Introduction
Mid-year population estimates for England and Wales are produced annually by the office for national statistics (ONS). Mid-year population estimates relate to the usually resident population and account for long-term international migrants but not short-term international migrants.

Data Overview
According to the 2023 mid-year population estimates, the usual resident population of Oldham is approximately 246,130. This represents an increase of 0.9% since the 2022 mid-year estimates. The largest increase was in Manchester at 2.3% and the smallest increase was in Trafford at 0.4%.

The age structure of Oldham is relatively youthful with a high proportion of residents aged under 18 (22.7%). Since 2001, the population across Oldham and England has aged, with more people aged over 65 and fewer under 18s. This change has been influenced by a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in the average life expectancy. A full breakdown is as follows:

• 22.7% aged under 18                                              
• 61.4% aged 18-64
• 15.9% aged 65+

Figure 1 below shows population estimates for Greater Manchester for 2023.

Figure 1: 2023 Population Estimates for Greater Manchester



Table 1: 2023 Mid-Year Population Estimates by Sex and Five-Year Age Bands - Oldham

	Male	Female	Total	%
Aged 0-4 years	8,391	7,859	16,250	6.6%
Aged 5 - 9 years	8,979	8,603	17,582	7.1%
Aged 10 - 14 years	9,251	9,056	18,307	7.4%
Aged 15 - 19 years	8,969	8,395	17,364	7.1%
Aged 20 - 24 years	7,337	6,798	14,135	5.7%
Aged 25 - 29 years	7,526	7,825	15,351	6.2%
Aged 30 - 34 years	7,689	8,795	16,484	6.7%
Aged 35 - 39 years	7,976	8,951	16,927	6.9%
Aged 40 - 44 years	7,633	8,427	16,060	6.5%
Aged 45 - 49 years	7,110	7,090	14,200	5.8%
Aged 50 - 54 years	7,791	7,953	15,744	6.4%
Aged 55 - 59 years	7,593	7,644	15,237	6.2%
Aged 60 - 64 years	6,510	6,795	13,305	5.4%
Aged 65 - 69 years	5,237	5,500	10,737	4.4%
Aged 70 - 74 years	4,633	5,068	9,701	3.9%
Aged 75 - 79 years	4,018	4,758	8,776	3.6%
Aged 80 - 84 years	2,306	3,061	5,367	2.2%
Aged 85 and over	1,725	2,878	4,603	1.9%
All Ages	120,674	125,456	246,130

Table 2: 2023 mid-year population estimates by broad age bands and sex.

Geography	Total Population	Male	Female	Aged 0-15 Years		Aged 16-64 Years		Aged 65+ Years
	Number	Number	Number	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Oldham	246,130	120,674	125,456	55,799	22.7%	151,147	61.4%	39,184	15.9%
Greater Manchester	2,948,633	1,456,651	1,491,982	597,027	20.2%	1,886,326	64.0%	465,280	15.8%
England	57,690,323	28,283,074	29,407,249	10,648,350	18.5%	36,258,886	62.9%	10,783,087	18.7%

Population Pyramids:
Oldham's population pyramid (Figure 4 below) shows the differences between five-year age bands for both Oldham and England.

It's clear from the population pyramid that Oldham has a significantly younger population than England

Figure 4: Population Pyramid for Oldham and England (2023 Mid-Year Estimates)


Further Information & Resources:
ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates Data Release