Number of single people in Chesterfield grows as marriage rates fall

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 Chesterfield when the census took place last year was 30,720, up from 27,007 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in Chesterfield, 35.7% were single – an increase on 31.6% 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 43.5% of people in Chesterfield were married or in a civil partnership last year – down from 47.1% 10 years prior. Data from the census shows 37,070 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, down from 40,166 in 2011.

An additional 211 were in same sex marriages in Chesterfield last year – they were illegal in 2011.The figures also show 101 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 40 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 179 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.

There were 9,636 divorced people and 17 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Chesterfield last year, making up 11.2% 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, which was up slightly from 9% a decade prior.