Eastbourne had one of the highest rates of divorcees in England and Wales

Eastbourne had one of the highest rates of divorced people or people with a dissolved civil partnership last year in England and Wales, new census figures show.

And the percentage of people who were married or in a civil partnership dropped, following national trends.

There were 10,259 divorced people and 47 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Eastbourne last year, making up 12.2% of people aged 16 and over.

It was up from the 2011 census which recorded 11.5% of people were either divorced or had a dissolved civil partnership – one of the highest rates across England and Wales.

The picture was similar across the two nations, where 9.1% of those aged 16 and older were divorced or no longer in a civil partnership, up slightly from 9% a decade prior.

And 41.6% of people in Eastbourne were married or in a civil partnership last year​ –​ down from 43.2% 10 years prior.

Data from the census shows 34,512 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, down from 35,418 in 2011.

An additional 370 were in same sex marriages in Eastbourne last year – they were illegal in 2011.

The figures also show 255 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 56 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 290 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.

The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in Eastbourne when the census took place last year was 30,287 (35.8%), up from 27558 (33.3%) in 2011.

John Wroth-Smith, Census deputy director, said: "When looking a bit deeper, we can see that the proportion of people in a marriage or civil partnership has declined, which follows the long-term trend of declining marriages."

"Conversely, the number of people who were never married or in a civil partnership has increased by almost 3 million," Mr Wroth-Smith added.

Across England and Wales, 21.7 million people were married or in a civil partnership – making up 45% of those aged 16 and older. And 37.9% of the population were single in 2021.