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KEY DATA 2021

Population size and mortality

Children and young people aged 10-24 account for 18% of the whole population of the UK.  The most common causes of death include accidents, self-harm and assault, and cancer.

11.8m young people in the UK between 10-24

Covid-19 infections and death

In the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-21 children and young people have been less affected than other age groups by the coronavirus infection itself.  At the outset children and young people made up approximately 2% of confirmed Covid-19 cases (Center for Disease Control, 2020).  As the adult population became vaccinated, this proportion inevitably increased, but the absolute rates of infection remained relatively low, particularly for those under 14.  Children and young people had less severe symptoms than adults (Swann et al, 2020; Gotziner et al, 2020), and there were few deaths.  For more on the issues, see AYPH’s briefing on the impact of Covid-19 on young people, published in February 2020.  

By June 2021 there were 152,490 deaths attributed to Covid-19 on death certificates, and 128,048 deaths within 28 days of a positive test.  By June 2021 there had been a total of 96 deaths in 10-24 year olds, with 60 of those falling in the 20-24 age group.  Covid-19 did not contribute to excess mortality in the 10-24 age group across 2020 (Ladhani et al, 2020).

Young people were much less likely to die from Covid-19 than older age groups

All data correct as at 1 November 2021

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