Trends Briefing: The Child-Less Future
Thursday 26th February 2026
0900-1000
We’re getting older.
Not just in a ‘the music’s a bit loud in here’ sense, but in a broader national sense too. The UK’s population is ageing. Last year, around 9% of the country was aged 75 or older. By the end of the century, 16% of us will be in that bracket.
An ageing society contains challenges, but is fundamentally good news. A core driver is living longer. Life is good and we all want more of it. But another driver is persistently low birth rates. Since 2010, the number of children born each year has been in steady decline. In England and Wales, the fertility rate in 2024 was 1.41 (calculated based on the number of children born to women of childbearing age). This marked the third consecutive annual decline and is at an all-time low.
For decades, countries like the UK have anticipated that their populations will age. But over the next few decades both the number and proportion of children will decline too. Fewer children in society is, to put it mildly, sub-optimal. Parents still recovering from Christmas and gearing up to half term might have to admit this through gritted teeth, but kids are a good thing. Kids grow up to work in important, socially useful jobs and pay taxes. They’re often quite entertaining. And they’re an essential component of population growth. With births and deaths headed where they are, only immigration will stop the country’s population from declining. If there was no – or reduced – immigration after 2029 it’s the country’s working age population that will decline fastest.
Register here
In our next trends briefing we’ll look at what this child-less future looks like. We’ll consider the forces shaping the UK population, what the UK can learn from other countries and what this means for brands, businesses, campaigners and policymakers. To do so, we’ll explore our continually evolving online horizon scan and archive of consumer data to bring attendees comprehensive and evidence-based foresight on what to expect. As ever, our exploration will come not just with data, analysis and commentary but also implications for what this all means.
Register here to attend
Every month we host webinar looking in detail at a core trend, topic or issue. Although the briefing is free to attend, only our Now & Next members will have access to the presentation and data afterwards, alongside our library of macro trends, detailed reports and Optimism Index data. Click here to find out more about subscribing and request a demo.