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Twenty years ago three out of four women aged 20 to 44 were married, against fewer than half today. Cohabitation compensates for most, but not all, marriages in this age group. Consequently, the percentage who are neither married nor cohabiting has increased from nearly 20 per cent in 1977 to under 30 per cent in 1997.
The major changes in living arrangements between men and women appear to have taken place from the latter half of the 1970s well into the 1980s. Few observations were, however, made during this period. Annual figures since 1992 show fairly modest changes, but marriage is still losing ground.
More 25-34 year olds live without partner
The increase in the percentages who are neither married nor cohabiting is particularly pronounced among women between the ages of 25 and 34. In 1997, only 14 per cent of women in their late twenties were neither married nor cohabiting. In 1988 and 1997, by contrast, the percentages were 23 and 35 per cent respectively. The figures for women in their early thirties in 1977, 1988 and 1997 are 11, 17 and 22 per cent respectively. Dissolved cohabitant relationships and more divorces are possible explanations for why at any given time more women than before are neither married nor cohabiting.
Cohabitation is the dominant living arrangement among the youngest couples. Among women in their twenties who live with a partner, 65 per cent have a cohabitant and 35 per cent have a husband. Among women in their thirties, however, it is more common to have a husband than a cohabitant. Seventy-five per cent are married, and 25 per cent are cohabiting.
Weekly Bulletin issue no. 7, 1998