THE United Kingdom population is ageing and within 10 years there will be more people aged 65 and over than children under 16, according to Social Trends published today by the Office for National Statistics.

This is the 35th year of Social Trends and the publication looks back over these years of social change in a special review.

It shows growth in the minority ethnic population, which has resulted in a more diverse society. Household income has risen, but income inequality has widened. Life expectancy has increased but so have the number of years that we can expect to live in poor health or with a disability.

Technology has transformed our lives and our dependence on the car is greater than ever.

Some other interesting findings from the new edition include:

The UK has an ageing population. Between 1971 and 2003 the number of people aged 65 and over rose by 28% while the number of under 16s fell by 18%.

In 1971, half of the UK population was aged under 34.1 years. This median age rose to 38.4 years in 2003.

The proportion of children living in lone-parent families in Great Britain tripled between 1972 and spring 2004, to 24%.

In spring 2004, 58% of men aged 20 to 24, and 39% of women of the same age lived at home with their parents in England.

With the exception of mathematics and science at Key Stage 2, in 2004, girls out-performed boys in England in all subjects at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3; the greatest differences were for English.

The proportion of three and four year olds enrolled in all schools in the UK tripled from 21% in 1970/71 to 65% in 2003/04.

Long-term sickness or disability was the most common reason given for economic inactivity by working-age men in spring 2004; for women the most common reason was looking after the family or home.

Wealth is very much less evenly distributed than income: in 2002 half the adult UK population owned only 6% of total wealth.

In 2002/03, 7 to 15 year old girls in the UK spent about 12% more than boys of the same age.

Household spending on communications in the UK almost trebled in volume terms between 1991 and 2003.

The proportion of adults in England who were obese increased between 1993 and 2003: from 13 to 23% of men and from 16 to 23% of women.

The number of licensed cars on continued to increase to nearly 28 million in 2003, over four times the number in 1961.