Sarah Harper

Professor Sarah Harper CBE is a leading authority on global ageing and demographic change, advising governments and organisations worldwide while shaping research and policy from her base at the University of Oxford.

Professor Sarah Harper CBE is Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of University College, and the Founding Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing. An internationally respected voice on demographic change, Sarah has advised governments, international organisations, and global forums on the implications of ageing populations for societies and economies.

She has served on the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, was Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain in 2017, and currently sits on the boards of the UK Research Integrity Office and Health Data Research UK. In recognition of her services to demography, Sarah was appointed CBE in 2018.

Sarah has chaired the UK Government’s Foresight Review on Ageing Populations, led the European Commission/UNECE’s Active Ageing Index evaluation board since 2015, and is a Governor of the Pensions Policy Institute. Her work has also been recognised with the Royal Society for Public Health’s Arts and Health Research Award.

After completing her doctorate at Oxford, Sarah trained as a news and current affairs reporter with the BBC before moving into academia, holding positions at the University of London and as a professor in public policy at the University of Chicago. On returning to Oxford, she founded the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing with funding from the US National Institutes of Health.

Her influence extends internationally, serving on demographic advisory boards across Europe, Asia, and Australia, and representing Oxford in the International Association of Research Universities’ Ageing and Demography Collaboration. She has been an advisor to the Malaysian and Singaporean governments and a specialist advisor to the European Commission on demographic change.

An experienced public speaker, Sarah has addressed audiences at the World Economic Forum in China and Australia, delivered TED and Nobel Prize Dialogue talks, and presented the prestigious Oxford–London Lecture. She brings deep expertise, clear insight, and global perspective to the complex challenges and opportunities of ageing societies.