The number of Jewish couples living out of wedlock has risen by 2.5 percent over the last decade and stands at 73,000, according to a Central Bureau of Statistics report published on Wednesday. The report released ahead of Family Day on January 31, which replaced mother's and father's days, sheds light on the changing demographics of the Israeli population. Currently 3.9% of couples choose to live together without getting married. The other 96.1% of couples continue to go the traditional marriage route, though the report says their numbers are decreasing. According to the report, there are currently 114,000 single-parent families -- 6.1% of all families, as opposed to 89,000 in 2000, a 28% rise. The number of divorced men stands at 163,000 and divorced women at 254,000. There are more single males (35%) than females (28%). The report also cited a near doubling of the number of single mothers with children under the age of 17 --16,500. The average family with children earns 15,941 shekels ($4,563) a month -- 28.6% more than the average household without children.
