Posted on 09/30/2005 9:47:11 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
LONDON: Marriage is on the rocks in Britain, with the proportion of unmarried people set to exceed that of married people within 25 years as more men and women opt to live together without constraints, according to government statistics published this week.
The proportion of married men is expected to fall from 53 percent in 2003 to 42 percent in 2031, while the percentage of married women will decline from 50 percent to 40 per cent, Britain's Office for National Statistics predicted on Thursday.
The "Population Trends" report predicted on the other hand that the number of unmarried couples living together will almost double from two million in 2003 to 3.8 million in 2031.
The projections are based on the recent steep fall in marriage rates for people aged under 30. As the older generation dies, a new generation of people who prefer living together to marriage will take their place.
As a result, people living with a partner will also tend to be older. The office predicts 41 percent of cohabiting men will be aged over 45 in 2031, up from 21 percent in 2031.
The proportion of women over 45 living with a partner is expected to double to 36 percent from 18 percent. Further, more people will choose never to marry at all.
By 2031, almost half of all adult men in the country will have never married, compared with 35 percent two years ago, the ONS said.
The proportion of never-married women is expected to rise to 39 percent from 28 percent in 2003. The point at which unwed adults outnumber the married could also be affected by divorce rates.
While divorce rates are expected to drop among the 35 to 44 age group due to a smaller pool of married people, divorce rates will rise slowly in many age groups and sharply among the elderly.
The proportion of divorced men and women aged over 65 is expected to more than double by 2031, the ONS said. The office predicts never-married people will outnumber married people by about 650,000 by 2031 when the number of Britons aged 16 years or older will hit 48 million.
If current trends hold, by 2064 more than 100% of men will have never married.
Moral Absolutes Ping.
lemming-like dive into the yawning abyss speeds up.
As if human civilization can carry on without stable families. It's as though no one has ever read any history. Notice articles lately about "religion is bad" are popping up?
I gotta re-read "Brave New World".
Freepmail me if you want on/off this pinglist.
"lemming-like dive into the yawning abyss speeds up."
It is an awful sight to be sure.
Don't worry, as soon as the "gods of science" take care of it, elite humans won't need to be bothered by pesky things as breeding. The lower classes can churn out more worker drones, while designer babies can be raised by gays and single 50 year old women.
(Does that really need a scarcasm tag?)
Hello, little j. Don't know if you've noticed I've been gone for a while, but I'm now back with a purpose (to borrow cyborg's tagline).
Sounds like the UK Muslims are going to be laughing all the way to the maternity ward!
If you want your hair to stand on end, read this article and thread:
Oregon High Court rules live sex shows should be allowed
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493993/posts
I'm having quite the debate with some [stoner] libertarians. It's been interesting.
Gotta back away from the keyboard though - many things I procrastinate about due to FRing.
Western Civilization will be dead within 50 years. Muslims will own Europe, with a piece of Michigan thrown in the bargain. Our balkanized states with be run by Mexicans, Cubans and Muslims. Where does that leave you, American citizens?
I haven't seen you around. Are you on either of my pinglists?
I have a hard time remembering screen names that have numbers in them. But you do look familiar - it's kind of coming back to me now.
:-)
Welcome back, and roll up your sleeves! There's work to do.
I'm on both the Moral Absolutes & Homo Agenda lists. We've talked briefly in the past, but I've always loved your posts. :) If it weren't for your ping lists, I daresay I wouldn't have logged back to FR. (Nothing wrong with FR; I love it, it's just a lot of life issues to deal with from time to time).
I guess I'll have to keep doing the lists, then... :-]
Thanks for the kind words. I keep trying to stop doing the lists because I have this much (raising my hand in the air way over my head) stuff to do that doesn't get done...
You can always ping me to relevant articles.
"Don't worry, as soon as the "gods of science" take care of it, elite humans won't need to be bothered by pesky things as breeding. The lower classes can churn out more worker drones, while designer babies can be raised by gays and single 50 year old women.
(Does that really need a scarcasm tag?)"
Actually, there's a lot of truth in your statement, no sarcasm tag needed.
Will do. Just know, whatever you do, it is appreciated-- even if you don't always get a lot of feedback. A lot of us are aware of what's going on. And knowing is half the battle, right? ;)
:(
Thanks. If each of us do whatever we can, given our gifts and positions in life, the world would change for the better. No doubt about it. And it will give us individual confidence and strength.
I personally consider that everything goes better with prayer, too.
I can't. Real life is beginning to follow it to closely.
Quite some years ago (could it be the 60s, or was it the 70s?) Aldous Huxley wrote that he was quite horrified at how much of the stuff he wrote as science fiction in the 30s had come to pass.
It's actually quite amazing.
It's got to turn around, one way or another.
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