4/9/2014

Half of 20-year-olds will never marry in 'devastating' trend - Telegraph

Half of 20-year-olds will never marry in 'devastating' trend

Couples are increasingly cohabiting without ever taking the decision to commit, as
figures show a generational shift away from marriage

According to current trends, only 61 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women aged 40 today will ever
marry Photo: Alam y

By James Edgar
10:44AM BST 09 Jun 2014

Half of 20-year-olds will never get married, according to new research.

Couples are instead increasingly cohabiting without ever taking the decision to commit, as
figures show a generational shift away from marriage.
A report by the The Marriage Foundation, using the latest Office for National Statistics
data, reveals that 47 per cent of women and 48 per cent of men aged twenty will never
marry.
The baby-boomer generation, born between the end of World War Two and the early 1960s,
has maintained a healthy level of marriage, with 87 per cent of men and 92 per cent of
women having married at some stage.
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4/9/2014

Half of 20-year-olds will never marry in 'devastating' trend - Telegraph

However, subsequent generations are facing a sharp decline in marriage rates.

Half of forty year olds today are already married, but they are not expected to reach the
levels of set by their parents.
According to current trends, only 61 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women aged 40
today will ever marry a decline of 26 per cent for men and 24 per cent for women.
However, the greatest decline in marriage has taken place among those in their twenties. In
1970, the peak year for marriage, 564,818 men and women aged 25 got married. In 2010,
just 56,598 did, a fall of 90 per cent.
Today, only five per cent of men and ten per cent of women aged 25 are married, as
compared to 60 per cent of men and 80 per cent of women forty-four years ago.
When the trends are applied to todays 20 year olds, figures show that only 52 per cent of
those men and 53 per cent of women are expected to ever marry.
Harry Benson, research director for the Marriage Foundation, said: What were seeing is
the devastating trickle-down effect of the trend away from marriage.
At the moment, we have high proportions of parents and grandparents who have got married
at some stage and for the most part stayed together.
They provide role models for the next generation, showing that most marriages can be
successful with enough work, communication and dedication. They also show what can be
gained from making a marriage work in terms of the stability it provides for a family.
However, fewer of todays forty year olds will be in a position to demonstrate the
positives of a stable household cemented by marriage.
Their childrens generation, currently in their twenties will suffer twofold; first from a
higher level of family breakdown when they themselves are young and secondly from the
lack of familiarity with the benefits of marriage as they look to start their own families.
Let us not forget that the argument for marriage is not a moral or religious one, but based
on concrete facts. Cohabiting couples account for only 19 per cent of parents but 50 per
cent of family breakdown. Among parents who stay together until their children reach 15, a
tiny seven per cent are cohabiting couples.
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4/9/2014

Half of 20-year-olds will never marry in 'devastating' trend - Telegraph

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