Marriage Statistics
Marriages, United Kingdom, 1951 - 2006 In 2006, there were 275,140 weddings in the UK, a fall of 4 per cent since 2005. Marriages in England and Wales fell by 4 per cent in 2006 to 236,980, which is the lowest number of marriages since 1895. In Scotland, marriages dropped 3 per cent to 29,898, whilst in Northern Ireland marriages increased 1 per cent to 8,259. The long-term picture for UK weddings is one of decline from a peak of 480,285 marriages in 1972. In England and Wales, the number of unmarried adults rose in 2006, but the number who chose to marry fell, producing the lowest marriage rates on record. In 2006, the marriage rate for men was 22.8 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried men aged 16 and over, down from 24.5 in 2005. The marriage rate for women in 2006 was 20.5 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried women aged 16 and over, down from 21.9 in 2005. The number of marriages in England and Wales that were the first for both partners peaked in 1940 at 426,100 when 91 per cent of all marriages were the first for both partners. This number has since fallen to 144,120 in 2006, accounting for 61 per cent of all marriages. Remarriages rose by about a third between 1971 and 1972 following the introduction of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 in England and Wales and then levelled off. In 2006, 92,870 marriages were remarriages for one or both parties accounting for 39 per cent of all marriages. Since 1992, there have been more civil ceremonies in England and Wales than religious ceremonies. In 2006, civil ceremonies accounted for 66 per cent of all ceremonies, an increase from 59 per cent in 1996. The Marriage Act 1836 and the Registration Act 1836 came into force in 1837 in England and Wales and provided the statutory basis for regulating and recording marriages. There were 118,000 marriages in the first full year of civil registration in 1838 in England and Wales. Annual numbers of marriages rose steadily from the 1840s to the 1940s apart from peaks and troughs around the two world wars. A change in the law from 1 February 2005 designed to discourage 'sham marriages' may have been one of the many factors that have contributed to a drop in the number of marriages since 2004. Sources: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Notes: UK and England and Wales figures for 2006 are rounded and provisional. Final marriage figures for England and Wales are produced when complete returns have been received from register offices. In 2005 final figures increased by approximately 3,100 records from the provisional first release of figures. The Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 provided a greater choice of marriage venues and types of ceremony available and made the preliminaries to a marriage the same for everyone. The Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 allowed civil marriages to be solemnised at locations other than registration offices and authorised local councils to approve locations for marriage. The marriage figures relate only to marriages taking place in the constituent countries of the United Kingdom. They take no account of marriages of UK residents taking place abroad
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