Recent statistics that have been published analyse the formations and dissolutions of civil partnerships by the sex, age and previous marital status of the couples and the place of registration.

The main findings are:

• There were 890 civil partnerships formed in England and Wales in 2016, an increase of 3.4% compared with 2015; this is the first annual increase since the introduction of marriages of same-sex couples was announced in 2013.
• More than two-thirds of all civil partnerships formed in 2016 were between men, the highest proportion since their introduction in 2005.
• Almost half of those entering a civil partnership in 2016 were aged 50 or above; this compares with 19% in 2013, prior to the introduction of marriages of same-sex couples.
• In 2016, for the second consecutive year, the average age of women forming a civil partnership ( of 49.9 years was higher than for men 48.6 years.
• London continued to be the most popular region for the formation of civil partnerships; with over a third of all formations in England and Wales in 2016 occurred in London.
• There were 1,313 civil partnership dissolution granted in England and Wales in 2016, of these 60% were to female couples.