Births outside marriage rise to 45 per cent
Your support helps us to tell the story
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
More children in Britain are born outside marriage today than at any other point in the past 200 years, claims a study.
Historical documents show births outside marriage in England and Wales hovered around 5 per cent from the 1750s before rising steadily from the 1960s, research by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think-tank found.
By the late 1970s the figure was more than 10 per cent, rising to 30 per cent by 1991 and reaching 45 per cent today, says the CSJ. The proportion of couples living together without getting married has risen from less than 5 per cent before 1945 to 90 per cent now.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments