Spotlight
Marriages in England and Wales: 2019
What's in the bulletin?
- There were 219,850 marriages in total in England and Wales in 2019, a decrease of 6.4% from 2018.
- In 2019, there were 213,122 marriages between opposite-sex couples, a decrease of 6.5% from 2018 and 6,728 marriages between same-sex couples, a decrease of 2.8% from 2018.
- Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples have fallen to their lowest on record since 1862; in 2019, for men, there were 18.6 marriages per 1,000 unmarried men; for women, there were 17.2 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women.
Civil partnerships in England and Wales: 2020
What's in the bulletin?
- In 2020, there were 7,566 opposite-sex civil partnerships formed in England and Wales, of which 7,208 were registered in England and 358 were registered in Wales; this is the first year that civil partnerships between opposite-sex couples have been reported.
- There were 785 civil partnerships formed between same-sex couples in England and Wales in 2020, of which 745 were registered in England and 40 were registered in Wales; this is the lowest number recorded for England since the introduction of civil partnerships in 2005.
- Around three-quarters (73%) of same-sex civil partnerships formed in England and Wales in 2020 were to couples where both partners had never been in a marriage or civil partnership before; however, for opposite-sex partnerships, this was just over half (52%).
Milestones: journeying into adulthood
We used to think of getting married and having children as some of life's most important milestones. How are some of the modern markers of adulthood – from working life to living arrangements – changing?
Datasets related to Marriage, cohabitation and civil partnerships
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Marriages in England and Wales
Number of marriages that took place annually in England and Wales by age, sex, area, previous marital status, cohabitation, civil or religious ceremony, day and month of wedding, and marriage rates.
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Vital statistics in the UK: births, deaths and marriages
Annual UK and constituent country figures for births, deaths, marriages, divorces, civil partnerships and civil partnership dissolutions.
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Civil partnership dissolutions
Civil partnership dissolutions which took place in England and Wales analysed by sex and quarter of occurrence.
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Civil partnership formations
Civil partnership formations which took place in England and Wales analysed by sex, age, partnership type, previous marital status and area of occurrence.
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Population estimates by marital status and living arrangements, England and Wales
Annual estimates of population by marital status and living arrangements by age group and sex.
Publications related to Marriage, cohabitation and civil partnerships
Statistical bulletins
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Marriages in England and Wales: 2019
Number of marriages that took place in England and Wales analysed by age, sex, previous marital status and civil or religious ceremony.
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Civil partnerships in England and Wales: 2021
Annual statistics on formations and dissolutions of civil partnerships analysed by the sex, age, partnership type and previous marital status of the couples and the place of registration.
Articles
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2011 Census analysis
We examine couples (either married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting) who each identify with a different ethnic group. This analysis explores some of the different factors that may affect the number of inter-ethnic relationships, including ethnic group, gender, age, type of relationship and dependent children. Exploring inter-ethnic relationships provides further insight into the patterns and trends of an increasingly ethnically diverse population. In 2011 nearly 1 in 10 people who were living as part of a couple were in an inter-ethnic relationship, an increase from 2001.
Methodology related to Marriage, cohabitation and civil partnerships
Looking for local statistics?
A handy guide to let you know where to find local statistics.