More parents have just one child, survey finds

One-child families increased by five per cent over the last 16 years to 47 per cent while families with three or more children fell by three per cent to 14 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) survey of 100,000 families found.

The average British family had 1.7 children last year compared with two in 1971, it said.

Karen Gask, who compiled the report for the ONS, said: “The number of one-child families is increasing, but that is partly because of women delaying having children and the changing make-up of families. For example, we know that co-habiting and lone parents are less stable than married-couple families, so some people may have one or two children, then break up.

“More people are going on to higher education, so that is delaying people settling down and getting married. Some people speculate that they are driven by a desire to set up home and afford a mortgage.”

Although average family size has got smaller, the UK still has one of the highest levels in the EU of families with three or more children. Those families make up 14 per cent of UK households; the EU average is 11 per cent.