[Is getting married still up-to-date? An analysis of nuptiality trends in the old German Lander based on demographic statistics]

Based upon current age-specific marriage probabilities for singles one can expect that about 25% of men and roughly 20% of women will still be single at age 50....The decline in frequency of marriage must be regarded as dramatic; for as recently as 25 years ago it was quite certain that--as has been the case for 200 years--only 5 to 10% of people in any given generation would remain single. The decrease in the frequency of marriage is not offset by the increase in consensual unions. Moreover such partnerships also have children much more [rarely] than marriages. The continued strong appeal of marriage as a legal institution is surely attributable to the privileges that accrue to it particularly with respect to family and social law. Should other forms of living arrangements also benefit from these privileges in the future a further decline in nuptiality and fertility could be expected. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE) (EXCERPT)