Less than half of women in England and Wales are married – the first time the proportion has dropped so low.

Just 49.9 per cent of women over the age of 16 last year had tied the knot, officials figures show.

The Office for National Statistics said 51.9 per cent of men are married – with the difference explained by varying life expectancies, meaning women are more likely to be widowed.

Just 49.9 per cent of women over the age of 16 had tied the knot last year

The switch in the status of women follows years of decline in the popularity of marriage and increases in the age at which people wed.

The report also found two in three women under 30 are single and not living with a partner. Many are part of the ‘boomerang generation’ who live with their parents into adulthood, the report said. For men the figure was 77.4 per cent.

Across both genders, the proportion of married people stands at just under 51 per cent. This figure was boosted by the number of same-sex weddings following their introduction in 2014, the ONS said.

However, the estimates, based on large-scale surveys, suggest the long-term fall in married people and the growth in cohabiting relationships may be ending. The overall share of married people rose slightly between 2015 and 2016, from 50.6 per cent to 50.9 per cent. The number of marriages that end in divorce has fallen steeply over the past decade.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the proportion of married people stands at just under 51 per cent

The ONS’s Emily Knipe said: ‘In England and Wales, being married continued to be the most common marital status for those aged 16 and over in 2016. This is despite the proportion who are married decreasing by 3.9 percentage points since 2002 and the proportion who are single increasing.’

Almost one in ten who have never married are in a cohabiting couple. Another 2.8 per cent are divorcees living with a new partner.

Harry Benson of the Marriage Foundation think-tank said: ‘Adults and children need reliable love. The mutual commitment to a life together remains by far the best way … Despite the popular trend towards unmarried cohabitation, four out of every five couples are married.’

It comes as Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger yesterday warned cohabiting couples they ‘can expect a rougher ride than their married counterparts, at least when relying on the law to deal with the fall-out from their falling out’.