In 2022, about ** percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to *** percent of gay couples who were Black or African American. Gay marriage in the United States In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than ** percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Being LGBT in America The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about *********** same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about **** of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only ** percent of respondents said the same.

In 2022, around *** percent of same-sex couple householders in the United States were Black or African American. In that same year, about **** percent of same-sex couple householders were white.

This qualitative study explores the area of lesbian and gay 'marriage' and civil partnerships. The objective was to examine the socio-legal, cultural and familial meanings and significance for lesbians and gay men of seeking public or formal recognition of relationships. This means examining the kinds of ceremonies couples hold (e.g. with religious elements or not), who they invite (e.g. families of origin or just friends), and whether they follow conventions such as the exchange of rings or whether they adopt radically different styles of ceremony. It also examined how parents and close kin respond to the marriage/registration (e.g. whether there is an exacerbation of or a reduction in feelings of disapproval) and also how the wider kinship network is affected. Its specific aims were: to establish why lesbians and gay men may want to register their partnerships or have commitment ceremoniesto ascertain how full marriage is regardedto identify the kinds of ceremonies that are/will be chosen to celebrate commitmentto explore what meanings are given to such ritualsto explore how wider kin respond to the marriage/registrationto consider how embeddedness (or otherwise) in wider kin networks is influenced by these legitimation ceremoniesto explore understandings of the legal implications of both partnership registration and of 'real' marriageThe study was based on in-depth interviews with same-sex couples. Fifty-four interviews were conducted: 37 with couples and 17 with individuals, giving a total 91 interviewees. Of these, 61 were women and 30 were men. The majority of interviewees were between 30 and 49 and some couples had been together thirty years or more. All except one respondents described themselves as white (mainly White British, White English, etc.) and the sample was disproportionately 'middle class' (a ratio of 8:1) taking into account factors of education level, the nature of employment and housing tenure. Just under a half (45 per cent) described themselves as having a faith or being part of a particular church congregation. All the respondents had already held some form of commitment ceremony/partnership registration or were planning one in the near future. The study was carried out before Civil Partnership (CP) was legally available so the couples interviewed (with the exception of 4 who had married abroad) were devising their own commitment ceremonies, or registering their relationships with local authorities. Once Civil Partnership was introduced participants were asked if they planned to do this as well and they all intended to do so. Feelings about whether the term marriage should be available to homosexual couples as well as raising questions about why a seemingly heterosexual institution remains important to homosexuals were also subsequently explored. The interview schedule was open-ended (except for gathering information on basic data like date of birth or occupation) and covered topics from how the couple originally met, the type of ceremony they had organised or were planning, to how their friends and families of origin had reacted to the knowledge of their ceremony. Respondents were recruited through a number of different sources, the lesbian and gay press, lesbian and gay organisations, and leafleting at gay venues and events. The majority of respondents were part of local networks. Some belonged to local or national lesbian and gay organisations. However, most were not strongly political. Further information about the study is available from the project's site, Gay and Lesbian 'Marriage' or the project's ESRC award page

In 2022, there were 67.85 million married men and 68.45 million married women living in the United States. This is compared to 3.7 million widowed men and 11.48 million widowed women.

Marriage in the United States

Nevada had the highest marriage rate in the United States in 2021, followed by Hawaii and Montana. This can be attributed to marriage accessibility in the state. Las Vegas weddings are known for being quick, easy, and inexpensive chapel weddings. In comparison to the cheap weddings available in Las Vegas, the average expenditure for a wedding in the United States was the highest in New Jersey, clocking in at 51,000 U.S. dollars.

Same-sex marriage

The number of Americans who think that same-sex marriage should be recognized by law has more than doubled since 1996, while the number of Americans who think it should not be valid has decreased. It was not until June 26, 2015 that the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Before then, it was up to the states to decide if they allowed same-sex marriage. States in the Southeast are the most opposed to same-sex marriage, whereas the strongest support comes from Northern coastal states.

How many married couples are in the U.S.? In 2023, there were 62.18 million married couples in the United States. This is an increase from 40.2 million married couples in 1960. Marriage in the U.S. While the number of married couples in the U.S. has increased in the past few decades, this could very well just be due to population change, since while the U.S. population has been increasing, the marriage rate has decreased significantly since 1990. In addition, the divorce rate has almost halved since 1990 despite concerns that more people are getting divorced than in years past. Same-sex marriage in the U.S. After years of advocacy, same-sex marriage became legal in the United States in June 2015. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in a landmark ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. In 2015, a clear majority of Americans were in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage, and approval has only been increasing in the years since.

The percentage of married persons in France reached 42.5 percent in 2018. Ten years earlier, the share of the married population in the country was 47.8 percent. Since the mid-2000s, the proportion of married couples in France has been declining. In 2018, the number of marriages in the country reached 235,000, compared to more than 278,000 in 2004. Marriage does not appear to be the preferred mode of union of French citizens, while the divorce rate remains high. Fewer marriages, more divorces If the share of married individuals in France is decreasing, the proportion of single and married French people continues to rise. In 2018, almost nine percent of the French population was divorced, a proportion which was two percentage points lower in 2006. Divorce rates amounted to 55 per 100 marriages in 2016, making France one of the European countries with the highest divorce rate. In the meantime, the share of single people is also gradually rising. New relationships Marriage is no longer the most common union between two individuals. Civil partnerships, which have been implemented in France since 1999, are getting quite popular. In 2017, more than 193,000 civil unions were celebrated in the country, regardless of the genders of the two partners. Despite the legalization of gay marriage in 2013, the number of same-sex marriages remains rather low in France.

Since the mid-2000s, the average age at first wedding in France has increased gradually, for both men and women. It seems to be common for the first marriage to be celebrated later and later in Western countries. For example, the median age at first marriage in the United States went from **** years old for males and ** years old for females in 1998, up to **** years old for males and **** for females in 2022. The same thing occurred in Europe, where Spain was the country where the median age at first wedding was the oldest in 2022. French people wait longer to marry According to the source, in 2004, the average age at first wedding for French men was **** compared to **** for women. If men still tend to be older than women at first marriage, the average age at marriage for both males and females increased from 2004 to 2024. In 2024, men were on average **** at their first wedding, compared to **** for women. Most marriages in France happened between men and women, despite the implementation of same-sex marriage in 2013. The mean age at gay marriages appears to be even older than in different-sex weddings. Marriage and divorce in France Thus, the percentage of married persons in France has decreased since 2006, while the share of single and divorced people rose. However, in 2016, France was the second European country with the highest number of marriages behind Germany. On the other hand, like most other Western nations, France also has a high divorce rate. In 2016, the number of French divorces was ** per 100 marriages.

The average age at which people in England and Wales get married has been rising since the 1970s, with the average age of men marrying women increasing from **** in 1972 to **** by 2019, with the average age for women marrying men going up from **** to **** in the same time period. Since 2014 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales, the average age for men marrying men has fluctuated between **** and ****, while the average age for females marrying females has fluctuated between **** and ****. Strong support for same-sex marriage in UK Over ten years after same-sex marriage was legalized in most of the UK, polls have shown consistent support for the legislation. As of May 2025, ** percent of Britons supported same-sex marriage, compared with ** percent who opposed it, and ***** percent who did not know. England and Wales was the first jurisdiction to allow same-sex marriages, with the first marriages taking place in March 2014, followed by Scotland in December of that year. Legislation allowing same-sex marriage was not passed in Northern Ireland until 2019, with the first marriages not taking place in 2020. Most popular wedding dates In 2022, the most popular wedding date across the entire year in England and Wales was July 30, with ***** weddings taking place that day. The next most popular wedding date was August 20, which had ***** weddings, followed by May 28, at *****. All three of these dates were Saturday's, which, at over ** percent of all weddings, was by far the most popular day of the week for weddings to be held the week. As for the most popular month, August had the most weddings held in 2022, at ******, with ****** being held in July, and ****** in June, the second, and third-most popular months for weddings, respectively.

This statistic depicts the total number of marriages in France from 2000 to 2024. In 2000, the number of marriages amounted to over 305,000, this was the highest number of marriages recorded during the 20-year period. In 2020, the number of marriages dropped sharply, indeed, between 2019 and 2020, the number of annual marriages dropped by more than 70,000. But it rose again, reaching 247,000 in 2024.Same-sex marriage was legalized in France in 2013. Since then, the number of same-sex marriages in France reached 7,000 marriages in 2024, with the highest number recorded in 2014 with 10,522 nuptials.