ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will focus on the main population characteristics which have affected the experience of marriage and family life over the four decades since the end of the Second World War. My aim is to piece together information and statistics from existing fragmented sources and to construct from these a more complete and integrated picture of changes in domestic life. The topics covered will include: cohabitation; the number and age of people who marry; patterns of fertility; divorce; remarriage; and women’s participation in the labour force.
