"tim......" wrote:
"Roland Perry" wrote in message ...
In message , at 09:35:46 on Sat, 11 Jan
2014, Someone Somewhere remarked:
Can't be many non-chip UK passports left now.

My passport issued in 2006 doesn't have one so that means roughly a third will not.

Even taking into account the 5yr passports issued to minors, and those
replaced for various reasons (lost/stolen/damaged/full)?

and the fairly reasonable statistic that the newer a passport is, the
more likely it is to be used.

(I wonder how skewed that really is. I wouldn't be at all surprised to
find that it is very significant)

Yes, very likely. Older passports may be lost or damaged, or the owners
deceased or unable to travel. Frequent travellers may run out of pages for
visas in old passports, or need a new one as the old one has stamps from
countries that are very hostile to a new one to be visited. And passports
in their last year of validity are very likely to be replaced before they
run out.