Characteristics of the study population reported across the full study period
| Variable | No (%) |
| Sex | |
| Male | 18 697 485 (47.9) |
| Female | 20 308 709 (52.1) |
| Age group (years) | |
| 10-19 | 4 717 448 (12.1) |
| 20-29 | 5 096 953 (13.1) |
| 30-39 | 5 218 309 (13.4) |
| 40-49 | 5 587 972 (14.3) |
| 50-59 | 6 428 201 (16.5) |
| 60-69 | 5 206 788 (13.4) |
| 70-79 | 4 239 611 (10.9) |
| 80-89 | 2 062 293 (5.3) |
| ≥90 | 448 619 (1.2) |
| Disability status | |
| Not limited | 33 694 478 (86.4) |
| Daily activities limited a little | 3 211 382 (8.2) |
| Daily activities limited a lot | 2 100 334 (5.4) |
| Ethnic group | |
| Bangladeshi | 326 883 (0.8) |
| Black African | 644 633 (1.7) |
| Black Caribbean | 410 320 (1.1) |
| Chinese | 203 648 (0.5) |
| Indian | 1 055 511 (2.7) |
| Mixed | 778 396 (2.0) |
| Other | 993 009 (2.6) |
| Pakistani | 854 879 (2.2) |
| White British | 31 857 196 (81.7) |
| White other* | 1 881 719 (4.8) |
| English indices of deprivation group (fifths) | |
| 1 (most deprived) | 7 335 236 (18.8) |
| 2 | 7 620 096 (19.5) |
| 3 | 7 902 220 (20.3) |
| 4 | 8 040 520 (20.6) |
| 5 (least deprived) | 8 108 122 (20.8) |
| Religious affiliation | |
| Buddhist | 155 191 (0.4) |
| Christian | 23 191 008 (59.5) |
| Hindu | 597 404 (1.5) |
| Jewish | 178 494 (0.5) |
| Muslim | 1 934 281 (5.0) |
| Sikh | 324 447 (0.8) |
| No religion | 9 955 732 (25.5) |
| Other religion | 168 850 (0.4) |
| Not stated | 2 500 787 (6.4) |
*The white other group is composed of those who selected Irish, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, or other white in the 2011 census.