Fewer single people in Hounslow over past decade – despite national increase

Fewer people in Hounslow were single over the past decade, new census figures show – in contrast to a national increase in unmarried people.

The area's drop in the rate of single people is despite a trend across England and Wales where the rate of people not in legally recognised partnerships has increased.

The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in Hounslow when the census took place last year was 87,585, up from 77973 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in Hounslow, 38.3% were single – a decrease on 38.5% in 2011.

This is different to trends across England and Wales last year, where 37.9% of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6% in 2011.

And 47.5% of people in Hounslow were married or in a civil partnership last year​ –​ up from 46% 10 years prior.

Data from the census shows 107,233 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, up from 92,395 in 2011.

An additional 652 were in same sex marriages in Hounslow last year – they were illegal in 2011.

The figures also show 381 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 272 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 674 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.

There were 16,761 divorced people and 66 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Hounslow 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.