Fewer Scots choosing to get hitched

THE NUMBER of people getting married in Scotland fell to its second-lowest level in 100 years, new figures have revealed.

Official figures from National Records of Scotland revealed there were 27,547 marriages in Scotland last year, down nearly 3,000 on the previous year.

The only year in which there were fewer weddings was 2009, when there were just 27,523 marriage ceremonies.

Across Tayside, Fife and the Forth Valley — which includes Fife, Angus, Dundee, Stirling, Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross council areas — the number of marriages fell by 11%, from 4,593 to 4,088, between 2012 and 2013.

There were also fewer deaths and births in Scotland last year than in 2012.

The number of registered births decreased from 58,027 to 56,014, while deaths dropped from 54,937 to 54,700, the fourth-lowest number recorded in more than 150 years.

The number of deaths caused by Scotland’s three biggest killers — cancer, heart disease and stroke — all fell.

In 2013 a total of 15,803 people were killed by cancer, down 0.4% on the year before.

Deaths from heart disease fell by 4.6% to 7,192, while the number of deaths caused by stroke dropped by 0.7% to 4,444.

Tim Ellis, chief executive of the NRS, said: “The number of births fell in 2013, continuing the trend of gradual decline from the most recent peak of 60,041 in 2008.

“Levels of births and deaths are both relatively low in historical terms and there have been more births than deaths each year since 2006.

“In recent years, the annual number of deaths has been below 55,000, compared to levels of around 60,000 to 65,000 from the mid-1940s to the mid- 1990s, and larger numbers before then.”