British Jews are getting younger, Census reveals
British Jewry is getting younger, according to a new report based on the 2011 Census.
In contrast to the long-established picture of an ageing community, the average age of British Jews actually fell between 2001 and 2011. The rejuvenation of the Jewish population is largely down to the growth of the Charedi community with its high birth-rates.
In 2011, the median age of British Jews was 41, compared to 43 a decade before, according to the report published by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research this week.
The median age of Britons as a whole is 39. For identifying Christians, it is 45, while for Muslims it is 25.
Although British Jews still have the highest proportion of those aged 85 and older, their age profile “resembles the general population structure fairly closely,” JPR senior research fellow David Graham said. But the drop in age among Jews represents “a significant and rapid structural change”, he added.
Dr Graham estimates that the Charedi population comprises just over 13 per cent of the community, but 29 per cent of Jewish children under the age of five. The average estimated age within the Charedi community is 27 — compared to 44 for the non-Charedi population.