The proportion of married, widowed or divorced people is the proportion of people in the generation under consideration who got married at least once before their 50th birthday. It is the sum of all first-time marriage rates by age in this generation.
The proportion of married, divorced or widowed persons by age 50, which was around 80% for generations born from 1860 to 1890, rose with the following generations, peaking for those born around 1920 (88% for the male generations born in 1920 and 1921, 89% for female generations born in 1923 and 1924). In contrast, for the generations born after 1920, and to an even greater extent for those born after 1950, this proportion has fallen considerably, bearing witness to the growing numbers turning their back on the institution of marriage.