The number of Hartlepool adults who are single is revealed by the 2021 Census

This follows a national trend - with the rate of single people increasing since the last Census in 2011.

The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in the town last year was 28,651 up from 25,531 in 2011.

Of those aged 16 and older in Hartlepool, 38.4% were single – up from 34.4% in 2011.

The picture was similar in England and Wales last year, where 37.9% of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6% in 2011.

The Census data shows 42.3% of people in Hartlepool were married or in a civil partnership last year – down from 44.9% 10 years prior.

It also shows 31,270 people were in opposite sex marriages last year – down from 33,211 in 2011 and 187 were in same sex marriages.

There were also 7,148 divorced people and 19 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Hartlepool.

John Wroth-Smith, Census deputy director, said: "We can see that the proportion of people in a marriage or civil partnership has declined, which follows the long-term trend and the number of people who were never married or in a civil partnership has increased.”

Nationally, 21.7 million people were married or in a civil partnership and 9.1% of the population were divorced or no longer in a civil partnership.