Using 2012 Census data and a new survey, the report finds that 20 percent of U.S. adults over 25 have never been married. In 1960, only half that number—one in ten adults—fit that bill. There is a mismatch between what people want and what is there in the marriage market.

What percent of people never get married?

At the same time, however, a declining share of Americans marry. In 2018, a record 35% of Americans ages 25 to 50, or 39 million, had never been married, according to a new Institute for Family Studies (IFS) analysis of U.S. Census data. The share was only 9% in 1970.

How many people never get married in the world?

The number of people aged 16 years and over who are single and have never married has continued to increase, rising by 369,000 from 2017, to a total of 16.7 million people (35.0%) in 2018.