Fewer couples are tying the knot in the United Kingdom as marriage rates drop to their lowest level since records were first kept more than 150 years ago.

Official figures reveal the number of weddings dropped drastically in 2005. For every 1,000 unmarried individuals in the UK in 2005, six couples married. The number of weddings in England and Wales declined by more than 28,000.

The Office for National Statistics (ons), which authored the report, found the proportion of married people among the adult population to be 50.3 percent. This figure was as high as two thirds as recently as the 1970s.

Part of the decline in numbers is attributed to fewer fake marriages. Recent changes to immigration laws make it harder for people to marry solely to gain the right to live in the UK. However, the new laws against these sham unions do not fully explain the recent plunge in marriage rates. Some blame changes in tax law as partially responsible, since they discourage people living as a couple. The Married Couples Allowance tax break has also been removed.

Marriage statistics in the United States look grim as well. In the U.S., a sharp decline in the marriage rate correlates with a sharp increase in cohabitation, as well as an increase in the number of Americans living outside of a strong family environment.

The reason more people married in the past is because the concept of marriage and family was generally taken for granted as desirable—a means of rearing responsible children and producing a stable society. Social norms have since changed radically. Many today look upon marriage as nothing but a hindrance to partying, promiscuity and spending money on fancy toys.

But there is an even more important reason for the marriage and family institutions than having a well-built society. Our free booklet Why Marriage!—Soon Obsolete? delivers the stirring explanation of the true reasons for marriage and family.