As noted earlier, questions relating to cohabitation on the GHS were initially asked only of women aged 18 to 49. Time series analysis for this group is therefore longer than for any other group and is presented in Tables 5.7 and 5.8.

Among women aged 18 to 49:

• Since 1979 the proportion married has shown a continuous decline from 74% in 1979 to 61% in 1991 and 50% in 2001;
• the proportion of single women has doubled from 18% in 1979 to 36% in 2001.

In terms of current cohabitation among women aged 18 to 49:

• there has been a marked increase in the proportion of non-married women who were cohabiting, from 11% in 1979 to 32% in 2001;
• the proportion of single women cohabiting more than quadrupled, from 8% in 1979 to 35% in 2001.