摘要：

    英国政府3月10日发布的预测结果显示，在6年之内英国已婚男女的人数将首次降至人口总数的50％以下。

    The number of married men and women will fall below 50 per cent of the population for the first time within six years, according to Government forecasts published yesterday.

    英国政府3月10日发布的预测结果显示，在6年之内英国已婚男女的人数将首次降至人口总数的50％以下。

    据英国《每日电讯报》网站3月11日报道，尽管目前英国4200万成年人中的大部分都已经结婚了，但据英国政府保险部门预测说，在未来的20年中，英国社会将发生非常明显的变化。到2011年，将只有46％的女性和48％的男性选择结婚；1981年，这个比率为各有超过60％的英国男女选择结婚。到了2031年，英国社会中将有更多未婚男女，其中大约有40％的女性将会选择保持单身，另有40％的女性会选择婚姻生活。

    另外，选择未婚同居的人数几乎也会翻一番，增至380万人，其中大部分是年龄在45岁以上的中年人。同时，离婚人数也会首次占据成年人总数的将近10％的比例。以前，英国女性的平均结婚年龄为29岁，男性为31岁。而到了2031年，只有6％的女性和11％的男性会选择在30岁生日之前完婚。这份预测结果向人们揭示出结婚这一传统惯例在现代社会中逐渐衰落的程度，如此发展下去英国真的要成为“单身贵族”国度。  

Forecasts Show Swift Decline in Marriage

    The number of married men and women will fall below 50 per cent of the population for the first time within six years, according to Government forecasts published yesterday.

    Most of Britain's 42 million adults are married, but the Government Actuary's Department predicts society will change significantly during the next two decades.

    By 2011 just 46 per cent of women and 48 per cent of men will be married. In 1981 more than 60 per cent of men and women were married.

    By 2031 there will be more unmarried men than married men. About 40 per cent of women will be unmarried, about the same number of women who will be married. The number of couples who live together, but are not married, will almost double to 3.8 million. Most are likely to be aged over 45. The number of divorcees will represent about 10 per cent of the adult population for the first time.

    The forecasts from the department, whose figures are used to estimate the likely number of households and the costs of the state pension, reveal the extent of the breakdown of the marriage tradition.

    The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that there were 166,700 divorces and 267,770 marriages in 2003.

    The average age for women was 29 and for men 31. By 2031 only six per cent of men and 11 per cent of women will marry before their 30th birthday.