Living in partnerships: the proportion of young couples is stabilizing

Between 1999 and 2006, the proportion of young people aged 20-24 living as couples in metropolitan France (mainland + Corsica) remained stable. The downtrend observed since 1982 was halted. Owing to the rise in life expectancy at the oldest ages, women over 65 and men over 80 are more often living with a partner than was the case for earlier generations at the same ages. By contrast, the percentage of people aged 30-60 living as couples is steadily declining. Among women in their thirties, higher-education graduates were more likely to be living in partnerships than the low-educated members of their age group in 2006, whereas the opposite was true in 1999. At age 40, the proportion of single, childless women was twice as high for higher-education graduates than for low-educated women in both 2006 and 1999. Among men aged 30-50, the best-educated were the most likely to be living in partnerships.