Hot off the press! The latest marriage stats from the ONS!
There were 246,897 marriages in England and Wales in 2022, a return to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels, and 12.3% more marriages than took place in 2019.
The numbers of marriages and marriage rates in 2021 and 2022 may reflect a short-term delay and recovery because of COVID-19 restrictions and may not be representative of long-term trends.
There was a record number of same-sex marriages in 2022, with 7,800 in total (3.2% of all marriages); the highest number of female same-sex marriages (4,896) since same-sex marriage was introduced in 2014 was the main factor.
Marriage rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022; rates were 20.8 men and 19.1 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried men and women, respectively.
More than 9 in 10 couples who married in 2021 or 2022 were cohabitating prior to marriage; cohabitation prior to opposite-sex marriages was the highest since records began in 1994.
The median age for an opposite-sex marriage (and first legal partnership), was 32.7 years for men and 31.2 years for women, both of which are the highest median ages on record; for a same-sex marriage (and first legal partnership), the median ages for men and women were higher at 36.2 years and 32.6 years, respectively.
