Number of single people in Camden has increased in the past decade as marriage rates fall

More than half of people in Camden were single as the number of marriage and civil partnerships dropped across the country in the past decade, new census figures show.

The area follows trends across England and Wales, where the rate of single people has increased since the last census in 2011.

The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in Camden when the census took place last year was 99,156, down from 101579 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in Camden, 55.7% were single – an increase on 55% in 2011.

The picture was similar across England and Wales last year, where 37.9% of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6% in 2011.

And 31.3% of people in Camden were married or in a civil partnership last year​ –​ up from 30.4% 10 years prior.

Data from the census shows 53,662 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, down from 54,600 in 2011.

An additional 1,003 were in same sex marriages in Camden last year – they were illegal in 2011.

The figures also show 733 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 300 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 1,575 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.

There were 13,010 divorced people and 114 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Camden last year, making up 7.4% of people aged 16 and over.

John Wroth-Smith, Census deputy director, said: "When looking a bit deeper, we can see that the proportion of people in a marriage or civil partnership has declined, which follows the long-term trend of declining marriages."

"Conversely, the number of people who were never married or in a civil partnership has increased by almost 3 million," Mr Wroth-Smith added.

Nationally, 21.7 million people were married or in a civil partnership – making up 45% of those aged 16 and older. And 9.1% of the population were divorced or no longer in a civil partnership, up slightly from 9% a decade prior.