YOUNG people are increasingly likely to have never been married – as part of a decades-long decline in the number of people tying the knot.

New figures from the 2021 Census of England and Wales show fewer people between the ages of 25 and 34 had ever been married in the Vale of Glamorgan than a decade ago.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show of the 15,080 people aged between 25 and 34 in the Vale of Glamorgan, 11,095 (73.6 per cent) had never been married as of March 2021.

In 2011, this figure was 64.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, 24.9 per cent of people in the Vale of Glamorgan of the same age were married, in a civil partnership, or separated while remaining married.

This was a drop from 32.7 per cent in 2011.

Nationally, this age group saw the largest rise in people choosing not to marry.

More singletons through the generations

There were more singletons among older groups – for those aged 35 to 49, 32.3 per cent had never been married in the Vale of Glamorgan, up from 24.4 per cent in 2011.

Across England and Wales, 41.2 per cent of those with "no religion" had never been married or in a civil partnership – the highest of any religious group.

Marriage has become less popular among all age groups – across England and Wales, 37.9 per cent of the population had never been married as of 2021, up from 34.6 per cent a decade ago and 26.3 per cent in 1991.

Steve Smallwood, demography topic lead at ONS, said the data shows a rapidly changing societal outlook to relationships.

“The census gives us a fascinating picture of how society is changing,” said Mr Smallwood.

“The analysis shows us, for example, that adults in same-sex marriages and civil partnerships are more likely to be younger, have no religion, and have higher level qualifications than adults in opposite-sex marriages.”

“When we account for age distribution, we can also see the proportions of adults overall who have never been married or civil partnered was highest among adults reporting “No religion” and within the black and mixed ethnic groups.”

The ONS said the average age for people in same-sex marriages was 44, compared with 55 for heterosexual married couples.

For same-sex civil partnerships the average age was 53.