Membership of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries reached 22,611 in the year to the end of September 2011, the Profession has revealed.
Our members: the year in numbers 2010-2011 makes clear the continued increase in the Profession's membership. The largest proportion of the total work in life insurance - 6,156 - with significant figures also working in the pensions and employee benefits sector (4,889) and general insurance (2,788).
The vast majority of members at the end of September 2011 were employed by either Insurance and reinsurance companies (8,565) or consulting and business advisory firms (7,411).
And the global reach of the Profession's membership is reflected by the 22,611 total including 1,913 located in the rest of Europe and a further 7,378 in the rest of the world.
In total, the student membership of the Profession continues to increase, and the snapshot shows that, as of the end of September, 11,069 actuarial students were members. This compares 10.454 in 2009/10 and 10,191 in 2008/09.
The University of Warwick remains the most popular university for students entering the profession, with 54 members among its student body, while Heriot-Watt (45 members) and London School of Economics (40) also figured significantly.
Mathematics continues to represent the most significant first degree choice among actuarial students, although a significant number also graduated in actuarial science, the report shows.
Behind students, Fellows represent the second largest group within the Profession's membership, increasing to 10,498 in 2010/11 compared to 10,158 in 2009/10 and 9,758 in 2008/09.