Only one in ten Gen Zers in the UK have had children at 23 compared with almost one in four millennials at a similar age, while the former are also far less likely to have left home in young adulthood, a study has revealed.

The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) follows the lives of about 19,000 young people across the UK classified as Gen Z, who were born between 2000 and 2002.

However, despite the significant decrease in younger people having children, the vast majority of Gen Z still expressed a strong desire to become parents in the future. Some 61 per cent said they would definitely like to have children or have more offspring if they were already parents.

The MCS also found that more than two thirds of Gen Z, or 68 per cent, were living with their parents at the age of 23. This number is three times the proportion of millennials who were living at home at a comparative age a decade earlier.

Lead researcher, Charlotte Booth, said the findings suggested Gen Zers were delaying adult milestones compared with previous generations. She said this was “partly due to challenging economic conditions and the high cost of living, making it unaffordable for young people to move out”.