Planning or pricing a funeral in the UK? Here's the current picture, drawn from the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, NISRA, the Cremation Society of Great Britain and industry cost surveys — with sources noted throughout, since funeral cost figures in particular vary depending on who's measuring and how.
How many people die in the UK each year?
662,062 deaths were registered across the UK in 2023 — 581,363 in England & Wales, 63,455 in Scotland and 17,254 in Northern Ireland. England & Wales deaths rose 0.7% on 2022, with dementia and Alzheimer's the leading cause, accounting for roughly 11.5% of deaths (66,876). Provisional 2025 figures for England & Wales show 570,988 deaths, with the age-standardised mortality rate at its lowest since records in this form began in 1994.
UK cremation rates in 2024
80.25% of funerals across the British Isles involved cremation in 2024 — the highest rate ever recorded, based on 522,733 recorded cremations. The national picture varies sharply:
- England & Wales: 82.4%
- Scotland: 71.7%
- Northern Ireland: around 23%, reflecting the region's religious heritage
That gap matters for printing: cremation services are typically shorter and more likely to centre on a single order-of-service booklet, while regions with lower cremation rates see a different mix of ceremony printing. For the history behind this shift, see our history of funeral printing in the UK.
What does a funeral cost in the UK in 2025?
According to SunLife's Cost of Dying report (21st edition, a commercial industry survey — see caveat below), the average attended funeral in the UK reached £4,285 in 2025, up 3.5% on the previous year. Costs vary enormously by region:
- London: £5,449 (most expensive)
- Northern Ireland: £3,441 (least expensive)
- Direct cremation (no attended service): £1,597
- Total "cost of dying" (funeral plus send-off, admin and other costs): £9,797
Direct cremation, with no attended ceremony, now accounts for roughly one in five UK funerals. It's worth noting that SunLife's figures are disputed in parts by trade bodies SAIF and NAFD, who argue over how a "simple funeral" should be defined — so treat these as an industry-reported estimate rather than an official government statistic.
How much does an order of service cost to print?
Printed stationery is a small line item against the total cost of a funeral. A5 orders of service typically cost £1–£3 per copy depending on quantity, paper weight and finish, with most families ordering 50–100 copies. As a real-world reference point, one UK specialist funeral stationer advertises banded pricing of roughly £15 for 10 copies, £79 for 50 and £109 for 100 — illustrating how sharply the per-copy price falls as quantity increases. There's no single official "average UK price" for funeral printing; figures vary supplier to supplier.
Religion and funeral practice in the UK
The 2021 census (England & Wales) recorded 46.2% of the population as Christian, 37.2% with no religion, 6.5% Muslim, 1.7% Hindu, 0.9% Sikh, 0.5% Jewish and 0.5% Buddhist. Religion strongly shapes what gets printed for a funeral: Christian services tend to be printing-heavy, with orders of service built around hymns, liturgy and photographs, while Islamic funerals are typically printing-light, reflecting a tradition of rapid, simple burial. Humanist and non-religious ceremonies — an estimated one in five UK funerals, delivered partly through Humanists UK's network of 550+ accredited celebrants — tend to be highly personalised and photograph-led rather than following a liturgical template.
The UK printing industry at a glance
The wider UK printing industry that funeral stationers operate within turned over £13.7bn in 2024, across an estimated 6,800–7,200 companies employing 93,000–98,000 people (figures vary slightly by release and methodology). Notably, roughly three-quarters of UK print companies employ fewer than ten people — this is very much an industry of small, specialist businesses rather than a few large printers, which is exactly the landscape a family or funeral director is choosing from when they order.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of UK funerals are cremations?
80.25% across the British Isles in 2024 — the highest rate ever recorded — though this varies from around 82% in England & Wales to roughly 23% in Northern Ireland.
How much does the average UK funeral cost in 2025?
£4,285 for an attended funeral on average, according to SunLife's 2025 Cost of Dying report, though this varies from £3,441 in Northern Ireland to £5,449 in London. Direct cremation with no attended service averages £1,597.
How many orders of service should I order?
Most families order based on expected attendance plus a margin of spares — commonly 50 to 100 copies for a typical service, though this varies with venue size and how many guests are expected.
Is direct cremation becoming more common?
Yes — it's now estimated at around one in five UK funerals, a trend that has knock-on effects for funeral printing, since a direct cremation typically has no attended ceremony, though families often hold a separate memorial event afterwards.
Continue reading
Read the history of funeral printing in the UK, or check what you can legally print — hymns, poems and photographs each have different copyright rules.
See our order of service printing and memory board printing services, or return to the Funeral & Memorial Printing hub.
Sources: Office for National Statistics; National Records of Scotland; NISRA; Cremation Society of Great Britain; SunLife Cost of Dying report (21st edition); House of Commons Library / ONS 2021 census; British Printing Industries Federation; Humanists UK. Cost and industry figures are commercial/industry estimates captured in 2026 and may change.