Marriage is in retreat worldwide.
In countries across the globe, increasing numbers of women and men are not simply postponing marriage, but forgoing it altogether. Among women in their late 30s or early 40s, 29 percent of women in Denmark are unmarried, 18 percent in Italy, 22 percent in Lebanon, and 32 percent in Libya
In the United States, one in six women remains unmarried in their early forties. This is about the same proportion as in Japan, and is approaching the highest rate in the United States ever.