英国：大龄单身女性剧增

One in three women in UK is unmarried at 35, official figures show. In 2000, only a quarter were not married. And in 1990, just one in ten was in this position.

Marriage began to experience a decline in the 1980s, but in the last decade its popularity has fallen more sharply.

The downward trend corresponds with an increase in women following careers, the rising cost of buying a home and the growing acceptance of couples simply living together.

Analysts believe the introduction of tax credits to the benefit system since 1999 has dissuaded many from marrying, as they favour single mothers.

Figures show a couple with children must earn ￡50,000 a year between them before they are better off than if they lived apart.

The figures, from the Office of National Statistics, showed that fewer than two-thirds of women who reached 35 in 2005 had married - 665 from every 1,000.

Among those born five years earlier, nearly three-quarters had been married by 35.

About nine out of ten women who were 35 in 1990 had been married at least once.

However, the trend away from marriage seems at odds with the wishes of both men and women.

Previously polls have found that about seven out of ten still aspire to marriage.

Robert Whelan of the Civitas civic value think-tank said: "This is an incredible collapse, not just because of the extent but because of the speed.

"If it goes on we will soon see a majority of women unmarried in their mid-thirties.

"What we are seeing is a huge and growing gap between what people want in their lives and what they are getting."

据官方数据显示，英国35岁的女性中，有三分之一的人单身。2000年这一数据仅为四分之一，1990年只有十分之一。

英国的结婚人数从上世纪80年代开始减少，在过去十年中减少的更快。

这一趋势主要是由追求事业的女性增多、房价上涨以及同居日益被接受造成的。

分析人士认为，从1999年开始实行的税款抵免福利制度使很多人不愿结婚，这一政策对单身妈妈最为有利。

有关数据显示，一对有孩子的夫妇一年必须挣到5万英镑，才能使生活比一个人时过得好。

英国国家统计署的统计数据显示，2005年满35岁的女性中，已婚比例不到三分之二（1000人中有665人）。

而在40岁的女性中，近四分之三的人在35岁前已结婚。

1990年，90%的35岁女性至少已经结了一次婚。

然而，这一趋势与男性和女性的愿望似乎并不相符。

此前的调查发现，约70%的人仍然渴望结婚。

民众价值智囊团Civitas的罗伯特·威兰说：“无论是从范围还是从速度上，这种下降让人难以置信。”

“如果这一趋势继续下去，不久之后我们就会看到大多数女性到了30多岁还没结婚。”

“目前的状况是，人们对于生活的期望与他们所得到的结果之间存在着巨大的、而且仍在加大的差距。”