Healthcare
The National Health Service (NHS), is the publicly funded healthcare system responsible for providing the majority of healthcare in the country. The NHS began on 5 July 1948, putting into effect the provisions of the National Health Service Act 1946. It was based on the findings of the Beveridge Report, prepared by the economist and social reformer, William Beveridge.[178] The NHS is largely funded by general taxation and National Insurance payments;[179] it provides most of its services free at the point of use, although there are charges for some people for eye tests, dental care, prescriptions and aspects of personal care.[180]
The government department responsible for the NHS is the Department of Health, under the Secretary of State for Health. Most of the department's expenses are on the NHS – £98.6 billion was spent in 2008–2009.[181] Regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council are organised on a UK-wide basis, as are non-governmental bodies such as the Royal Colleges.
The average life expectancy is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four countries of the United Kingdom.[182] The south of England has a higher life expectancy than the north, but regional differences seem to be slowly narrowing: between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life expectancy in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years.[182]
Demography
Population
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With over 56 million inhabitants, England is by far the most populous country of the United Kingdom, accounting for 84% of the combined total.[4] England taken as a unit and measured against international states would be the 26th largest country by population in the world.[183]
The English people are British people.[184] There is an English diaspora in former parts of the British Empire; especially the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.[f] Since the late 1990s, many English people have migrated to Spain.[189] Due in particular to the economic prosperity of South East England, it has received many economic migrants from the other parts of the United Kingdom.[184] There has been significant Irish migration.[190] The proportion of ethnically European residents totals at 81.7%,[191] including White British, Germans[192] and Poles,[184] down from 94.1% in 1991.[184] Other people from much further afield in the former British colonies have arrived since the 1950s: in particular, about 7% of people living in England have family origins in the Indian subcontinent, mostly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.[191][192] About 0.7% are Chinese,[191][192] 0.6% are Arabs.[191] 4.0% of the population are black, from Africa and the Caribbean, especially former British colonies,[191][192] and 2.9% identified as multiracial or mixed.[191]
In 2007, 22% of primary school children in England were from ethnic minority families,[193] and in 2011 that figure was 26.5%.[194] About half of the population increase between 1991 and 2001 was due to immigration.[195]
England contains one indigenous national minority, the Cornish people, recognised by the UK government under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 2014.[196]