The proportion of adults in England and Wales who are either married or in a civil partnership declined slightly over the past decade, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2025. The figures show that 51.1% of people aged 18 and over were in a marriage or civil partnership last year, down from 52.3% in 2015.

The data, which for the first time reflects marital status exclusively for individuals aged 18 and older due to a 2023 legal change raising the minimum marriage age from 16 to 18, also indicates an increase in adults who have never entered a state-recognized union. Those who have never been married or civil partnered rose from 32.6% in 2015 to 34.9% in 2025.

Within the married population of approximately 24.8 million, the number of people in same-sex marriages continues to grow, reaching 218,204 in 2025, or nearly one in 100 married individuals (0.9%). Men accounted for 64.5% of those in same-sex marriages, while women made up 35.5%. In addition, there were 423,442 individuals in civil partnerships as of 2025.

The figures also showed that 3.9 million adults were divorced and 3 million were widowed in England and Wales last year. The overall trend suggests a gradual shift in relationship patterns, with a modest decrease in legally formalized partnerships and a rise in people remaining single or outside of formal marital arrangements.