Facts & figures

1 in 8 adults (around 6.5 million people) are carers

• Every day another 6,000 people take on a caring responsibility – that equals over 2 million people each year.

• 58% of carers are women and 42% are men.

• 1.3 million people provide over 50 hours of care per week.

• Over 1 million people care for more than one person

• As of 2020, Carers UK estimates there are around 13.6 million people caring through the pandemic.

Carers save the economy £132 billion per year, an average of £19,336 per carer

• 5 million people in the UK are juggling caring responsibilities with work - that's 1 in 7 of the workforce.

• However, the significant demands of caring mean that 600 people give up work every day to care for an older or disabled relative.

• Carer's Allowance is the main carer's benefit and is £67.25 for a minimum of 35 hours, the lowest benefit of its kind.

People providing high levels of care are twice as likely to be permanently sick or disabled

• 72% of carers responding to Carers UK's State of Caring 2018 Survey said they had suffered mental ill health as a result of caring.

• 61% said they had suffered physical ill health as a result of caring.

• 8 in 10 people caring for loved ones say they have felt lonely or socially isolated.

Source: Carers. org