Facts and figures
Statistics on childhood bereavement in the UK.
Childhood bereavement statistics for the UK
No one knows exactly how many children are bereaved every year because that data is not collected. despite the fact that the death of parent is one of the most devastating losses a child will ever face. In the absence of official data, the following statistics are based on mortality figures, census data and other sources. You can find the sources for each figure below and there is more information available from the Childhood Bereavement Network.
127
children and young people are bereaved of a parent every single day in the UK.1
46,300
children in the UK are bereaved of a parent before the age of 18.1
Every 20 minutes
on average, a parent dies every 20 minutes in the UK.1
1 in 20
children and young people have experienced the death of a parent by the age of 16 – that’s at least one in every classroom.1
5,583
suicide deaths in England and Wales in 2021 – many of these will be parents or siblings leaving behind bereaved children.2
696
homicide deaths in England and Wales in 2022 – many of these will be parents or siblings leaving behind bereaved children.3
41%
of young offenders in one study had experienced a bereavement.5
About Winston’s Wish
82,079
bereaved children and young people reached and impacted through Winston’s Wish services in 2023/24.
4,887
conversations were had via our helpline in 2022/23.6
1,300
professionals were trained on supporting bereaved children by us in 2022/23.6
3,386,838
digital users were reached across our websites and social media platforms in 2022/23.6
Why we do what we do
Sources for these figures
1 Childhood Bereavement Network https://childhoodbereavementnetwork.org.uk/about-1/what-we-do/research-evidence/key-statistics
2 Office for National Statistics, Suicide in England and Wales: 2021 registrations https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2021registrations
3 Office for National Statistics, Homicide in England and Wales: year ending March 2022 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/march2022
4 There are an estimated 309,000 bereaved children in the UK (Childhood Bereavement Network) and 14.4% of pupils in England have special educational needs (Department for Education, January 2017). Using these figures we estimate there are 44,496 bereaved children with SEND in the UK.
5 Higgins, B (2001), The Health Needs of Young People who Offend, Youth Justice Trust.
6 Winston’s Wish, Impact Report 2022/23 https://winstonswish.org/reports/
More about childhood bereavement
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