Marriage revealed to be out of fashion in census league table of togetherness

In the West Midlands, rural areas of Staffordshire and Shropshire show the highest proportion of married couples, with urban areas lower down the list, new figures show.

Nearly four in 10 adults in England and Wales have never been married or been in a civil partnership, up from three in 10 at the start of the century.

The percentage nationally has risen in recent decades, from 26.3 per cent in 1991 to 30.1 per cent in 2001 and 34.6 per cent in 2011, reaching 37.9 per cent on the day of the latest census in March 2021.

The proportion of adults in a legally registered partnership has fallen over the same period, down from an average of 58.4 per cent in 1991 to 46.9 per cent by 2021.

The only areas of the wider West Midlands with a higher than UK average proportion of legal partnerships are in Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Stafford and Herefordshire. The rest are either at or below the average, with Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Wrexham at the bottom.

The latest data also shows that the long-term increase in the proportion of adults who are divorced or have had a civil partnership dissolved has almost come to a halt – with similar figures on average for 2011 and 2021, at around nine per cent.

Telford & Wrekin appears to be the divorce capital of the West Midlands at 10.4 per cent.

There has been a sharp rise in the proportion of young adults in England and Wales who have never been married or in a civil partnership – with more than half of women aged 30-34 in this category and 63.8 per cent of men in the same age group.

The biggest increase is among females aged 25 to 29, up from 67.8 per cent in the 2011 census to 80.5 per cent a decade later.

While 18.3 per cent of women aged 30-34 were unmarried or not civil partnered in 1991, that rose to 43.7 per cent in 2011 and was at 54.2 per cent in 2021.

For men, the biggest increase is among 30-34 year-olds, up 9.1 percentage points from 54.7 per cent in 2011 to 63.8 per cent at the time of the census.

Nearly nine in 10 males aged 25-29 are now unmarried or not civil partnered, up from eight in 10 in 2011 and just over half in 1991.

The ONS said census data showed that the average age for people in same-sex marriages is 44, compared with 55 for heterosexual married couples.

For same-sex civil partnerships the average age is 53.

The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in England and Wales became law in 2013.

Steve Smallwood, demography topic lead at the ONS, said: “The census gives us a fascinating picture of how society is changing and today’s analysis shows us, for example, that 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.

“When we account for age distribution, we can also see the proportions of adults overall who have never been married or civil partnered was highest among adults reporting ‘no religion’ and within the black and mixed ethnic groups.”

The statistics show that almost a fifth of women aged 55-59 are divorced or were in a civil partnership that is now dissolved, the highest level for any age group and up from around one in 12 in 1991.

The highest figure for men is in the 60-64 age group, at 15.5 per cent, up from 5.7 per cent in 1991.

The proportion of adults who are divorced or who used to be civil partnered increased between 2011 and 2021 for all women aged 55 and over, while for men it has risen in all groups aged 60 and over.

The drop in the proportion of younger adults who are divorced is expected to be partly a result of the increase in the average age at marriage, the ONS said.

Meanwhile, the proportion of adults who are widowed has declined steadily, from 9.1 per cent in 1991 to 6.1 per cent in 2021.