Number of cohabiting couples rises by 22%

The Office of National Statistics has released figures showing the proportions of UK family types in 2013. Currently, married or civil partner couple families without dependent children are the most common family type in the UK, making up 7.7 million households. This is a 3% increase on the 2003 figures and may be a reflection of the fact that a greater number of young adults are choosing to live at home with their parents.

The number of married or civil partner couple families with dependent children has decreased since 2003 by just over 1%. This is the only family type to show a decrease since 2003. The total number of families has increased by 6% since then.

Some family types have shown notable increases. There are 12% more lone parent families in 2013 than there were in 2003, and the number of cohabiting couple families has increased by 22%. These two family types represent 16% each of the UK's families in 2013, with the married or civil partner couple family making up the other 68%.

In 2010 the Office of National Statistics projected that the number of cohabiting couple families would increase to 3.3 million by 2033. These latest figures show that there are already 3 million of these families in 2013.