Married couples are happier than those living in any other family structure, according to a new study from the UK.

And those in other family forms are significantly more likely to be unhappy, the figures show, in particular divorced people.

Participants were asked to rate their life satisfaction from one to 10, with one to four meaning very low and nine to 10 being very high.

The study, carried out by the Office of National Statistics, found that only 3.59 percent of married couples or those in civil partnerships rate their life satisfaction as “very low”.

By comparison, those who were single or widowed were more than twice as likely to rate their life satisfaction as very low.

Meanwhile, those who were divorced or separated, or formerly in a civil partnership were over four times more likely to rate their life satisfaction as very low.

Married couples were also more likely to rate their life satisfaction as very high. Nearly 31pc of married couples or civil partners rate their life satisfaction in this way, compared to just over 20pc of singles, and 17.5pc of divorced, separated or former civil partners.

Meanwhile, the study also showed that stay-at-home mothers are slightly more likely to think their lives are worthwhile than women who are in paid work, the Daily Mail reports.

Mothers who work in the home tend not to suffer from boredom, frustration or feelings of worthlessness, according to the figures.

Full-time mothers gave the value of their lives a score of eight out of ten, compared to 7.8 for people in work.

The findings add further pressure to the Coalition Government to change the treatment of married couples where only one partner works.  

Couples with a full-time mother pay higher taxes in Britain than in almost every other western country and lose out badly in the benefits system, particularly over tax credits.

The ONS figures do not include a breakdown that reveals whether men or women at work are the happier. Nor is there any data to show the difference in contentment between full-time mothers who are married or cohabiting, and those who are single parents.

Campaigner Laura Perrins, who earlier this year accused Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on his radio programme of betraying stay-at-home mothers, yesterday made a fresh call for an end to Government ‘prejudice’.

‘I speak as a stay-at-home mother,’ she said. ‘I know that if you choose to stay at home with your children it is a worthwhile job. It is now clear that many mothers feel the same. The Government should not be denigrating those who stay at home.

‘Being a full-time mother can be challenging, but it is satisfying and worthwhile. It is obvious that all mothers do not want to work.’

Patricia Morgan, an author on family issues, added: ‘If we really want to take happiness seriously, as Mr Cameron advises, why don’t we promote the things that make us happy? Why can’t we support marriage, and why can’t we give married couples transferable tax allowances to help stay-at-home mothers?’

The findings are based on a survey of around 165,000 people, who were asked how satisfied, worthwhile, happy or anxious they felt about their lives.

A total of 77 per cent gave their satisfaction levels at least seven out of 10 – a year-on-year rise of 1.2 per cent. Some 81 per cent rated their lives as worthwhile with a score of seven or more, while the average value for life satisfaction rose from 7.4 to 7.5.