Ofcom have released the amateur radio licence statistics for May 2015, showing that at the end of April 2015 there were a total of 83,053 licences issued.

It is thought there may be around 25,000 lifetime licences issued since December 2006 that have not been re-validated every 5 years as requested by Ofcom. The holders of these licences may have either passed away in the past 8 years or else left the hobby.

As yet Ofcom has not undertaken the process of revoking the licences and so they remain in the valid licence statistics.

More information - http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/amateur-radio/guidance-for-licensees/monthly-stats/