Fewer people than ever in Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant are getting married, census figures reveal

Fewer people between the ages of 25 and 34 had ever been married across our region than a decade ago, census data shows.

New figures from the 2021 Census of England and Wales show young people are increasingly likely to have never been married – as part of a decades-long decline in the number of people getting wed.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show of the 31,320 people aged between 25 and 34 in Portsmouth, 22,660 (72.3 per cent) had never been married as of March 2021.

In 2011, this figure was 63.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, 25.7 per cent of people in Portsmouth of the same age were married, in a civil partnership, or separated while remaining married – a drop from 33.7 per cent in 2011.

For the same period, in Havant 10,100 (70.8 per cent) had never been married, down from 61.1 per cent a decade earlier. Meanwhile, 27.1 per cent of people in Havant of the same age were married, a drop from 35.6 per cent in 2011.

In Gosport, 6,860 (68.1 per cent) had never been married, 55.6 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, 29.4 per cent of people in Gosport of the same age were married, down from 40 per cent in 2011.

And in Fareham, 8,045 (65.8 per cent) had never been married, down from 56.5 per cent in 2011..

Meanwhile, 32 per cent of people in Fareham of the same age were married, a drop from 40.1 per cent in 2011.

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

Steve Smallwood, demography topic lead at ONS, said: ‘The census gives us a fascinating picture of how society is changing and today’s 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.’

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

Across England and Wales, 37.9 per cent of the population had never been married in 2021, up from 34.6 per cent in 2011, and 26.3 per cent in 1991.