Family and Households key stats

Marriage rates decline

Since the 1970s, marriage rates in the UK have dropped from about 480,000 marriages per year to roughly 230,000 in recent years.

Divorce rates

Divorce rates rose sharply after the 1969 Divorce Reform Act, peaking in the 1990s with over 165,000 divorces per year, then gradually declined to around 100,000+ divorces annually today.

Average marriage age

The average age of marriage in the UK has increased from early 20s in the 1970s to early 30s now.

Cohabitation rise

There are around 3 million cohabiting couples in the UK, a huge increase since the 1990s.

Cohabiting before marriage

Approximately 50% of couples now cohabit before getting married.

Lone-parent families

Lone-parent families make up about 25% of all families with dependent children in the UK.

Female-headed lone parents

About 90% of lone-parent families are headed by women.

Reconstituted families

Stepfamilies represent about 10% of families with dependent children.

UK fertility rate

The total fertility rate is around 1.6 children per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1.

Delayed childbearing

Births to mothers aged 30 and over have increased, reflecting a trend of having children later.

Same-sex couples

There are over 100,000 same-sex couples in the UK, with 20-30% of these couples having children.

Ageing population

Approximately 18% of the UK population is aged 65 or older, and this is steadily increasing.

Dependency ratio

The ratio of non-working (dependent) to working-age population is rising, putting pressure on family support systems.

Ethnic minority population

About 14% of the UK population belongs to ethnic minority groups.

Ethnic family patterns

Certain ethnic groups, such as South Asians, have higher rates of extended family living arrangements.