Weddings and Marriage: Statistics and Facts
In 2012, approximately one third of adults still
wanted to get married at some point in their lives, however, the percentage of married adults nowadays is
remarkably lower than it was some fifty years ago, regardless of the age of spouses. In 2010, a survey among Americans showed that almost half of Americans aged between 18 and 29 thought that
marriage was becoming obsolete.
Unsurprisingly, the
annual number of marriages in the United States has slowly but steadily declined over the last 20 years, with the
marriage rate in the United States, i.e. the number of marriages per 1,000 people, simultaneously declining from 1990 to 2009. On a positive note, the
divorce rate in the U.S. declined slightly during the same period; although it is not clear whether this is simply a side-effect of the shrinking number of unions.
Marriage statistics show that the
age at which Americans first get married has changed significantly over the past three decades. In 1970, almost half of
American women were younger than 20 years at the time of their first wedding, compared to only 6.94 percent in 2009. The
age of men at their first wedding has increased simultaneously, albeit to a slightly higher level.
Sexual intercourse rates are remarkably higher among married persons than among singles, although the figures do not indicate whether or not the spouses actually sleep with their significant other or with someone else who is married.
More interesting facts about marriage in the United States: