Proportion of informal carers by characteristics and proportion of the population who are informal carers

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This indicator contains some alternative data to those specified by the United Nations (UN). This indicator is the most suitable match currently available.

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Headline data

Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
Year Value Units Series Observation status Unit multiplier
2004/05 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2005/06 9.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2006/07 9.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2007/08 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2008/09 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2009/10 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2010/11 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2011/12 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2012/13 9.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2013/14 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2014/15 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2015/16 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2016/17 8.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2017/18 7.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2018/19 7.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2019/20 7.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2020/21 6.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units
2021/22 7.0 Percentage (%) Proportion of population who are informal carers Normal value Units

Source: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Geographical Area: United Kingdom

Unit of Measurement: Percentage (%)

Footnote:

1) Data collection for financial years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the Family Resources Survey (FRS) Information and Methodology for the specific adjustments that have been made in light of the COVID impacts on the sample.

2) For the series "Proportion of population who are informal carers" the base population of the percentage is the total adult population, for instance "in 2020 to 2021, 6 percent of the total adult population were informal carers". For the series "Proportion of informal carers by characteristics" the base population of the percentage is all informal carers, for instance "in 2020 to 2021, of all informal carers, 53 percent were in employment".

3) There are some intentional breaks in the time-series for younger age groups in the 'Proportion of informal carers by characteristics' as for some years there are missing data due to negligible estimates (populations of less than 0.5 per cent, or 0.1 million). For the years 2014 to 2015 and 2015 to 2016 the youngest age category (0-15 years old) is split into two age categories.

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available

Proportion of informal carers by characteristics and proportion of the population who are informal carers
Indicator description

Proportion of the population who are informal carers, by proportion of time per day on informal care care, age and sex. Proportion of those who provide informal care, by employment status, weekly income and hours caring per week.
Geographical coverage

United Kingdom
Unit of measurement

Percentage (%)
Definitions

Informal carers - the Family Resources Survey (FRS) defines all those giving help on an informal basis (that is, not as part of a paid job) as informal carers. This definition is consistent with the Government Statistical Service (GSS) harmonised “core” definition. Professional carers can also be informal carers if giving help outside of work. What should be counted as care is not prescriptively defined but includes activities such as going shopping for someone and helping with paperwork. Those in receipt of care may be receiving either formal or informal care or a mixture of both.
Available disaggregations

Age; Sex; Employment status; Number of hours spent caring; Net weekly income

For 'Net weekly income' disaggregation, please note that income from directors’ dividends has been included in this category from the period 2021 to 2022. In addition, self employed incomes do not include any reported grant amounts received as part of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Wages are treated as income from employment rather than state support, irrespective of any support payments from Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that the respondent's employer was receiving in respect of their employment.
Calculations

No calculations were performed in the data acquisition of this indicator as appropriate data was readily available in the final format specified by this indicator.
Other information

Data collection for financial years 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While corrective measures were put in place to minimise disruption, a smaller and less representative sample was nevertheless collected. Please see the Family Resources Survey (FRS) Information and Methodology for the specific adjustments that have been made in light of the COVID impacts on the sample. The technical report gives more details on the main impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the affected FRS estimates.

Please note, in cases where age is not specified, carers may be either adults or children and employment breakdowns cover all adult ages, not just working-age adults.

This indicator is being used as an approximation of the UN SDG Indicator. Where possible, we will work to identify or develop UK data to meet the global indicator specification. This indicator has been identified in collaboration with topic experts.

Data last updated 26 September 2023
Metadata last updated 26 September 2023

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name

Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location
Target name

Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate
UN designated tier

Tier II
UN custodian agency

UN Statistics Division (UNSD); United Nations Women (UNW)
Link to UN metadata United Nations Sustainable Development Goals metadata for target 5.4 opens in a new window

Source 1

Organisation

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

2004/05
Geographical coverage

United Kingdom
Link to data source Family Resources Survey opens in a new window
Release date 23 March 2023
Next release

March 2024: We plan to update indicator data within 4 months of data being released
Statistical classification

National statistics
Contact details

team.frs@dwp.gov.uk 
Other information

Follow the link to the latest release and open the ‘Care data tables’ (tables 5.1a, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.6 are used from 2014 to 2015 onwards)
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