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According to National Statistics, around 2.2 million unmarried couples in the UK are cohabiting. Over recent years there has been a steep rise in the number of couples living together outside of marriage - of those born between 1966 and 1970, 18% were cohabiting between the ages of 25-29, of those born between 1971 and 1975 26% were cohabiting at the same sage. (1)
Whether as a trial run, a prelude to marriage, or as an alternative to it, cohabitation is now an expected part of forming relationships and has contributed to some profound changes in family formation over the last decades in the UK. Increasingly, children are being born to cohabiting couples. In 2008, 45% of births in England and Wales were outside of marriage compared with 8% in 1971. (1)
One Plus One’s information sheet on cohabitation and the common-law marriage myth examines the historical context and current research on cohabitation, and can be found here.
1. National Statistics (2009) Social Trends 40 (Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan)
Separating from cohabitation: Making arrangements for finances and parenting More+
Cohabitation and marriage: How are they related? More+
Bias in retrospective reports of cohabitation among new parents More+
Measuring cohabitation: Does how, when and who you ask matter? More+
Cohabitation and divorce across nations and generations More+
January 2010
Support for all: the families and relationships green paper More+
April 2009
Cohabitation Bill More+
Estimating the cohabiting population
This article in National Statistics publication Population Trends, summarises mid-2007cohabitation estimates produced for England and Wales and compares these with estimates made for previous years. Full article
Common-law marriage and cohabitation
The house of commons library has published a summary of current trends and policy regarding cohabitation. Full article
Do partnerships last? Comparing marriage and cohabitation using longitudinal census data
This research uses a sample of adults who were in a partnership (married or cohabiting) in the 1991 Census of England and Wales, and then explored whether these individuals were living with the same partner in 2001. Full article
Number of couples who cohabit More+
Type of marriage ceremony More+
Number of children born to unmarried cohabiting parents More+
Growth of the cohabiting population More+
Information unmarried parents about their legal rights at birth registration
One Plus One published in 2007 a research report on unmarried parents and their rights. The project sought to find out what unmarried parents know about their legal rights and examined the impact of providing legal information on knowledge and behaviour. To read the report click here.
Information sheet
One Plus One’s information sheet on Cohabitation can be found here.
A web-based information resource that provides a simple overview of the legal position of married and unmarried couples and parents.