Key articles issued today by the Office for National Statistics reveal marked differences in ageing, health and income levels in different parts of the United Kingdom.

These are contained in the 42nd edition of Regional Trends and are aimed at a wide range of readers, including policymakers in central and local government, students and the general public.

Three of the articles are Ageing across the UK, Regional health inequalities in England and Understanding income at small area level. Among the facts revealed are:

• People aged 50 and over made up at least one-quarter of the population in each region and country in the UK in 2008; the highest percentages were found in the South West (39 per cent) and Wales (37 per cent)
• Wide variations in patterns of average household income in 2007/08 – London having the widest spread and Wales the narrowest
• The highest percentage of child obesity was found in London and the lowest in the South East of England in 2008/09.

With a rapidly ageing population there is cause for celebration that people are living longer but also a realisation that there are new challenges to face regarding housing, health and welfare services. The article Ageing across the UK examines the differences in the older population that exist between the UK countries and English regions and how their numbers will change in the future.

Ageing, Health and Wealth: Differences across the UK

All of the reports are available: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_compendia/Regional-Trends-42/rt42-contents-menu.pdf