Highest number of over 65s since recent records began

Saturday 30 July 2022

Guernsey’s population increased by 617 people between September 2020 and 2021 – a rise of 1% which is higher than the previous three years.

That puts the island’s population for 2021 at 63,825 people, according to the latest electronic census.

The census also found the highest number of people over the age of 65 since recent records began in 2008 – the number of people between the ages of 65 and 84 rose 2% to 11,411 whilst those aged over 85 increased 4.6% 1,850. 

That means the number of older persons is 20.8% of the total population. 

The number of people aged 16 to 64 increased by just 0.6% in 2021 to 40,497.

Pictured: The changes in population over the last eight years.

Average earnings for the year ending March 2022 were approximately £37,000, 4.2% higher than the previous year in nominal terms but representing a 1.4% reduction in real terms. 

That period also saw an increase in the number of employers by 2.8%, with 31,120 people either employed or self-employed. This is higher than the 2021 figure, but 0.4% fewer than in 2019.   

86.2% of females aged between 20 and 24 were employed or in full time education in 2021, and an extra 3.1% of woman in the 65 to 69 age group were employed compared to the previous year.

There were similar trends for males, with those in the 65 to 69 age group seeing the largest increase in the proportion of employment or full time education – up 2.8% compared to September 2019. 

You can read the quarterly Population, Employment and Earnings Bulletin in full HERE.

Pictured: A breakdown of those employed or in full time education by age group.