The graph shows the proportions of children in four age groups, namely 0-4, 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 in the UK between 1990 and 2001.
Generally speaking, despite the two contrasting trends (downwards for the children of 0-4 and 15-19; and upwards for those aged 5-9 and 10-14), the decline in the birthrate was the most striking point.
In the youngest age group, there was an increase during the first two years from just below 26% in 1990 to about 26.6% in 1992 followed by a gradual fall to 23.6%, the lowest percentage, in 2001. Regarding the 15-19 age group, the dramatic decrease from approximately 26.3% in 1990 to just over 23% in 1994 can be contrasted with a steady recovery over the latter part of the period to nearly 24.9% in 2001.
By contrast, an upward trend was noticed in the categories of children aged 5-9 and 10-14. Looking at the former group, the percentage peaked at approximately 26.3% in 1997, but the final proportion (about 25.3%) remain greater than the initial (nearly 24.6%). As regards the latter, the percentage of the children in this category not only increased over the period but also was the greatest in 2001, approximately 26.3%.