 Christchurch has one of the oldest populations in the country with significant proportion of residents wealthy senior citizens. The percentage of the population aged over 65 in Christchurch is 30.4 %, almost double the national average of 16.5 %. Highcliffe on the borough's eastern boundary possesses the highest percentage of elderly residents in the entire United Kingdom at 69 %. The Office for National Statistics predicted that by 2031, the percentage of residents over 65 will rise to 37.9. In 2005, the life expectancy of female residents was 83.4 years and male residents 79.7 years. This was an increase on ten years previous (1995) when the life expectancy was 82.6 years and 77.0 years for females and males respectively.
