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The proportion of adults in England and Wales who are married or in a civil partnership has continued to decline over the past decade, while the number of people who have never married and those living together without a legal partnership has increased, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The annual population estimates for marital status and living arrangements show that married or civil partnered remained the most common legal partnership status among adults aged 18 and over in 2025, accounting for 51.1% of the population. However, this represents a slight fall from 52.3% in 2015.
Over the same period, the proportion of adults who had never married or entered into a civil partnership increased from 32.6% to 34.9%. The largest increases were recorded among people aged 25 to 34 and those aged between 45 and 69.
The ONS also reported continued growth in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships. People in civil partnerships accounted for 0.9% of adults in 2025, while those in same-sex marriages represented 0.4% of the adult population. Overall, there were 218,204 people in same-sex marriages, equivalent to 0.9% of all married people in England and Wales. Men accounted for almost two-thirds (64.5%) of people in same-sex marriages.
Looking at living arrangements, almost two-thirds (62.1%) of adults were living as part of a couple in 2025. Of these, 49.1% were living with a legal spouse or civil partner, 10.8% were cohabiting without having formed a legal partnership, and 2.2% were cohabiting following divorce or the death of a legal partner.
The proportion of adults cohabiting without ever having entered a marriage or civil partnership increased from 9.8% in 2015 to 10.8% in 2025. By contrast, the proportions living with a legal partner or cohabiting after divorce or bereavement both fell slightly over the same period.
The estimates are the first to reflect the position following the implementation of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, which raised the minimum age for marriage and civil partnership in England and Wales from 16 to 18 with effect from 27 February 2023. As a result, the 2025 data is the first year in which no one under the age of 18 can legally be married or in a civil partnership in England and Wales.
The ONS said the estimates for 2022 to 2024 have also been revised following updates to mid-year population estimates to incorporate improved international migration data. However, the revisions resulted in only minor changes to the published estimates.
