Isle of Wight tops the ranking, with 29% of residents aged 65 and over, ahead of Scottish Borders and Powys. The full ranking is below, each entry linked to its page.

# County Aged 65+
1 Isle of Wight 29%
2 Scottish Borders 29%
3 Powys 28%
4 Conwy 27%
5 Ceredigion 26%
6 Herefordshire 26%
7 Isle of Anglesey 26%
8 Monmouthshire 26%
9 Pembrokeshire 26%
10 Cornwall 25%
11 Denbighshire 25%
12 Dorset 25%
13 Northumberland 25%
14 Rutland 25%
15 Carmarthenshire 24%
16 Cumbria 24%
17 Devon 24%
18 Norfolk 24%
19 Somerset 24%
20 Suffolk 24%
21 Gwynedd 23%
22 Lincolnshire 23%
23 North Yorkshire 23%
24 Shropshire 23%
25 West Sussex 23%
26 Worcestershire 23%
27 East Riding of Yorkshire 22%
28 East Sussex 22%
29 Flintshire 22%
30 Bridgend 21%
31 Cheshire 21%
32 County Durham 21%
33 Derbyshire 21%
34 Gloucestershire 21%
35 Neath Port Talbot 21%
36 Staffordshire 21%
37 Swansea 21%
38 The Vale of Glamorgan 21%
39 Torfaen 21%
40 Blaenau Gwent 20%
41 Caerphilly 20%
42 Essex 20%
43 Hampshire 20%
44 Kent 20%
45 Lancashire 20%
46 Rhondda Cynon Taf 20%
47 Warwickshire 20%
48 Wiltshire 20%
49 Wrexham 20%
50 Merseyside 19%
51 Merthyr Tydfil 19%
52 Nottinghamshire 19%
53 South Yorkshire 19%
54 Surrey 19%
55 Tyne and Wear 19%
56 Cambridgeshire 18%
57 Leicestershire 18%
58 Northamptonshire 18%
59 Oxfordshire 18%
60 Buckinghamshire 17%
61 Hertfordshire 17%
62 Newport 17%
63 West Yorkshire 17%
64 Bedfordshire 16%
65 Berkshire 16%
66 Greater Manchester 16%
67 West Midlands 16%
68 Cardiff 15%
69 Bristol 13%
70 Greater London 12%

Source: ONS Census 2021. Compiled by Postcodes UK.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK county has the oldest population?

Isle of Wight tops the list, with 29% of residents aged 65 and over, followed by Scottish Borders and Powys.

How is this ranking measured?

This ranking is based on ONS Census 2021. It covers the ceremonial counties of England and the council and principal areas of Scotland and Wales.