UK MARRIAGES & DIVORCES |
|
|
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
|
|
thousands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of first marriages |
|
330 |
336 |
389 |
279 |
241 |
180 |
|
|
Number of re-marriages |
|
78 |
57 |
82 |
140 |
135 |
126 |
|
|
Number
of marriages |
|
408 |
394 |
471 |
418 |
375 |
306 |
|
|
Number of divorces |
|
33 |
26 |
63 |
160 |
168 |
155 |
|
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|
|
|
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|
|
YEAR
2000 COMPARISONS |
|
vs 1950 |
vs 1960 |
vs 1970 |
vs 1980 |
vs 1990 |
|
|
% change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of first marriages |
|
-45% |
-46% |
-54% |
-35% |
-25% |
|
|
|
|
Number of re-marriages |
|
62% |
120% |
54% |
-10% |
-7% |
|
|
|
|
Number
of marriages |
|
-25% |
-22% |
-35% |
-27% |
-19% |
|
|
|
|
Number of divorces |
|
368% |
502% |
146% |
-3% |
-8% |
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|
KEY
FACT: First marriages have halved since 1970 whereas re-marriages have
doubled |
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FREQUENCY OF MARRIAGE & DIVORCE |
|
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
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|
minutes |
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|
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|
A first marriage takes place every |
1.6 |
1.6 |
1.4 |
1.9 |
2.2 |
2.9 |
|
|
A second marriage takes place every |
6.8 |
9.2 |
6.4 |
3.8 |
3.9 |
4.2 |
|
|
A marriage takes place every |
|
1.3 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
1.3 |
1.4 |
1.7 |
|
|
A divorce takes place every |
|
15.9 |
20.5 |
8.4 |
3.3 |
3.1 |
3.4 |
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KEY
FACT: In 1960, a divorce took place every 20 minutes. Since 1980, a divorce
has taken place every 3 minutes |
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|
YEAR
2000 COMPARISONS |
|
vs 1950 |
vs 1960 |
vs 1970 |
vs 1980 |
vs 1990 |
|
|
% change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of first marriages |
|
-45% |
-46% |
-54% |
-35% |
-25% |
|
|
|
|
Number of re-marriages |
|
62% |
120% |
54% |
-10% |
-7% |
|
|
|
|
Number
of marriages |
|
-25% |
-22% |
-35% |
-27% |
-19% |
|
|
|
|
Number of divorces |
|
368% |
502% |
146% |
-3% |
-8% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KEY
FACT: Compared to the 1950s, there are now 25% fewer marriages but 5 times as
many divorces every year |
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|
|
UK
MARRIAGE RATES |
|
|
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
For every 1,000 unmarried
men, there are |
58 |
62 |
81 |
60 |
42 |
28 |
marriages per year |
|
For every 1,000 unmarried
women, there are |
43 |
46 |
61 |
48 |
36 |
26 |
marriages per year |
|
A million marriages takes |
|
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.1 |
2.4 |
2.7 |
3.3 |
years |
|
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KEY
FACT: Marriage rates peaked in 1970 and have since fallen by about half |
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|
YEAR
2000 COMPARISON |
|
vs 1950 |
vs 1960 |
vs 1970 |
vs 1980 |
vs 1990 |
|
|
|
% change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marriage rate for men |
|
-51% |
-54% |
-65% |
-53% |
-33% |
|
|
Marriage rate for women |
|
-40% |
-44% |
-58% |
-46% |
-29% |
|
|
KEY
FACT: Compared to the 1950s, marriage rates are now 40-50% lower |
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UK
DIVORCE RATES |
|
|
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For every 1,000 married men,
there are |
2.2 |
1.7 |
4.4 |
11.4 |
12.6 |
12.7 |
divorces per year |
|
For every 1,000 married
women, there are |
2.2 |
1.7 |
4.4 |
11.4 |
12.5 |
12.3 |
divorces per year |
|
A
million divorces takes |
|
30.2 |
38.9 |
15.9 |
6.3 |
6.0 |
6.5 |
years |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
KEY
FACT: In the 1950s, a million divorces would have taken 30 years. Since 1980,
a million divorces have occurred every 6 years. |
|
YEAR
2000 COMPARISON |
|
vs 1950 |
vs 1960 |
vs 1970 |
vs 1980 |
vs 1990 |
|
|
|
% change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Divorce rate for men |
|
487% |
630% |
188% |
11% |
1% |
|
|
Divorce rate for women |
|
464% |
604% |
179% |
8% |
-2% |
|
|
KEY
FACT: Divorce rates have been steady since 1980 but 6 times higher than they
were in the 1950s |
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UK MARRIED/UNMARRIED POPULATION |
|
1950 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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For every 100 married people
there are |
54 |
50 |
47 |
56 |
72 |
90 |
unmarried people |
|
For every 100 unmarried
people there are |
184 |
198 |
212 |
178 |
139 |
111 |
married people |
|
KEY
FACT: The married population has declined steadily since 1950. The unmarried
population has risen fast since 1970 |
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Sources: |
Data for UK marriages and divorces
are direct from ONS and therefore accurate |
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Data
on populations have been extrapolated from intermittent ONS data for England
& Wales |
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This has then been converted to UK
rates and populations at a constant rate |
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Likely errors due to extrapolation
and conversion are very small, in the region of +/- 2% at most |
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