Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in international tourism. Some people think that tourism is beneficial for local communities and should be encouraged. To what extent do you agree or disagree ?

The

first

bar chart illustrates how the

number

of marriages and divorces changed in the USA from 1970 to 2000, while the

second

one compares the percentage of four different types of marital status in 1970 and 2000. It was clear that the

number

of marriages was much higher (about twice) than that of divorces throughout the whole period. To be more specific, the

number

of the former kept the same in 1970 and 1980, with 2.5

millions

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million

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people married.

Then

the

number

showed a downward

trend

, ending at 2

millions

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million

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in 2000.

However

, the

number

experienced some fluctuations. Only about 1

millions

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million

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divorced, the

number

reached its peak at approximately 1.48

millions

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million

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in 1980, followed by a falling

trend

. In the USA, most people chose to get married, despite a falling

trend

.

By contrast

, residents who never got married experienced an opposite

trend

, rising to 20 per cent. And the percentage of widowed and divorced was always very low, never over 10 per cent in both 1970 and 2000. Overall, the

number

of couples in the USA gradually decreased but the percentage of singles — never married and divorced — ascended.