(MENAFN) For the first time, fewer than half of adults in England and Wales are in a marriage or legal partnership, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) disclosed Wednesday, signaling a significant shift in relationship trends.

While marriage and civil partnerships remain the most common legal status, the ONS reported a decline from 51.5% in 2014 to 49.5% in 2024. The drop was particularly pronounced among adults aged 25 to 34 and those between 55 and 69, according to the data.

The Marriage Foundation, a charity established in 2012 to support marriage, expressed concern over the continuing decline. In an exclusive interview with media, the foundation warned, "this depressing trend will continue until government policy or social culture starts to prioritize marriage once again."

Conversely, the number of cohabiting couples—those living together without formal marriage or civil partnership—has surged, now representing 60.5% of the adult population in 2024.

Harry Benson, research director at the Marriage Foundation, told media the statistics highlight a persistent long-term trend dating back to the 1970s. “The continuation of a very slow long-term downtrend that began in the 1970s, which has seen the rich continue to marry, while less than half of those in the lowest socio-economic group wed, and in the poorest, less than one in five do.”

Benson further emphasized the social implications: “The most recent studies show that UK parents are significantly more likely to stay together if they are married, regardless of background. So marriage keeps couples out of poverty. And yet our perverse welfare policy penalizes couples who marry by removing their benefits.”

He concluded with a stark warning about family stability: "Record levels of family breakdown have been driven mostly by the collapse of relationships that were never formalized through marriage or civil partnership. The message from psychology and the data is simple: if you want to stay together, get married."

This report underscores mounting concerns about the decline in formal partnerships and its broader impact on social and economic well-being.

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