Fewest in England and Wales since 1897

In 2001, there were 286,100 weddings in the UK – 6.5 per cent fewer than in 2000. This continues the long-term downward trend that began in 1973

The number of first marriages peaked in 1970 at almost 390,000, and has since fallen to less than half this number – 171,900 in 2001.

Over the last few decades people have tended to marry later in life. In 1961 the average age for first marriages in England and Wales was 26 for men and 23 for women. By 2001 this had risen to 31 and 28 respectively.

A rise in the number of people living together helps to explain the recent trend towards later marriage. But other factors, such as increased and longer participation in further and higher education, particularly among women, have also contributed to it.

Remarriages rose by about a third between 1971 and 1972 following the introduction in England and Wales of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 and then levelled off. In 2001 there were 114,200, accounting for two-fifths of all marriages.

The Marriage Act 1836 and the Registration Act 1836 came into force in 1837 in England and Wales, and provided the statutory basis for regulating and recording marriages. There were 118 thousand marriages during the first full year of civil registration in 1838 in England and Wales. Annual numbers of marriages rose steadily from the 1840s to the 1940s, apart from peaks and troughs in and around the years of the two World Wars.

There were 249,227 marriages in England and Wales in 2001, a fall of 7 per cent from 267,961 in 2000. This is the lowest annual number of marriages since 1897 and continues the long-term downward trend that began in 1973, despite a rise of 1.7 per cent in 2000.