The Funeral Survey 2023: The UK Public’s Perfect Funeral
What makes the perfect funeral?
The funeral guide surveyed 1800 of the UK public to ask them some questions about funerals….the report was published in June 2023. The first survey was conducted 6 years before and the results have not changed that much in terms of the number one most popular funeral type.
A modest and respectable funeral – simple and traditional, potentially with a smaller number of guests
This option has seen a 29% rise in popularity over the years.
Fun and vibrant funerals
This was the second most popular choice – with bright colours, truly celebrating life. There has been a downturn in popularity of 29% since 2017. In fact only 21% of people would opt for this for their funeral.
Have a grand send off!
Not just for celebrities! 21% of the public surveyed wanted to choose this more eye catching and bigger funeral type. It’s never been such a “British” thing but who knows in the future if we might start to embrace a little more of everything for our departures! Of course the pandemic in 2021 which massively impacted on gatherings size and style may be having a longer effect still on how we think about funerals. Whilst still in third place, more extravagant funerals are on the rise, with a 71% increase in popularity since 2021.
Religion?
25% more people since 2017 would choose a non-religious service and it remains the stand out preference since the surveys began.
17% of people would opt for a religious service in 2023 – a 37% decrease since 2017.
These results are supported by the latest ONS report. “No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12% to 37.2% (22.2 million people) from 25.2% (14.1 million) in 2011.
Burial
71% of the 2023 respondents would prefer to be cremated than buried. Cremation has been chosen by the majority of the public every year since 2017.
Burial is slowly dropping in popularity, with a 23% decline since 2017.
Where?
Following the result above it’s not surprising that the crematorium has remained the most wanted place to hold a funeral service however after a steady increase in popularlity each year, from 2022 there has been a small 10% drop.
After crematoriums comes churches. Woodland burial grounds are the least popular option chosen, however this location has seen bursts of popularity over the years and it will be interesting to see where the trend heads next.
Source : https://www.funeralguide.co.uk/
Other interesting points
Who will come?
60% of people want anyone who knows them to attend their funeral. This is an “open invitation” that has been growing in popularity. A smaller group of respondents only wanted to invite family, while the second most popular answer was friends and family.
Who will lead it?
More than half of Brits would opt for a personalised funeral using a celebrant – there has been a 92% increase in popularity in the past six years. 28% want a vicar and 9% a family member or close friend.
Donations?
67% of people would ask for charity donations but this has dropped by 34% since 2022.
