Births outside marriage up nearly fourfold

Date: 2006-10-17

<< Previous news | All news | Next news >>

THE number of births outside marriage has almost quadrupled in the UK.

The Office for National Statistics' Social Trends report said the increase - from 12 per cent in 1980 to 42 per cent in 2004 - is largely due to a sharp increase in the number of couples living together without tying the knot.

Hayley Butcher, of the ONS, said: "Although most children are born to married couples, this substantial rise in births outside marriage is a reflection of the rising trend in cohabiting parents."

The report found also that households are becoming smaller, with more people living on their own, while young people are tending to stay with their parents for longer due to high property prices and student debt.

The ONS researchers also expressed concerns about obesity and the number of people who were drinking excessively

Dating industry related news
Calls for more protection for Singapore's foreign brides	Facing Rejection In Online Dating	Hot topic: Legislation for on-line dating
Singapore's leading women advocacy group, AWARE, wants more stringent checks on matchmaking agencies so that prospective foreign brides of local men are protected, the Straits Times has reported. The call by the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) comes amid a growing number of Singapore men marrying foreign brides from neighbouring countries through matchmaking agencies. According to the Straits Times, one in four grooms or 6,520 Singaporean men married a foreign bride las...	You've chosen several photos from your online dating service and sent out your personal online profile. Now you are just waiting for the replies. You wait for a few days, and nothing. You start to feel as though you should go back to the bars, at least the rejection there is face to face. What went wrong? First of all, these people don't know you, so you can't realistically take a non answer personally. Very often users of online dating services have a stack of profiles next to their PC and ta...	“I went out with one woman who was smart, attractive and engaging. On the fifth date, she bursts into tears. She said she had lied about being single when she was really going through a divorce and had a child. Her husband had cheated on her ... and now I’m thinking, ‘What do I do? Do hit the road, only adding to her opinion that all men are jerks? Or should I try to be understanding?’ It put me in an awkward spot ... But, in the end, I couldn’t get over the lies.”- 50-year-old Chicago managemen...
read more >>	read more >>	read more >>