大象传媒

We've been hearing for years that fewer and fewer people are tying the knot.

Now the Office for National Statistics back that and say the trend for marriage is steadily declining, with married couples now making up less than half the population.

In the 1920s, 92 women walked down the aisle each year per 1,000 single women of marrying age. Today, it's a third that. Marriage rates were expected to plateau in the wake of the baby boom, but so far they just keep dropping.

The ONS said that it was a reflection of the ageing population as well as rising divorce levels that such a high proportion of 53-year-olds were divorced, when compared with 12.3 per cent of 40-year-olds in 1991 and just 2.1 per cent of 35-year-olds in 1971.

And as fewer couples chose to marry, the divorce rate appears to be finally starting to drop. Just under 114,000 couples were granted a divorce in 2009, the lowest figure since 1974.

We want to hear from you if you are married, co-habiting or in a civil partnership.
Maybe you've done both?
Why did you choose one above the other?
So is there any point in being married anymore?