UK voter statistics show a large registered and eligible electorate, but participation varies sharply by election, age, geography and voting method. The 2024 general election had around 48.2 million eligible voters and 60.0% turnout, while the latest Great Britain registration figures show 48 million people on the local government register and 46 million on the parliamentary register in 2025.
Contents
- The size of the electorate
- Turnout at UK general elections
- Age and regional differences
- Confidence and the voting experience
- Postal voting statistics
- Overseas voters
The size of the electorate
The Electoral Commission reported that around 48.2 million people were eligible to vote in the 2024 UK general election. Eligibility is not the same as turnout: 60.0% of eligible voters cast a ballot in that election. The figure therefore describes the potential electorate, while turnout describes the share that participated.
The Electoral Commission’s 2025 electoral registration figures cover Great Britain and distinguish between local government and parliamentary registers. There were 48 million people on the local government register and 46 million on the parliamentary register. The local government register was down 0.6% from its 2024 peak, while the parliamentary register was down 1.0% from its 2024 peak.
The same source counted 167 thousand attainers on the Great Britain parliamentary register in 2025. Attainers are future voters who are registered in advance of reaching voting age. Their number was up 4.2% from 2024 but 63.7% lower than in 2013, showing a substantial long-term change in this part of the register.
Special categories also form part of the registration picture. There were 203,000 overseas electors registered in 2025, up 2% from the previous year. There were also 2,500 anonymous electors, down 5% from the previous year. These categories should not be added casually to the general register totals because the published figures describe different aspects of registration.
In Scotland, 74,894 16- and 17-year-olds were on the register in 2025. That count was down 4% from the 2021 peak. In Wales, 29,317 16- and 17-year-olds were on the register, down 19% from the 2022 peak. The estimated share of 16- and 17-year-olds registered was 61% in Scotland and 39% in Wales in 2025. These are estimates of registration shares, not turnout measures.
Turnout at UK general elections
The 2024 general election turnout of 60.0% was lower than the 67.5% recorded at the 2019 general election. The Electoral Commission’s 2024 UK general election report described the 2019 election as the second-lowest turnout at a UK general election since 1928 at the time of publication; 2001 remained the lowest, at 59.4%.
The longer historical picture from the House of Commons Library is broader than either recent election. Average UK general election turnout across 1918–2019 was 72.7%. That historical average includes elections with very different political contexts, electoral rules and levels of participation, so it is a reference point rather than a forecast for a future election.
The following figures place several recent measures side by side:
| Measure | Result | Period or geography |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible voters | Around 48.2 million | 2024 UK general election |
| Turnout | 60.0% | 2024 UK general election |
| Turnout | 67.5% | 2019 UK general election |
| Lowest figure noted in the report | 59.4% | 2001 UK general election |
| Historical average turnout | 72.7% | UK general elections, 1918–2019 |
These figures are not interchangeable. The 48.2 million figure is an eligibility count, the election percentages are turnout rates, and the 72.7% figure is a historical average. Keeping the denominator and measurement period visible is essential when comparing UK voter statistics.
Age and regional differences
Age is strongly associated with estimated turnout. The House of Commons Library reported an estimated turnout of 47% for people aged 18–24 at general elections, compared with 74% for people over 65. These figures are estimated age-group measures and should not be read as the turnout of one specific constituency or as a result from only the 2024 election.
The Electoral Commission also recorded age differences in confidence that the election was well run. Confidence was 75% among 18- to 24-year-olds, 86% among people aged 65 to 74, and 87% among people aged 75 or over. Satisfaction with the registration system showed an even wider gap in the reported categories: 23% among 18- to 24-year-olds compared with 60% among people aged 75 or over.
Regional and constituency-level turnout also varied at the 2019 general election. The House of Commons Library recorded 72.0% turnout in the South West, 64.2% in the North East and 61.8% in Northern Ireland. At constituency level, East Dunbartonshire had the highest reported turnout, at 80.3%, followed by Richmond Park at 78.7%.
At the lower end of the cited constituency figures, Leicester West recorded 53.5% turnout and Kingston upon Hull East recorded 49.3%. The gap between the highest and lowest figures in this set is 31.0 percentage points, but the figures describe named constituencies rather than whole regions. They should therefore be used as examples of local variation, not as a complete ranking of every constituency.
Confidence and the voting experience
Participation statistics describe whether people voted, while experience measures describe how voters viewed the process. According to the Electoral Commission’s 2024 UK general election report, 83% of people said they were confident that the 2024 elections were well run. Confidence that voting in general was safe from fraud and abuse was 87% overall.
The practical voting experience was generally reported as straightforward. Ninety-eight percent of voters said it was easy to fill in their ballot paper. Three percent of in-person voters said they needed help to fill in their ballot paper, as did 3% of postal voters.
Ballot rejection rates differed by election and ballot type. At the 2024 general election, 0.4% of ballot papers were rejected. At the 2024 London mayoral election, 0.5% were rejected. For comparison, 4.3% of first-preference mayoral votes were rejected at the 2021 London mayoral election and 1.9% at the 2016 London mayoral election. The London figures are specifically first-preference mayoral votes where stated, so they are not directly identical to the general-election measure.
Postal voting statistics
Postal voting was widely described as easy to complete. Overall, 96% of postal voters said it was easy to complete their postal ballot pack at the 2024 general election. The figure was 90% among postal voters aged 18 to 24 and 93% among disabled postal voters who were limited a lot by a disability or health condition.
Even when the process was generally manageable, some voters needed help. Three percent of postal voters said they needed help to fill in their ballot paper. Among postal voters who needed help, 32% said the main reason was that they did not want to vote in person. Other reported reasons included not having time to go to the polling station on 4 July, at 13%; being away on holiday, at 14%; and finding access or travel to the polling station difficult, at 18%.
More than 1.3 million people applied to vote by post after the election was announced. Nearly 470,000 postal vote applications were submitted from 14 June onwards. Postal voters returned 80.7% of postal votes in 2024, compared with 83.9% in 2019.
Returned ballots were not all accepted for counting. Overall, 2.2% of returned postal votes were rejected at the 2024 general election, equivalent to about 168,000 votes. This rejection figure is a share of returned postal votes, whereas the 80.7% figure is the share of postal votes returned. The two percentages therefore describe different stages of the postal voting process.
Overseas voters
The Electoral Commission reported more than 170,000 applications to register as an overseas voter between 16 January 2024 and the deadline for the 2024 general election. Around 110,000 overseas voter applications were submitted after the general election was announced on 22 May 2024.
The total number of overseas voters registered for the 2024 general election was 191,338. This was lower than the 234,000 registered for the 2019 general election. In 2025, the Electoral Commission’s electoral registration figures counted 203,000 overseas electors, up 2% from the previous year. The 2024 election registration count and the 2025 register count refer to different measurement points, so they should not be treated as a single time series without that qualification.
Awareness of eligibility was limited in the survey cited by the Electoral Commission: only 26% of surveyed overseas citizens knew about the franchise extension for British and eligible Irish citizens living overseas for more than 15 years.
Voting method and satisfaction also produced notable figures. Half of all registered overseas voters, or 49%, were registered for a postal vote. Of overseas voters registered for a postal vote, 52% returned their ballot paper in time to be counted. Satisfaction with the process was divided: 46% of overseas voters said they were satisfied, while 51% said they were not satisfied.
Together, these figures show why UK voter statistics need more than one headline percentage. Eligibility, registration, turnout, ballot rejection, age, location and voting method measure different parts of participation. The Electoral Commission’s election report and electoral-registration figures, alongside the House of Commons Library’s historical turnout data, provide the relevant periods and definitions for interpreting each measure.