A summary of changes over time
Marriage & cohabitation
Percentage of single, divorced and separated women aged 18 to 49 cohabiting by legal marital status: Great Britain, 1979 to 2002
As questions on marriage and cohabitation were initially part of the GHS only for women aged 18 to 49, much of the longer-term trend data refers to this group.
The proportion of women aged 18 to 49 who were married has declined continuously since 1979, from almost three quarters (74 per cent) to less than a half (49 per cent) in 2002. During this same period, the proportion of single women has more than doubled from 18 per cent in 1979 to 38 per cent in 2002.
The proportion of non-married women who were cohabiting at the time of interview has increased from 11 per cent in 1979 to 29 per cent in 2002. Among single women, the proportion cohabiting has almost quadrupled (from 8 per cent in 1979 to 31 per cent in 2002).
The proportion of divorced women who were cohabiting at the time of interview rose from one in five (20 per cent) in 1979 to around one in three (between 32 and 35 per cent) since 1998.
For more detailed information, please download the Marriage & Cohabitation PDF on the right-hand side of the page.
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Households