married Archives - Marriage Foundation

Has ONS underestimated family breakdown?

Census data released today tell us the exact numbers of married, cohabiting and lone parent families in England & Wales in 2021. My analysis shows that of the 7.0 million households with dependent children under the age of 18, 55.9% were headed by a married couple, 17.3% by a cohabiting couple, and 26.9% by a […]

Marriage still on top – New ONS population stats for 2019 released

ONS has released new population estimates of marital status and living arrangement in England & Wales from 2002 to 2019 Here’s what Marriage Foundation Research Director Harry Benson has to say: “The number of people who are married in England & Wales remains at over 23 million, close to the highest levels since 2002. Despite the slow […]

Family breakdown costs £50bn a year

When couples split up, families move from one to two households. Poverty is a common outcome that affects children. Six out of ten lone parents are supported by the state compared to one out of ten couple parents. That's where most of the £50bn is spent.

UK Among highest family breakdown in Europe

Five years ago, the UK had the highest rate of family breakdown in Europe. We're not doing as badly today, but only because of big falls in divorce rates. Alas there's no sign of a similar improvement among cohabitees

Lower Divorce Rates – Higher Lone Parents

Divorce rates have plummeted over the past 3 decades, but the number of lone parents has doubled in the same period. Why?... Because unmarried parents make up only one in five cohabiting parents but are responsible for one half of all family breakdown.

Stability is found in Marriage

Whereas stability is the norm if parents are married (75% stay together), it is the exception if they are not (30% stay together). As a result, among parents of teens who are still together as a couple, nine out of ten are married

Single Most Important Factor

The single most important factor in a child’s healthy development is the stable relationship of the parents. Our groundbreaking research shows that family breakdown is the #1 predictor of teenage mental health problems.

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Tag: married

Has ONS underestimated family breakdown?

Marriage still on top – New ONS population stats for 2019 released

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