Nearly half of British marriages are likely to end in divorce, according to the bleak picture painted by a new statistical study.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found 45% of marriages will end in divorce before a couple's 50th anniversary if 2005 rates continue, with almost half of these splits occurring before couples reach 10 years of marriage.
After the first decade, fewer than 31% of marriages will end in divorce, and after 20 years the proportion falls to about 15%.
The study, which analysed divorce and death rates from 2005, concluded that 10% of married couples are likely to celebrate a 60th wedding anniversary.
The figures were revealed a day after the institution of marriage took a further knock when official statistics showed the number of weddings in 2006 was the lowest for 110 years.
Marriage grew in popularity between 2002 and 2004, but fell by 9% in 2005 in England and Wales, when the long-term trend towards cohabitation out of wedlock resumed.
Provisional figures for 2006 released by the ONS yesterday showed there were 236,980 marriages, a further 4% decline on the previous year.