Oldham ranks as the tenth youngest area in the UK, with 6.6 per cent of its population under the age of four.

The Greater Manchester town has 16,005 children under the age of four.

The study used data from the Office of National Statistics to analyse the demographic breakdowns of residents in terms of age.

Steve Case of Insurance Hero, said: "Globally, people are living older than has been seen before and it is widely recognised that the world has an ‘ageing population’, with the World Health Organisation estimating that ‘by 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over."

Barking and Dagenham in London is the area with the highest number of under-fours, making up 7.9 per cent of the population.

On the other end of the spectrum, areas in the South of England and Wales house the UK’s oldest residents.

Dorset tops this list with 4.3 per cent of its population aged over 85, significantly higher than the average of 2.3 per cent found across all 212 UK areas studied.

The data shows a trend that areas in the South of England host the oldest residents and Wales has a sizable percentage of older residents, while several London boroughs are among the youngest.

Mr Case, whose company provides life insurance, added: "For people who are in the later stages of their lives, it is beneficial for cover to be in place, which can help with possible medical bills, any remaining mortgage debt, as well as future funeral expenses."

For areas with higher proportions of under fours, the policy's purpose shifts to ensuring the children are protected, should their parents no longer be able to provide for them.