婚姻趋势

The line graph illustrates how many marriages (total marriages, first marriages and remarriages) took place in England and Wales over the 50-year period from 1951 to 2001. Overall, the total number of marriages and the figure for first marriages both saw a decline after an initial rise, while remarriages increased steadily throughout the period. In addition, first marriages consistently accounted for the majority of marriages except for the slight upward trend of remarriages in the final years. In 1951, there were 400,000 total marriages in the UK, and this figure remained stable until 1961 before peaking at roughly 460,000 in 1971. After that, total marriages fell gradually to around 390,000 in 2001. Similarly, first marriages started at 350,000 in 1951, rose slightly to a peak of 360,000 a decade later, then dropped significantly to just over 260,000 by 2001. By contrast, remarriages were the least common type, starting at 150,000 in 1951. The number stayed relatively stable at about 150,000 until 1991, after which it rose to 210,000 in 2001.