UK: Marriage numbers fall to record low

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UK: Marriage numbers fall to record low

The number of adults choosing to marry has fallen to the lowest level since records began.
While the number of unmarried adults rose in 2005, the number who chose to wed dropped, producing the lowest marriage rates since they were first calculated in 1862.
Provisional figures published today by the Office for National Statistics show the marriage rate for men was 24.2 per 1,000 unmarried men aged 16 and over, down from 27.8 in 2004.
Meanwhile for women, the marriage rate in 2005 was 21.6 per 1,000, down from 24.6 a year earlier.
In total, the actual number of marriages annually also fell to the lowest levels since 1896.
There were 244,710 marriages in 2005, compared to 273,070 in 2004, and 242,764 in 1896.
It is believed one of the factors contributing to the low marriage rate is a change in law from February 1 2005 which was designed to discourage "sham marriages".
The statistics revealed that the number of civil marriage ceremonies fell by 13%, from 184,910 in 2004, to 160,270 in 2005.
A total of 60% of marriages were the first for both parties in 2005, with remarriages accounting for 19%.
Religious ceremonies accounted for 46% of first time marriages, up from 42% in 2004.
The figures also showed the trend to marry later is continuing.
In 10 years since 1995, the average age to marry has increased by just over three years for men and just under three years for women.
The average age to marry in 2005 was 36.2 for men, and 33.6 for women.
:: The figures related only to marriages solemnised in England and Wales.
Marriages of England and Wales residents that take place outside these countries are not included.

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