(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s population reached 67 million and is getting older and growing more slowly, official figures based on the latest census showed.

The number of people in the UK rose 5.9% in the decade through the middle of 2021, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. That’s much less than the 7.1% gain from 2001 to 2011, which was the biggest gain in 50 years and more than double the rate of the previous decade.

The figures feed into estimates about the pace the economy can expand without sparking inflation. Population along with productivity are the basis of forecasts for the trend growth, which in Britain has lagged much of the rest of the Group of Seven nations.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all showed slower growth. England had the fastest expansion, rising 6.5% to an estimated 56.5 million people.

The median age of the population in the UK reached 40.7 years in mid-2021, up from 39.6 years in mid-2011. That points toward further strain on the National Health Service, which is already pressured with staffing shortages and industrial action over pay and working conditions. 

(Updates with details from the report from first paragraph.)

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