MARRIAGE RATES HIT LOWEST RATE SINCE RECORDS BEGAN ALMOST 150 YEARS AGO
This Is London
March 26, 2008
Original LinkMarriage rates in England and Wales have plunged to their lowest rate since records began almost 150 years ago, according to the latest official figures.
Only a fraction more than two per cent of woman and 2.28 per cent of men over the age of 16 chose to get married in 2006.
The number of marriages for the whole year was just 236,980, a fall of four per cent on the previous year and lowest proportion of marriages since they were first recorded in 1862.
It is also the lowest number of marriages since 1895, when 228,204 tied the knot.
The provisional figures, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), showed the number of unmarried adults rose in 2006 but marriage rates actually fell.
Only 20.5 women in every 1,000 aged 16 and over chose to get married, down from 21.9 in the previous year.
The rate was slightly higher for men, at 22.8 per 1,000 over 16 years old, down from 24.5.
Marriage rates have been falling steadily over the past few decades, apart from a two-year gap between 2002 and 2004 when they actually rose.
Since 1981, marriages that are the first for both parties have dropped by 37 per cent and re-marriages have fallen by a quarter.
In 2006, first marriages made up 61 per cent of all ceremonies while re-marriages accounted for 18 per cent.
The figures also reveal that the average age of someone getting married has increased since 1991 by five years for men and four-and-a-half years for women.
The average age of women getting married is now 33.7 years and 36.4 years for men, which represents a slight rise compared to 2005.
For first marriages, the average ages are lower and 31.8 years for men and 29.7 for women.
Civil ceremonies made up 66 per cent of all ceremonies in 2006, up one per cent on the previous year and almost 20 per cent higher than in 1990.
But the number of civil marriages actually fell by three per cent between 2005 and 2006, down to 157,490.
The popularity of religious ceremonies dropped by even more, down seven per cent to 79,490 -- half the number of church marriages in 1991. They made up 34 per cent of all marriages in 2006.
More people than ever are choosing to get married in locations of their own choice.
Just over 95,300 marriages took place in "approved premises" in 2006, accounting for 40 per cent of all ceremonies and 60 per cent of civil marriages.
This was a rise of four per cent on 2005, and a massive 35 per cent rise since 1996.
Final marriage figures for 2005 were also released today, showing a nine per cent fall in marriages compared to 2004. The largest drop was in London (29 per cent) and the smallest was in the North East (three per cent).
It is thought a change in the law in February 2005, which was designed to discourage "sham marriages", contributed to the fall in ceremonies between 2005 and 2006.
Divorce rates also fell in 2005 to 13.1 divorces for every 1,000 married couples in England and Wales, a drop of eight per cent on the previous year.