The changing composition of the UK population in terms of age, ethnicity, religion and disability, and what these changes mean for a diverse society.

What this dot point is asking

Edexcel wants you to know how the make-up of the UK population is changing in terms of age, ethnicity, religion and disability, and to understand why those changes matter for a society made up of many communities. This Theme A topic (Paper 1 Section A) is tested through short "Identify" and "Describe" tasks on the changes themselves and through "Examine" tasks on their consequences, for example the effects of an ageing population. The examiner rewards accurate, specific knowledge of the four dimensions of change and the ability to link a change to a real social consequence rather than to describe society in vague terms.

An ageing population

Better healthcare, nutrition and living standards mean life expectancy has risen over the long term, while families on average have fewer children than in the past. The result is a population with a larger share of people over 65 and a growing number of people in their eighties and beyond. This has clear consequences for citizenship: it increases demand on the NHS, on social care and on the state pension, and it raises questions about how those services are funded when proportionally fewer people are of working age and paying tax. Older people also contribute a great deal, through paid work, volunteering, caring and spending, so Edexcel expects a balanced view rather than a picture of older people simply as a cost.

A more ethnically diverse population

Migration over many decades, including from Commonwealth countries and from Europe, together with generations of families settling and growing up in the UK, has made the population far more diverse than it was in the mid-twentieth century. Diversity is greatest in large cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, though it is found across the country. Greater ethnic diversity brings cultural, economic and social benefits and is part of what makes the UK a multicultural society; it also makes mutual respect and community cohesion, covered in later topics, especially important.

A more religiously diverse population

The UK has long had a Christian majority, with the Church of England as the established church, but the religious make-up of the population is changing in two ways at once. There is a wide and growing range of faiths, including Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism, reflecting the country's diversity. At the same time, a growing proportion of people report no religion. This means the UK is becoming both more religiously diverse and, in part, more secular. For citizenship this matters because the law protects freedom of religion and belief, and because schools, workplaces and public services must respect a range of beliefs and none.

Disability and the population

A significant proportion of the population has a disability, whether physical, sensory or related to mental health or learning. Society increasingly recognises disability as a part of human diversity rather than something to be hidden, and the law, particularly the Equality Act 2010, protects disabled people from discrimination and requires reasonable adjustments so they can take part in education, work and public life. The recognition of disability as one of the dimensions of a changing, diverse population reflects a wider shift towards including everyone in community and democratic life.