Over 13% of the couples who have moved in together over the past five years met online, according to new figures on finding a partner from the national statistics office CBS.

In particular older people and people who have been divorced are more likely to meet a new partner online, the CBS said. Some 37% of the over-55s met their new partner online, as did 22% of people aged 45 to 55.

Around half of the internet couples met via a dating site. The others met online but not as formal dates.

Nevertheless, clubbing, holidays and other leisure activities remain the most common ways of finding a partner, with a 33% success rate, the CBS said.

The average age gap of people who meet online is 3.2 years, which is a marked difference in the four year gap between people who first met in the flesh.