§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the annual change in the number of 18-year-olds in each of the last 20 years.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergThe Registrar General's estimates of the number of 18-year-olds resident in England and Wales on 30 June of each year are shown in the following table:
247W
Number of 18-year-olds (thousands) 1962 668.3 1963 665.1 1964 667.5 1965 838.2 1966 768.5 1967 717.3 1968 690.5 1969 670.8 1970 650.3 1971 666.3 1972 675.0 1973 656.1 1974 673.2 1975 695.7 1976 720.7 1977 730.9 1978 740.2
Number of 18-year-olds (thousands) 1979 772.5 1980 791.4 1981 *801.2 * The figure for 1981 is provisional and not strictly comparable with the ones for preceding years which have not yet been revised to take account of the 1981 census.