Civil Partnerships

There were 18,059 civil partnerships formed in the UK between December 2005 and the end of December 2006. A total of 16,173 took place in England with 1,131 in Scotland, 627 in Wales and 128 in Northern Ireland. Almost 2,000 partnerships were formed in December 2005. On average, 1,600 partnerships were formed each month between January and March 2006, falling to 1,500 between April and September and 800 between October and December.

More men than women formed civil partnerships. In 2006, 60 per cent of all civil partners were male compared with 66 per cent in December 2005. In England, 9,913 male and 6,260 female partnerships were formed up to the end of 2006. The corresponding figures were 633 and 498 in Scotland, 318 and 309 in Wales and 71 and 57 in Northern Ireland.

Male civil partners tended to be older than female civil partners. The average age at formation in the UK in 2006 was 47 for men and 44 for women compared with 54 and 46 in December 2005. The average age of all partners in 2006 was highest in England (46) and lowest in Northern Ireland (41). The average age was 45 in Wales and 44 in Scotland.

London had the highest proportion of male civil partnerships with more than three times as many male partnerships (3,429) formed as female (1,059) up to the end of 2006. Yorkshire and The Humber and the East Midlands were the only regions where more women than men registered a partnership.

London was the most popular region within the UK in which to register a partnership between December 2005 and the end of 2006. A quarter of all civil partnerships took place in London, whereas the region accounts for only 12 per cent of the UK adult population. Areas in which the largest number of civil partnership formations took place were Greater Manchester Metropolitan County (734) Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority (689) and the London Borough of Westminster (602). The proportion of male partnerships in these areas was 59, 66 and 85 per cent respectively.

Up to the end of 2006, 10 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women forming a civil partnership in the UK had been in a previous marriage. In 2006, 21 per cent of people entering a partnership in Wales had previously been married compared with 16 per cent in Scotland, 15 per cent in England and 12 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Press relesase from National Statistics Website.

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