Marital Status

The decline in marriage rates and an increase in divorce rates has led to a [blank] in the proportion of the population that is formally married. In 1986, 60% of the population aged 15 years and over were married; by 2001 this proportion had decreased to 55%. [blank] , the proportion of the population aged 15 years and over who were never married increased from 29% in 1986 to 32% in 2001. At the same time, the proportion of the population who were divorced increased, from 5% in 1986 to 7% in 2001, [blank] the proportion of the population who were widowed remained at around 6%. In 2001 the number of never-married males exceeded that of never-married females with 121 never-married males per 100 never-married females. In contrast, females were [blank] numerous than males among both the divorced and widowed populations with 78 divorced males per 100 divorced females and 24 widowed males per 100 widowed females in 2001.