A fourth of children born last year were births outside marriage, the National Statistics Office said.

In a statement issued to commemorate the International Day of Families, being celebrated tomorrow, the NSO said there were 4,078 registered live births - 2,136 boys and 1,942 girls last year. The majority of babies were born to mothers aged between 30 and 34.

The NSO also said that 45,955 families received children’s allowances last year and 3,649 families received maternity benefits.

22.6 per cent of households comprised single person households and 12.4 per cent consisted of households with two adults and two dependent children.

Those mostly at-risk-of-poverty in 2012 were living in single parent households, with 47.6 per cent of persons in this category being at risk.

The at-risk-of-poverty or social exclusion rate for the same household category stood at 66.3 per cent.

In 2012, a total of 9,196 children attended an average of 26 hours per week pre-school education. A total 12,403 children spent an average six hours at day care centres, while 12,056 children spent an average of 17 hours per week being cared for by grandparents or other relatives.

The employment rate in 2013 stood at 60.4 per cent for single persons and 62 per cent for persons who were married. The latter rate varied greatly when disaggregated by sex, differing from 82.7 per cent among married men to 42.4 per cent for married women.

More than 80 per cent of households had access to a computer in 2013, with the highest prevalence being in households comprising two adults with children. The same trend was also observed with regard to the percentage of households with internet access at home.

While 96.4 per cent of internet users were aged between 16 and 24, the percentage decreased steadily with age, to 22.8 per cent for persons aged 65-74.