increased from 16% in 1951 to 21% in 2011, representing a 5% increase. Similarly, the 15-29 age group started at 15% and climbed to 20% by 2011. The trend of aging in this town is gradually intensifying, with the percentage of residents aged 65 and over rising steadily, accounting for about one-quarter of the total population in 2011.
Looking at the middle-aged population, those aged 30 to 64 years experienced a significant decrease over the 60-year period. The 30-39 age group started at 19% in 1951 and saw a slight increase to 20% during the first 20 years; however, it halved to 10% by 1991 and increased marginally to 11% in 2011. In comparison, the 40-64 age group, which had the highest percentage in 1951 at 45%, plunged to 31% in 1971. Over the following two decades, from 1991 to 2011, this group experienced another sharp decline, dropping from 30% to 21%. Overall, while the total population experienced fluctuations, the age group distribution underwent significant changes, with a growing proportion of older residents and a shift in the dominance of age groups.