The graph shows the number of marriages and divorces in the USA between 1970 and 2000.

The bar graph illustrates data on

rates

of marriages and divorces in the United States from 1970 to 2000 and the general marital status of the

population

in the same time frame.

Overall

, the marriage

rates

have come down over the years

while

the divorce

rates

seem to have increased. The rate of weddings in 1970 was 2.5 million, which fell slowly over the decades and reached a rate of 2 million by the year 2000. The trend with divorce

rates

was a little different, though significantly lower than weddings. They

initially

increased, reaching a peak in the 80s, from which point they continued to decrease by 2000. A major chunk of the grown-up

population

seems to be married, with 70% of the

population

contributing to the statistic in 1970, which is 10 percentage points higher than in 2000.

However

, the separation

rates

seem to be on the higher side in 2000 as compared to 1970, with the numbers being 10% and 1% respectively. About 1 in 5 people were never married in 2000, a statistic higher than in 1970 when 1 in 10 people were unmarried. Widowed

rates

stayed approximately the same. In conclusion, over the 30-year period, marriages seemed to have prevailed and even though the divorcees have increased over the years, they still didn’t make up most of the

population

.