Spotlight
Marriages in England and Wales: 2020
What's in the bulletin?
- n 2020, marriages were affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including the temporary closure of wedding venues and registration offices; additionally restrictions including the number of guests may also have impacted marriages.
- There were 85,770 marriages in total in England and Wales in 2020, a decrease of 61.0% from 219,850 in 2019; the lowest number of marriages on record since 1838.
- Marriage rates have fallen to their lowest on record in 2020; for men, there were 7.4 marriages per 1,000 men not in a legal partnership compared with 19.1 in 2019; for women, there were 7.0 marriages per 1,000 women not in a legal partnership compared with 17.8 in 2019.
Civil partnerships in England and Wales: 2021
What's in the bulletin?
- In 2021, there were 6,731 civil partnerships formed in England and Wales, a decrease of 19.4% from 8,351 in 2020.
- The number and timing of civil partnership formations and dissolutions granted during 2020 and 2021 may have been affected by restrictions around ceremonies and receptions, and disruption to registration services and family court activities in England and Wales during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
- The majority (5,692) of civil partnership formations in 2021 were between opposite-sex couples; this is a decrease of a quarter (24.8%) from 7,566 in 2020, the first full year that opposite-sex civil partnerships had been possible in England and Wales.
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 partnership 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: 2020
Number of marriages that took place in England and Wales analysed by age, sex, previous partnership 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
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