Renfrewshire is lined up to shrink a little

T h e p o p u l at i o n o f Renfrewshire is expected to shrink over the next few decades, while the rest of the UK is expected to grow.

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show the number of people living in the UK has reached its highest ever level of 65.6 million.

And there are 176,000 people in the Renfrewshire local authority area.

But while the population of the UK is expected to continue growing to reach 74 million by 2036, the number of folk in Paisley’s area will decrease to only 175,000.

However, the number of older people in Renfrewshire will continue to rise as people are living longer.

Data shows that 19 per cent of the area’s population in the area was aged plus 65 in 2016.

This is slightly higher than the UK average where 18 per cent of the population is aged 65 and over.

However the number of pensioners in Renfrewshire is expected to grow reaching 23 per cent of the population by the year 2026, and go even higher reaching 27 per cent of population by the year 2036.

This is compared to the average of 20.5 per cent aged 65 plus across the UK 2026, and 24 per cent by 2036.

The report adds that life expectancy in the UK is also projected to continue increasing with life expectancy at birth for women projected to be 85.1 years by 2026 and 86.6 years by 2036.

Men are also projected to live longer, increasing to 82.1 years by 2026.