LONDON, March 26: The marriage rate has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1862, provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show.

The number of unmarried adults rose in England and Wales in 2006, with the number choosing to marry falling.

The marriage rate was 22.8 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried men, down from 24.5 in 2005.

The marriage rate for women was 20.5 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried women, down from 21.9.

The number of marriages in 2006 was 236,980, a fall of 4 per cent on the previous year the lowest annual number since 1895 when there were 228,204.

Apart from a blip between 2002 and 2004, when an increase was recorded, it follows a declining long-term trend.

The majority of the marriages, 61 per cent, were the first for both parties. Remarriages for both accounted for 18 per cent.

The trend to marry later continued, with the mean age increasing to 36.4 years for men and 33.7 years for women, compared with 36.2 and 33.5 in 2005.

The number of civil marriages fell 3 per cent from 162,169 to 157,490, but still accounted for the bulk of all ceremonies, 66 per cent.

The number of religious ceremonies dropped by 7 per cent to 79,490.

The number of ceremonies taking place in approved premises continued to rise, with just over 95,300 such weddings — accounting for 40 per cent of all marriages and 60 per cent of civil marriages.—Reuters