Number of single people in Worksop has increased in the past decade 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 Bassetlaw when the census took place last year was 31,485, up from 26,407 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in Bassetlaw, 32.3 per cent were single – an increase on 28.5 per cent in 2011.

The picture was similar across England and Wales last year, where 37.9 per cent of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6 per cent in 2011.

And 47.5 per cent of people in Bassetlaw were married or in a civil partnership last year​ –​ down from 51 per cent 10 years prior.

Data from the census shows 45,834 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, down from 47,098 in 2011.

An additional 254 were in same sex marriages in Bassetlaw last year – they were illegal in 2011.

The figures also show 101 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 44 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 192 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.

There were 10,340 divorced people and 14 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Bassetlaw last year, making up 10.6 per cent 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 three million."

Nationally, 21.7m people were married or in a civil partnership – making up 45 per cent of those aged 16 and older. And 9.1 per cent of the population were divorced or no longer in a civil partnership, up slightly from 9 per cent a decade prior.