The Office for National Statistics has produced new figures which show that marriage rates are at their lowest ever level.
The 2009 figures showed that 21.3 out of every 1,000 males over the age of 16 were married, down from 22.0 the year before, whilst 19.2 women were married, also down, from 19.9 in 2008. The ONS statistics also looked at the number of wedding recorded in 2009, which was 231,490 in England and Wales, the lowest recorded figure since 1895.
The marriage figures follow a month on from ONS figures which also showed a drop in the divorce rates in England and Wales, down 6.4% on the previous year, the lowest figures since 1974.
The ONS believes that the drop in the marriage rate is down to an increase in the number of people deciding to live together rather than going straight into marriage, and also more people deciding to delay their wedding. It says that the unmarried population, aged 16 or over, has consistently increased over the years, therefore that cannot be used an excuse for the low marriage rate.
Jenny North, head of public policy at Relate, the relationship support group, said that the ONS figures were worrying, adding that people were still aspiring towards getting married but fewer were actually fulfilling that aspiration.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/marriage-rate-falls-to-record-low-2257527.html