Women aged 25 are now more likely to have had a child than to be married. The latest landmark in the decline of marriage was uncovered yesterday in Social Trends, the annual snapshot of the nation by the Office for National Statistics.
Until recently more women had married by the age of 25 than had had a child.
In the 1970s nearly 80 per cent of women were married by 25, compared with 25 per cent now. About 50 per cent of 25-year-old females in the late 1970s had given birth. Although the figure has now fallen to 30 per cent, that is still more than the number getting married.
The ONS report also showed that the number of people getting married has dropped to its lowest level since 1895. Only 237,000 marriages took place in England and Wales in 2006 and the proportion of people who marry is now lower than when the rate was first calculated in 1862.
