Over the last five decades, the percentage of women who are married by the age of 30 in the UK has dropped considerably.
Data from the UN revealed that the percentage of women who were either married or in a civil union between the ages of 25 and 29 has dropped from more than 85% in 1972 to below half in 2022.
Moreover, the number of women getting married by the age of 25 has dropped to almost a third of the number it was 50 years ago.
The consistent fall in the percentage of younger women who are married can likely be explained by increased access to education, information and opportunities, as well as changes in societal views.
Shahra Razavi , Chief of research and data at UN Women said: “Across many regions women have greater opportunities to access education, they’re taking on more paid work and they’re even migrating in order to seek employment opportunities and better life opportunities.”
Moreover, the percentage of married women has dropped in every age group every decade.
In 1972 for example, the percentage of women aged 30-34 who were married was 90.8%.
In 2022, that figure has dropped significantly to 69.5%.
The age group whose marriage rate changed the most over the five decades was ages 20-24.
In 1972, 60% of women in this age group were married.
By 1992, the percentage had dropped to 42.7% and now, in 2022, only 20.8% of women aged 20-24 are married.
The data also reveals that in 1972 almost one in ten British women in the 15-19 age group were married.
This figure is now only 2.3%.
This dataset is interesting as it shows hugely significant changes in trends, particularly among younger women.
However, it also undeniably portrays just how cemented marriage still is in our culture, at least for women.
In 2022, only 28.8% of women aged 44-49 are not married – meaning nearly three quarters of women of that age group are.
Whilst this number has steadily risen since 1972, when it was only 13.1%, it is a staggeringly high proportion of women.
We can certainly ascertain that the average age women are marrying is rising steadily, but what we haven’t seen is evidence that the prevalence of marriage has substantially changed among women in the last 50 years.
This begs the question of whether we will soon see these societal shifts begin to plateau or if marriage, which has been a rite of passage for centuries, will eventually lose its stronghold.
