Overview
- Official data record 224,402 marriages in 2023, down from 246,897 in 2022, while civil partnerships increased 9.7% to 7,547.
- Over five decades, marriages have dropped 44% between 1973 and 2023, underscoring a long-term downward trend.
- Median ages for opposite-sex marriages were among the highest on record at 34.8 for men and 33 for women, with same-sex spouses typically older.
- Opposite-sex unions accounted for 216,901 marriages, or 93.5% of the total; the South East hosted the largest share of weddings, and London led civil partnership formations with notable year-on-year increases.
- Family lawyers point to cost-of-living pressures encouraging delays or cohabitation, and the Marriage Foundation argues many postponed pandemic weddings remain unrealised.