Decliining Marriages: Why Are More Young People Choosing to Stay Single?
Kanja Sesay Across the world, a major shift is reshaping relationships, marriage and family life: more young adults are remaining single, delaying marriage or spending longer periods of their lives without a romantic partner. Sierra Leone is not isolated from these changing attitudes, particularly as education, urbanisation, economic pressures and women’s independence influence how young people think about marriage.
In the United States, half of men and 41% of women aged 25 to 34 are single, while the proportion of people living alone has reportedly increased in 26 of 30 wealthy countries since 2010. The Economist has estimated that there are now at least 100 million more single people worldwide than there would have been if coupling rates had remained at 2017 levels.
The trend extends beyond Western countries.
In Japan, the proportion of single women aged 18 to 39 increased from 27.4% in 1992 to 40.7% in 2015, while the figure among men rose from 40.4% to 50.8%. China has also experienced significant changes in marriage patterns, with its marriage rate declining sharply over the past decade.
But what is pushing more people towards single life, and what could the changing global relationship landscape mean for young Sierra Leoneans deciding whether, when and whom to marry?
Economic Independence Is Changing Relationships
One of the biggest social changes affecting relationships has been the expansion of women’s economic opportunities.
As more women gain access to education, employment and their own income, financial dependence on marriage can decrease. This can give women greater freedom to decide whether to enter, remain in or leave a relationship.
For generations, economic dependence made leaving an unhappy or abusive relationship extremely difficult for many women. Greater financial independence can change that calculation.
It also changes expectations within relationships. When someone can support themselves, marriage may increasingly be viewed as something that should improve their life rather than something required for economic survival.
The situation in Sierra Leone remains complicated.
According to figures cited in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, a very large proportion of employed Sierra Leonean women work in the informal economy. The figures cited put the proportion at 93.69% for women, compared with 85.71% for men.
Informal employment can provide income and independence, but it may also come with unstable earnings and limited social protection.
Nevertheless, increasing access to education, entrepreneurship and employment is gradually expanding the choices available to women.
The Rise of the ‘Relationship Recession’
Some analysts have described what is happening internationally as a “relationship recession.”
The idea goes beyond people simply marrying later. It describes a situation in which increasing numbers of adults spend extended periods without romantic partners.
Importantly, being single does not necessarily mean someone wants to remain single.
International surveys cited in discussions of the trend suggest that many single people would prefer to be in relationships. A 2019 American survey, for example, found that while half of single respondents were not actively looking for a relationship, only 27% said they were not looking because they enjoyed being single.
For some people, therefore, singlehood is a deliberate lifestyle choice. For others, it may reflect difficulties finding someone they consider compatible.
Why Is Finding a Partner Becoming More Difficult?
Several factors have been linked to changing dating and relationship patterns.
Social media has transformed how people view relationships.
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and other platforms can expose users to carefully selected images of other people’s relationships, weddings, lifestyles and partners.
The result can be an unrealistic benchmark against which people compare their own lives.
Dating apps have also dramatically expanded the number of potential partners people can encounter. While this creates more opportunities, researchers and commentators have questioned whether having so many apparent choices can also encourage people to become increasingly selective.
Instead of choosing among people in their immediate communities, users can potentially scroll through hundreds or thousands of profiles.
The perception that someone “better” could always be one swipe away can make commitment more complicated.
Less Face-to-Face Interaction
Technology has also changed how young people socialise.
In several countries, younger generations are spending less time socialising face-to-face than previous generations did at the same age.
People can now study, work, shop, watch entertainment, communicate with friends and even date without leaving their homes.
That convenience can reduce opportunities for spontaneous, face-to-face relationships to develop.
Online dating has attempted to fill that gap, but digital communication does not always translate easily into lasting relationships.
Political and Social Differences
In some countries, political and social attitudes have also become factors in romantic compatibility.
Research has documented political differences between some groups of young men and women, while many people increasingly consider shared values important when choosing a partner.
Religion, education, career ambitions, finances, family expectations and attitudes towards children can similarly narrow the pool of people someone considers compatible.
In Sierra Leone, additional considerations can include religious background, family approval, ethnicity, social status and expectations surrounding traditional marriage.
Women Have More Freedom to Say No
Another important development is the changing standard women apply when choosing partners.
Greater education and economic independence mean some women are less willing to enter relationships purely for financial security or because society expects them to marry.
Education can also affect partner selection.
Women who have invested heavily in their education and careers may seek partners with compatible educational, professional or financial circumstances.
That does not mean women universally have the same expectations. Individual preferences differ significantly. But greater independence means more people have the practical ability to reject relationships that do not meet their needs.
What Is Happening in Sierra Leone?
Sierra Leone’s marriage landscape differs significantly from those of Europe, North America and East Asia.
Marriage remains culturally important, while customary and religious unions continue to play major roles, particularly outside formal civil registration systems. Polygyny also remains part of marriage practices in some communities.
Nevertheless, evidence of changing patterns has existed for years.
Sierra Leone’s 2004 Population and Housing Census found that the proportion of single respondents was highest in the Western Area, which includes Freetown. The census report suggested that modernisation could gradually be affecting traditional attitudes towards marriage.
Urbanisation may be particularly important.
Young adults living in Freetown generally encounter different economic and social circumstances from those in smaller rural communities. Education, employment, housing costs and career ambitions can all influence decisions about when to marry.
Historical data cited in the census also associated never-married women with higher wealth categories, although those older figures should not automatically be treated as representing the situation among Sierra Leonean women today.
Registered Marriages Tell Only Part of the Story
National Civil Registration Authority data cited for 2022 recorded a crude registered marriage rate of 0.22 per 1,000 population.
The same data put the average age among registered marriages at approximately 39 for men and 33 for women.
Those figures require an important qualification.
Not every marriage in Sierra Leone passes through the same formal registration process. Customary and religious marriages mean statistics based only on registered marriages may not capture the country’s entire marriage landscape.
It would therefore be misleading to conclude from registration statistics alone that Sierra Leoneans generally marry at 39 and 33 or that marriage itself has become extremely rare.
What the figures can show is the pattern recorded within the formal registration system.
Is Being Single Actually a Problem?
There is no simple answer.
For some people, being single provides independence, flexibility and greater control over education, finances, career decisions and personal development.
Single adults can also have strong relationships with friends, siblings, parents, neighbours and wider communities. Romantic partnership is not the only source of companionship or emotional support.
For others, prolonged singlehood can bring loneliness, particularly when being single is not a choice.
The consequences can also extend beyond individuals. Countries experiencing sustained declines in marriage and long-term partnerships often confront broader questions about fertility, ageing populations, housing and social support.
The important distinction is between choosing to be single and wanting a relationship but being unable to find one.
What Does This Mean for Young Sierra Leoneans?
Marriage remains important to many families and communities, but education, urbanisation, career ambitions and economic independence are giving younger adults more influence over when and whether they marry.
That creates both freedom and pressure.
A young woman with her own education, career or business may have greater ability to reject a relationship she considers unhealthy or unsuitable. A young man struggling to secure stable employment may decide to postpone marriage because he does not yet feel financially prepared for the responsibilities associated with it.
At the same time, young adults who delay marriage can face questions and pressure from relatives and communities where marriage remains an important social expectation.
The result is a generation negotiating two worlds: traditional expectations that continue to value marriage strongly and modern economic and social realities that make individual choice increasingly possible.
For Sierra Leone, the question may therefore not simply be whether young people are becoming less interested in marriage.
The bigger question is whether the meaning of marriage itself is changing.
As young Sierra Leoneans gain greater access to education, employment and the wider world, marriage may increasingly become something entered into when the right person and circumstances come together, rather than simply because society says it is time.