Over half a million children in the Netherlands live in mixed families as the number of couples breaking up increases, according to figures from national statistics office CBS.

The number of youngsters under 18 with at least one step sibling, one step parent, or half sibling has grown by some 180,000 in the last 20 years, the CBS said.

At the last count, in 2017, some 527,000 youngsters, or 16% of all children in the Netherlands, lived in mixed families. In 1997 that number was 348,000 or one in ten.

One in three children in mixed families live with both biological parents but also have half siblings.