SAME-SEX married couples and those in civil partnerships tend to be younger, nonreligious, and have greater educational levels than their opposite-sex counterparts, as revealed by the Office for National Statistics.
Data from the (ONS) also demonstrate a persistent trend towards fewer individuals getting married, with the number of marriages occurring at the lowest rate ever.
In England and Wales, nearly 4 out of 10 adults have never been married or a part of a civil partnership, up from 3 out of 10 before the turn of the century.
From 26.3 per cent in 1991 to 30.1 per cent in 2001 and 34.6 per cent in 2011, the percentage has progressively increased over the past few decades, reaching 37.9 per cent on the day of the most recent census in March 2021.
Also the data revealed that adults from Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African backgrounds, as well as “mixed and multiple” backgrounds, had the greatest percentage of persons who had never been married or in a civil partnership.
Steve Smallwood, Demography topic lead at the ONS, said: “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,” he 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.”
Throughout the same time period, the proportion of adults who are members of a legally recognised partnership has decreased, from 58.4 per cent in 1991 to 46.9 per cent by 2021.
The statistics show that almost a fifth (19.4 per cent) 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 (8.3 per cent) 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.
Between 2011 and 2021, the percentage of adults who are divorced or who were once in a civil partnership increased for all women over the age of 55, while it climbed for men over the age of 60 in all groups. Meanwhile, the proportion of adults who are widowed has declined steadily across the decades from 9.1 per cent in 1991 to 6.1 per cent in 2021. According to the ONS, the decline in the percentage of younger persons who are divorced is anticipated to be partially due to an increase in the average age at marriage.
The first regions of the UK to legalise same-sex marriages were England and Wales. Since then, Scotland (in 2014) and, most recently, Northern Ireland have both given LGBTQ+ couples the ability to get married (in 2020).
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