A new study of Government data has found the areas of the UK with the biggest ageing population and the areas with the largest proportion of children below school age. Dorset is officially the oldest area of the UK, with 4.27% of the population aged over 85 – a staggering 85% more than the UK average across local authorities. Results found that Barking and Dagenham is the youngest area of the UK as 7.88% of the population are aged under four years old.
The study conducted by life insurance experts Insurance Hero analysed local population data from the Office of National Statistics, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, and Scotland’s Census. The researchers calculated the percentage of each local population that was aged over 85 and under four to find the UK areas with the oldest and youngest residents.
According to the findings, Dorset is the oldest area of the UK, as the study identified that of the local population, 4.27% are aged over 85. This is almost a significant 85% higher than the average of 2.31% found across all 212 UK areas analysed in the research.
Following in second place was Conwy in North Wales having the second-oldest population in the UK, with the Isles of Scilly ranking third. East Sussex and Torbay complete the top five.
The findings suggest a trend that areas in the South of England and Wales have the greatest proportion of residents older than 85 years old—and, therefore, have the oldest populations in the UK.
