§ Mr. Coombsasked the Secretary of State for Social Servinces what were the United Kingdom population figures for children under 15 years, for men and women between 15–64 and 15–59 years, respectively, and for men and women over 65 and 60 years, respectively, in 1971 and as projected over each five years from 1976 to 2001; and if he will express the number of children and persons over retirement age, combined, as a propor-
UNITED KINGDOM: PROJECTIONS OF THE TOTAL POPULATION (Thousands) Age group 1971(mid-year estimate) 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 0–14 … … … 13,499 13,567 13,400 13,659 14,219 14,604 14,840 15–64/59† … … 33,270 33,633 34,628 35,427 36,212 37,405 38,796 65/60† and over … 8,899 9,441 9,711 9,839 9,832 9,634 9,452 All ages … … 55,668 56,641 57,739 58,925 60,263 61,643 63,008 Dependency ratio* 673 684 667 663 664 648 626 * Persons aged 0–14 and 65/60 and over thousand persons aged 15–64/59. † The older age for men; the younger age for women.