BriefingsUnpaid Care: The Realities of Caring in the UK

This briefing is a summary of Unpaid Care: The Realities of Caring in the UK, published by the Health Foundation in February 2026.

Introduction

Estimates of the number of unpaid carers in the UK vary. For the period 2023–25 16.2% of adults taking part in the UK Household Longitudinal Study reported providing unpaid care, which is equal to approximately 8.9 million adults. This finding was similar to 2018–20, when 17.2% of adults were estimated to provide unpaid care (approximately 9.1 million adults). In 2025, the GP Patient Survey identified a similar percentage (16%) of people aged 16 years and older in England reporting as unpaid carers. However, data collected for the 2021 Census produced lower estimates – finding that 9% of all people aged 5 years and older provided unpaid care – equivalent to 5 million unpaid carers in England and Wales.

While these estimates vary, the reality is that many people in the UK will provide or require unpaid care at some point in their lives. Furthermore, the need for care is likely to grow in the future as our population ages and more people live longer with major illness. Care is typically provided to friends or family because of illness, disability, mental health problems or addiction.

Analysis by Carer’s UK suggests people in the UK have around a 65% chance of providing care in their adult lives. Surveys by the Health Foundation found that 51% of people who do not currently provide unpaid care think it is likely that they will need to do so at some point in their lives.

Caring can be rewarding, but without support to balance it with other responsibilities, providing care can come at a personal and financial cost. Overall, there is little state support available to unpaid carers in the UK and there have been only limited national policy changes to improve this in recent years. This lack of support results in many carers feeling isolated. Around a third (37%) of those surveyed by Carers UK said they felt overwhelmed due to insufficient support from social care services, with a similar proportion citing this was due to inadequate support from health services.

Identifying unpaid carers can be challenging; GP and local authority records are likely to be an underestimate of the numbers involved. Many people may not identify themselves as unpaid carers, especially where it is informal, irregular or seen as a family duty. Also, people’s experiences of caring vary; women are more likely to expect that they will need to provide care to family or friends, or already currently be doing so.

Key points from the report

• Unpaid carers play a vital role in society, supporting friends and family because of illness, disability, mental health problems or addiction. It is often rewarding but without the right support, it can have a significant personal and financial impacts on the person providing care.
• An analysis of available national UK survey data from 2018 to 2025 found that one in six of all UK adults – equivalent to 8.9 million people – provided unpaid care in 2023–25 (a finding which was similar for the period 2018–20). The actual extent of unpaid care may be higher, since not all unpaid carers will identify as such.
• Caring responsibilities did not fall equally across all members of society: older people and women were more likely to be unpaid carers
• Nearly two-thirds (61%) of carers provided less than 20 hours of unpaid care a week, but one in five (22%) provided more than 35 hours a week (2023–25). These carers were more likely to provide care in the home.
• 37% of unpaid carers aged 18–29-years-old themselves reported having a long-term health condition or being disabled, compared with 22% of 18–29-year-olds who were not providing unpaid care.
• Working-age unpaid carers are less likely to be in paid employment – 59% were in paid employment, compared with 67% who were not carers. This fell to 35% for those caring for more than 35 hours a week.
• There has been little government action to improve support for carers in England in recent years. Financial support is usually focused for those with lower incomes. Despite this, reliance on unpaid carers is embedded into the adult social care system. Limited access to state-funded support for people with care needs may leave people with no option but to rely on friends and family.
• In England, the Casey Commission provides an opportunity to a) enhance carers’ support and b) ease the burden of care by addressing social care funding. It states that ‘improving national support for carers – such as providing the right to paid leave and reviewing access to financial support – could help more carers lead healthy lives and balance caring with work and other responsibilities.’

To read the full report, including accessing all references, visit Unpaid Care: The Realities of Caring in the UK, published by the Health Foundation.

« Back to Briefings