6 facts about parental age differences in England and Wales, 2013

Who’s older – your mother or your father?

Data collected from birth, death and marriage registrations allows the ONS to look for patterns of social change. Here we take a look at 6 facts about parental age differences using data collected from birth registrations1.

1. The majority of fathers were older than mothers

parental_slide_1

2. Approximately 75% of parents had an age gap of 5 years or less

marrage-age-gap-list-new-image

Download the data.

3. There was a larger age gap between unmarried than married parents

parental_slide_3

4. The average age gap is the same for unmarried parents who live together and those who don’t live together

parental_slide_4

5. There is a larger average age gap if parents are born abroad

parental_slide_5

6. Same-sex female parents had a larger age gap

parental_slide_6


For more information, please contact: fertility@ons.gsi.gov.uk