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Figure 7
For the first time, legally married population aged 15 and over falls below 50%
Description
This chart shows the marital status of the population aged 15 years and over in 1986, 1996 and 2006. Married persons represented 61.4% of the population in 1986, 51.9% in 1996 and less than half (48.5%) of the Canadian population aged 15 years or more in 2006. Number of never-married persons has increased between 1986 and 2006: in 1986, their proportion was 26.8%, in 1996, 32.0% and in 2006, 34.9%. Number of divorced persons has also increased between 1986 and 2006. They represented 3.5% in 1986, 7.2% in 1996 and 8.1% in 2006. Finally, the proportion of widowed and separated persons has been fairly stable between 1986 and 2006. In 1986, 1996 and 2006, widowed persons represented respectively 5.7%, 5.9%, and 5.6% of the population and separated persons 2.6%, 3.0%, and 3.0%.
Sources: Statistics Canada, censuses of population, 1986, 1996 and 2006.
