The total of people with Security Industry Authority licences is continuing to plateau, according to the SIA’s latest monthly release of statistics. Meanwhile the number of SIA-approved contractors has risen, slightly, to 715.
The total of SIA-badged as of May 1 was 456,074; of those, some 50,373 were female, or 11.04 per cent of the whole. In a recent talk at The Security Event at the Birmingham NEC, SIA chief executive Michelle Russell remarked on that plateau. More in the June 2026 edition of Professional Security Magazine. She predicted a slight decrease in the total (which a few months ago peaked around 460,000; the total in May 2025 was 453,808).
Age
In terms of age, the mode year (most occurring number) of the SIA-badged is 26 – just over 16,000; one year ago it was 27. By year, the number of SIA-badged aged 20 to 24 inclusive was slightly larger in May 2026 than in May 2025, likewise for those aged 26 to 31 inclusive. The number of 45-year-olds by contrast fell by five per cent in the year, from 9447 to 8936, while the numbers of SIA-badged aged 52 to 57 were lower (some by tiny amounts) in May 2026 than May 2025. The single SIA badge-holder who was a centenarian last year is now 101. Those 12 months saw a marked rise in the number of SIA-badged in the three-year age range of 71 to 73: from 1904 to 2207, an increase of 16 per cent.
Nationality
In terms of nationality, British remains the main one by far, and it altered by only a handful in the 12 months to May 2026; it stands just under 243,000. By contrast the next two most occurring nationalities, Pakistani (second) and Nigerian (third) went up by six per cent, from a combined 94,354 to 101,188. The total of the next most common nationality, Indian, fell slightly. Other increasing nationalities included Ghanaian (in fifth), Nepalese (seventh), and Bangladeshi (ninth). A year ago, Spanish was the 11th most common nationality; now it’s 13th, having fallen by 12.3 per cent, from 4540 to 3985.
Location
In terms of location, London remains by far the most occurring place for an SIA licence holder, and the total of 128,000 is slightly higher than a year ago. The order of places after the capital remains the same as a year ago: next comes Manchester, then Birmingham (whose total fell 3.7 per cent, to just under 25,000), Slough-Heathrow, Liverpool (which saw a rise of 2.8pc), Leicester and in tenth Leeds.
For the stats in full visit https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/sia-licence-holders.
Photo of SIA-badged officer by Mark Rowe.
