Marriage Statistics Intro

Main points

• There were 247,372 marriages between opposite sex couples in 2014, an increase of 2.7% from 2013; but 6.2% lower than in 2012.
• There were 4,850 marriages between same sex couples in 2014; marriages of same sex couples have only been possible since 29 March 2014.
• In 2014, civil ceremonies among opposite sex couples increased by 4.1%, while religious ceremonies decreased by 0.8% compared with 2013.
• Same sex couples mostly solemnised their marriages in civil ceremonies, there were only 23 religious ceremonies accounting for 0.5% of all marriages of same sex couples.
• In 2014, of all individuals marrying a same sex partner 85% were forming their first legally recognised partnership compared with 76% for opposite sex couples.
• There were 2,411 same sex couples who converted their civil partnership into a marriage between 10 and 31 December 2014.

Source:

Office for National Statistics