|
Today, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published an article on the changing picture of marriage and civil partnership status in England and Wales.
This article provides an overview of adults' legal partnership status, including: changes over time; where groups of each legal partnership status live; education; ethnicity; and, religion.
The main findings from the analysis presented in this article include:
- The proportion of adults who have never married or been in a civil partnership has increased every decade from 26.3% in 1991 to 37.9% in 2021, whereas the proportion of adults who are married or in a civil partnership (including separated) has fallen from 58.4% in 1991 to 46.9% in 2021.
- The increase in adults who have never been married or in a civil partnership (since 2011), after standardising for age, is seen across all local authorities, religious groups and ethnic groups.
- Between 2011 and 2021, the number of widowed adults (3.0 million) has decreased by 6.3%, women who are widowed decreased by 8.3%, but the number of men who are widowed increased by 0.6%.
- The proportion of adults who are divorced is similar in 2021 (9.1%) and 2011 (9.0%); the proportion of younger adults who are divorced has decreased whereas the proportion of older adults has increased.
- Adults in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are more likely to be younger, have no religion, and have higher level qualifications than adults in opposite-sex marriages.
|
