The Office of National Statistics has published the latest information on UK life expectancy and marriage, revealing that people of all social class are living longer, while the number of marriages has increased for the first time since 1992.

Average life expectancy in Britain has increased considerably since 1972 for men and women for all social classes, though wide variations remain between different social classes. The latest figures for life expectancy at birth, for 1997-99, show:

• For professional social classes, it was 78.5 years for males and 82.8 years for females, 6.5 and 3.6 years more than in 1972-76, respectively.
• For males in unskilled social classes it was 71.1 years in 1997-99, 7.4 years less than for professional social classes. The difference between these social classes has widened from 5.5 years in 1972-76, but it has narrowed from 9.5 years in 1992-96.
• For females in unskilled social classes it was 77.1 years, 5.7 years less than for professional social classes. The difference between these social classes was 5.3 years in 1972-76 and 6.4 years in 1992-96. For people aged 65, the latest figures for remaining life expectancy show:
• For men in professional social classes it was 17.5 years, which was 3.3 years more than in 1972-76. For women, remaining life expectancy was 20.8 years, 1.5 years more than in 1972-76.
• For men in unskilled social classes it was 13.4 years - 4.1 years less than for those in professional social classes. In 1972-76, the difference between these social classes was 2.6 and in 1992-96 it was 4.2 years.
• For women in unskilled social classes, it was 16.3 years - 4.5 years less than for those in professional social classes. In 1972-76, this difference was 2.9 years and in 1992-96 it was 4.4 years.

The statistics on marriages that took place in England and Wales in 2000 show that:

• There were 267,961 marriages in 2000, a rise of almost 2 percent from 263,515 in 1999. This is the first year that the number of marriages has increased since 1992.
• The proportion of religious marriages fell again between 1999 and 2000, from 38 to 36 percent of all marriages. This proportion has fallen markedly since 1990 when over half of all marriages were solemnised in a religious ceremony.
• More than one in four of all civil marriages in 2000 took place in approved premises (17 percent of all marriages). In 1996 fewer than one in ten civil marriages took place in approved premises.
• The downward trend in the marriage rate for men continued in 2000, with 27.7 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried men in 2000, compared with 28.1 in 1999. Among women the rate has risen for the first time in eight years, from 25.6 women marrying per 1,000 unmarried women in 1999 to 25.8 in 2000.
• Marriages where both parties were marrying for the first time accounted for 58 percent of all marriages in 2000, a fall of one percentage point compared with 1999. Remarriages of both parties accounted for 19 percent of all marriages.
• The average (mean) age at marriage has increased again for both men and women. For men, it rose from 34.4 years in 1999 to 34.8 years, while for women the corresponding rise was from 31.8 years to 32.1 years. The average age for single men marrying in 2000 was 30.5 years and for single women 28.2 years.