Families and Households in England and Wales 2011

Back

This analysis presents the current picture for families in England and Wales using 2011 Census data; analyses of marital status, living arrangements, households and children are reported at national, regional and local levels.

Key points

• In 2011, 47 per cent (21.2 million) of the usually resident adult population1 of England and Wales were married; this was a decrease from 51 per cent (21.2 million) in 2001.
• In 2011 cohabiting people (both same and opposite sex couples) accounted for 12 per cent (5.3 million) of the adult population living in households in England and Wales, compared to 10 per cent (4.1 million) in 2001.
• The total number of households2 in 2011 was 23.4 million, an increase of 7.9 per cent from 21.7 million in 2001. In 2011 there were 14.4 million one family households3,4, 7.1 million one person households and 1.9 million ‘other households’. The largest percentage increase was for ‘other households’ (including households of unrelated adults or more than one family), which rose 28 per cent between 2001 and 2011.
• As a proportion of all households, one person households aged 65 and over have decreased by 2.8 percentage points between 2001 and 2011; those aged 16-34 declined by 2.5 percentage points; however those aged 35-64 increased by 6 percentage points.
• Of the 23.4 million households in England and Wales, 1.7 million (7.2 per cent) consisted of lone parents with dependent children; this increased from 2001 when comparable figures were 1.4 million (6.5 per cent). Around 9 in every 10 lone parent households were headed by a woman, both nationally and across English regions and Wales.
• Over half (54 per cent) of the 14.4 million one family households4 in England and Wales consisted of married couples (7.7 million) or civil partners (32 thousand). Of these, 46 per cent
had dependent children living in the household.
30 January 2013
Office for National Statistics | 2
• Between 2001 and 2011 the number of married or civil partnered one-family households declined
by 2 per cent; cohabiting family households increased by 28 per cent; lone parent family
households increased by 21 per cent.
• Compared to all other English regions and Wales, London is distinct as it had a higher proportion
of its adult population that are single or in a civil partnership. London also had the highest
proportion of lone parent households with dependent children and the highest proportion of
families with at least one dependent child. Conversely, London had the lowest proportion of older
people living alone. This corresponds to the younger age structure of the population in London.