How many people in the UK are still unvaccinated?

The Government is expected on Tuesday to set out plans to introduce booster jabs of the Covid-19 vaccine in the UK – but millions of people have still not had even one dose.

Some 28% of the population is currently estimated to be unvaccinated, according to the latest figures.

This is the equivalent of 18.6 million people.

Nearly a third (5.9 million) of this total are aged 16 and over and are therefore eligible to get the vaccine right now.

A further 3.2 million are aged 12 to 15, and could be in line for a first jab very soon, following the recommendation on Monday of the UK’s four chief medical officers.

Here is a breakdown of the number of people who are unvaccinated across the country.

It has been compiled by the PA news agency using the latest available data from the UK’s health agencies.

– Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of people unvaccinated among the four UK nations.

An estimated 31.5% of the population has not received any Covid-19 vaccine, or around 598,000 people.

Among those aged 16 and over, the proportion is 13.5%, but levels vary considerably between younger and older age groups.

More than half of 16 and 17-year-olds (55.8%) have not received any vaccine – the equivalent of around 25,000 people.

Some 27.8% of 18 to 29-year-olds have not had a first dose (77,000 people), while the figure for 30 to 39-year-olds is 22.3% (56,000).

Levels are much lower for older age groups, however.

Just 0.3% of 60 to 69-year-olds are estimated to be unvaccinated, while the number of first doses given to people aged 70 to 79 and 80 and over is greater than the estimated size of the population for both groups.

The decision by the UK’s chief medical officers to recommend extending first doses to 12 to 15-year-olds means just over 98,000 children in Northern Ireland could shortly be eligible for the jab.

– England

In England, an estimated 28.2% of the population is unvaccinated – the equivalent of around 15.9 million people.

Among those aged 16 and over, the percentage is around one in nine (11.1%).

But as with the other UK nations, the level of vaccine take-up varies greatly across age groups.

More than a quarter of people in England aged 18-29 (26.9%) have yet to receive one dose, or around 2.3 million individuals.

A further 1.3 million people aged 30 to 39 are still unvaccinated – 17.1% of this age group.

By contrast, only 2.9% of people aged 80 and over are estimated to be unvaccinated, along with 1.8% of those aged 70 to 79.

Of the 15.9 million people in England yet to receive any vaccine, 2.7 million are aged 12 to 15.

– Wales

Just over a quarter of the population of Wales (25.3%) has not received any Covid-19 vaccine – the equivalent of around 802,000 people.

Among those aged 16 and over, the overall proportion is 9.2%, though this varies considerably across age groups.

Some 31.8% of 16 and 17-year-olds have yet to have a first dose – nearly 26,000 people.

There are also 23.0% of 18 to 29-year-olds who are still unvaccinated (112,000 people) and 22.2% of 30 to 39 year-olds (95,000).

By contrast, just 3.8% of people aged 80 and over have not received any vaccine, while the figure for 75 to 79-year-olds is 3.1%.

There are nearly 145,000 children aged 12 to 15 in Wales.

– Scotland

Scotland is the only one of the four UK nations to have given a first dose of vaccine to more than three-quarters (75.8%) of its population.

It means 24.2% are still unvaccinated, or around 1.3 million people.

Some 8.9% of people aged 16 and over have not received a jab – the lowest proportion of any UK nation.

Looking at specific age groups, 36.1% of 16 and 17-year-olds in Scotland have yet to have a first dose (around 40,000 people), along with 24.5% of 18 to 29-year-olds (205,000 people) and 17.1% of 30 to 39-year-olds (125,000 people).

But the number of doses given to people aged 60 and over is greater than the population estimates for all these age groups.

Some 234,000 children aged 12 to 15 are estimated to live in Scotland.