Marriage is in long-term decline, according to new statistics released this week.

 

Figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that fewer couples are tying the knot, preferring co-habitation and serial partnerships.

 

Marriages dropped to 236,980, the lowest figure since records began with four per cent less couples in England and Wales going up the aisle in 2006 and over half the number of marriages in 1972 when marriage peaked.

 

Scottish marriages declined by three per cent to 29,898 whilst Northern Ireland was the only jurisdiction seeing an increase in marriage – up one per cent to 8259.

 

More couples are opting for civil cermonies, with 66 per cent chosing to avoid church, compared with 59 per cent in 1996.

 

Meanwhile, remarriage is also in decline, accounting for 39 per cent of marriages.

 

The National Statistics Office attributed the decline in part to a change in law in 2005 which outlawed ‘sham marriages’.

 

The figures reflect findings from www. takelegaladvice.com’s survey which questioned divorce lawyers on marriage and divorce. This research revealed that co-habitation was increasingly the preferred option for couples.