View source for Cohabitation

{{short description|Living arrangement for unmarried couples}}
{{for|a non-marital romantic relationship|Free union}}
{{otheruses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Close Relationships}}
{{Family law|marriage}}

'''Cohabitation''' is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a [[Romance (love)|romantic]] or [[Sexual intercourse|sexually]] [[intimate relationship]] on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become increasingly common in [[Western world|Western countries]] since the late 20th century, led by changing social views, especially regarding [[marriage]]. The term dates from the mid 16th century, being used with this meaning as early as 1530.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date= |title=Definition of Cohabit |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohabit |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241122184838/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohabit |archive-date=November 22, 2024 |access-date=November 22, 2024 |website=[[Merriam-Webster]] |language=en}}</ref>

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==Social changes leading to increase==

[[File:Percentage of birth to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007.png|upright=1.8|thumb|Percentage of births to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007<ref name="non_mar1">{{cite web |title=Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.htm |work=CDC/National Center for Health Statistics |date=13 May 2009|access-date=24 September 2011}}</ref>]]

Cohabitation is a common pattern among people in the Western world.

In Europe, the [[Scandinavia|Scandinavian countries]] began this trend, although many countries have since followed.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Turid Noack |author2=Eva Bernhardt |author3=Kenneth Aarskaug Wiik |author4=Torkild Hovde Lyngstad |title=The realization of marriage plans among cohabiting couples in Scandinavia |url=http://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/110852 |access-date=11 February 2019 |publisher=[[Princeton University]] |archive-date=22 September 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922163100/https://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/110852}}</ref> Mediterranean Europe has traditionally been very conservative, with religion playing a strong role. Until the mid-1990s, cohabitation levels remained low in this region, but have since increased;<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cohabitation in Spain: No longer a marginal path to family formation|author=Teresa Castro Martin |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |date=January 2013 |volume=75 |issue=2 |pages=422–437 |doi=10.1111/jomf.12013 |url=https://www.academia.edu/5467158 |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> for example, in Portugal the majority of children have been born of unwed parents since 2015, constituting 60% of the total in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=60% dos bebés em Portugal são filhos de pais não casados|trans-title=60% of babies in Portugal are children of unmarried parents|work=[[Correio da Manhã (Portugal)|Correio da Manhã]] |date=28 April 2022 |url=https://www.cmjornal.pt/sociedade/detalhe/60-dos-bebes-em-portugal-sao-filhos-de-pais-nao-casados|access-date=16 June 2023 |language=pt}}</ref>

In the United States, over the past few decades there has been an increase in unmarried couples cohabiting.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Larry L. Bumpass |author2=James A. Sweet |title=National Estimates of Cohabitation |journal=Demography |date=1 November 1989 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=615–625 |doi=10.2307/2061261|jstor=2061261 |pmid=2583320 |s2cid=46118819 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Historically, Western countries have been influenced by [[Religion and sexuality#Christianity|Christian doctrine on sex]], which opposes unmarried cohabitation. As social norms have changed, such beliefs have become less widely held and some Christian denominations view cohabitation as a precursor to [[Christian views on marriage|marriage]].<ref name="Taylor2005">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Ina |title=Religion and Life with Christianity |year=2005 |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |isbn=9780435302283 |page=45 |quote=Some Protestant groups, although preferring sex to exist exclusively in a married relationship, understand times have changed. These Christians are prepared to accept cohabitation if it is a prelude to marriage.}}</ref> [[Pope Francis]] has performed the marriages of cohabiting couples who had children,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-15/pope-francis-marries-20-couples-in-first-mass-papal-ceremony/5743838 |title=Pope Francis breaks taboo by marrying cohabiting couples, conducts mass wedding ceremony |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=15 September 2014}}</ref> while former [[archbishop of Canterbury]] [[Rowan Williams]]<ref>{{cite news |title=The no-sex 'myth' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=3 October 2002 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/2296151.stm |access-date=11 February 2019 |quote=An absolute declaration that every sexual partnership must conform to the pattern of commitment or else have the nature of sin and nothing else is unreal and silly.}}</ref> and the archbishop of York [[John Sentamu]] have expressed tolerance of cohabitation.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Tim |last1=Ross |first2=Jonathan |last2=Wynne-Jones |first3=Gordon |last3=Rayner |date=29 April 2011 |title=Royal wedding: Archbishop backs William and Kate's decision to live together before marriage |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8481736/Royal-wedding-Archbishop-backs-William-and-Kates-decision-to-live-together-before-marriage.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 August 2013 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8481736/Royal-wedding-Archbishop-backs-William-and-Kates-decision-to-live-together-before-marriage.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-status=live |newspaper=The Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In recent decades, high rates of participation of women in the workforce and the widespread availability of highly effective [[Long-acting reversible contraception|long acting reversible contraceptives]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=The reproductive context of cohabitation in comparative perspective: Contraceptive use in the United States, Spain, and France |journal=Demographic Research |author1=Megan M. Sweeney |author2=Teresa Castro-Martin |author3-link=Melinda Mills |author3=Melinda Mills |volume=32 |pages=147–182 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.5 |url=http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol32/5/32-5.pdf |year=2015 |doi-access=free}}</ref> has led to women making individual choices over their reproduction with decreased reliance on male partners for financial stability. All these changes favored alternative living arrangements to marriage.<ref>{{cite thesis |type=doctor rerum politicarum |publisher=University of Rostock |url=http://demogr.mpg.de/publications%5Cfiles%5C3367_1248875633_1_Full%20Text.pdf |title=Non-Marital Cohabitation in Italy |author=Christin Löffler|date=31 March 2009}}</ref>

In Central and Eastern Europe, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were major political changes, such as the fall of Communist governments. These societies entered a new era of increased social freedom, less rigid rules, and less authoritarian governments. They interacted with Western Europe and some became members of the European Union. As a result, the patterns of family life started to change: marriage rates have declined, and marriage was postponed to a later age. Cohabitation and births to unmarried mothers increased, and in some countries the increase was quick.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Thornton A, Philipov D |title=Sweeping Changes in Marriage, Cohabitation, and Childbearing in Central and Eastern Europe: New Insights from the Developmental Idealism Framework |journal=European Journal of Population |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=123–156 |year=2009 |pmid=19498956 |pmc=2690230 |doi=10.1007/s10680-009-9181-2 }}</ref>

The ''deinstitutionalization of marriage'' refers to the weakening of the social and legal norms that regulate peoples' behavior in regard to marriage.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Deinstitutionalization of American Marriage|journal = Journal of Marriage and Family|volume = 66|issue = 4|pages = 848–861|jstor = 3600162|last1 = Cherlin|first1 = Andrew J.|year = 2004|doi = 10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00058.x}}</ref> The rise in cohabitation is part of other major social changes such as higher divorce rate, older age at first marriage and childbearing, and more births outside marriage. Factors such as secularization, increased participation of women in the labor force, changes in the meaning of marriage, risk reduction, individualism, and changing views on sexuality have been cited as contributing to these social changes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epc2008.princeton.edu/papers/80065 |author=Ernestina Coast |title=Currently cohabiting: relationship expectations and outcomes in the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) |publisher=[[Princeton University]] |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213091038/http://epc2008.princeton.edu/papers/80065 |archive-date=2013-12-13 |url-status=dead}}</ref> There has also been a change in modern [[sexual ethics]], with a focus on consent, rather than marital status (i.e. decriminalization of [[adultery]] and [[fornication]]; criminalization of [[marital rape]]), reflecting new concepts on the role and purpose of sexual interaction, and new conceptualizations of [[female sexuality]] and of self-determination.<ref>{{cite book |title=Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape |last=Friedman |first=Jaclyn |author2=Jessica Valenti |year=2008 |publisher=Seal Press |isbn=978-1-58005-257-3 |author2-link=Jessica Valenti |url=https://archive.org/details/yesmeansyes00frie |url-access=registration}}</ref> There have been objections against the legal and social regulation of female sexuality; with such regulations being often seen as violations of [[women's rights]].{{efn|High Commissioner for Human Rights [[Navi Pillay]] has called for full respect and recognition of women's autonomy and sexual and reproductive health rights, stating: "Violations of women's human rights are often linked to their sexuality and reproductive role. Women are frequently treated as property, they are sold into marriage, into trafficking, into sexual slavery. (...) In many countries, married women may not refuse to have sexual relations with their husbands, and often have no say in whether they use contraception. (...) Ensuring that women have full autonomy over their bodies is the first crucial step towards achieving substantive equality between women and men. Personal issues – such as when, how and with whom they choose to have sex, and when, how and with whom they choose to have children – are at the heart of living a life in dignity."<ref>{{cite web |type=Lecture |author=Navi Pillay |date=15 May 2012 |title=Valuing Women as Autonomous Beings: Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights |work=Helen Kanzira Lecture |place=Pretoria |publisher=University of Pretoria - Centre for Human Rights |url=http://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/news/news_2012/Navi%20Pillay%20Lecture%2015%20May%202012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313210726/http://www.chr.up.ac.za/images/files/news/news_2012/Navi%20Pillay%20Lecture%2015%20May%202012.pdf|archive-date=13 March 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} In addition, some individuals may feel that marriage is unnecessary or outdated, leading to couples not formalizing their relation.<ref name="Elena von der Lippe">{{cite conference |conference=XXV International Population Conference of the International Union for the Scientific Study of the Population |place=Tours, France |date=July 18–23, 2005 |title=Contemporary union formation in Bulgaria: the emergence of cohabitation |author=Elena von der Lippe (Koytcheva) |via=ResearchGate |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200166754 |access-date=22 August 2015}} DRAFT VERSION: Do not cite or quote.</ref> For instance, in the European Values Study (EVS) of 2008, the percentage of respondents who agreed with the assertion that "Marriage is an outdated institution" was 37.5% in Luxembourg, 35.4% in France, 34.3% in Belgium, 31.2% in Spain, 30.5% in Austria, 29.2% in Germany, 27.7% in Switzerland, 27.2% in Bulgaria, 27.0% in the Netherlands, 25.0% in Slovenia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA4783&variable=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA4783_V252&mode=documentation&submode=variable&top=yes&language=en |title=Variable v238: do you justify: adultery (Q68F) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218080449/https://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA4783&variable=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA4783_V252&mode=documentation&submode=variable&top=yes&language=en |archive-date=18 February 2020}} See for each country: Variable Description – Family – Q 45.{{better source|date=June 2023|reason=Original URL is dead and archive page does not return the data with these instructions.}}</ref>

The fact that many couples choose to live together without formalizing their relation is also recognized by the European Union. A 2004 directive forbids EU members from denying entry or residence of [[Domestic partnership|partners]] "with whom the Union citizen has a durable relationship, duly attested."<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 April 2004 |title=Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States |work=Official Journal of the European Union |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:229:0035:0048:en:PDF |access-date=7 August 2022}}</ref>

==Reasons for cohabitation in the United States==
{{Main|Cohabitation in the United States}}

Cohabitation in the United States is often a part of the dating process.<ref name="Kramer 2004 28">{{cite journal |last=Kramer |first=Elise |title=Cohabitation: Just a Phase? |journal=Psychology Today |date=September–October 2004 |volume=37 |page=28}}</ref> In fact, "cohabitation is increasingly becoming the first coresidential union formed among young adults".<ref name="autogenerated2002">{{cite journal |vauthors=Goodwin PY, Mosher WD, Chandra A |year=2010 |title=Marriage and cohabitation in the United States: A statistical portrait based on Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth (National Center for Health Statistics) |journal=Vital Health Statistics |volume=23 |pages=1–55}}</ref>
By 1996, more than two-thirds of married couples in the US said that they lived together before getting married.<ref name="Sharon Jayson">{{cite news|author=Sharon Jayson |title=Cohabitation is Replacing Dating|work=USA Today
|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2005-07-17-cohabitation_x.htm
|date=18 July 2005}}</ref> "In 1994, there were 3.7 million cohabiting couples in the United States."<ref name="Journal">{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=S.L. |last2=Booth |first2=A. |year=1996 |title=Cohabitation versus marriage: A comparison of relationship quality |journal=Journal of Marriage and the Family |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=668–678 |doi=10.2307/353727 |jstor=353727}}</ref> This is a major increase from a few decades earlier. According to Dr. Galena Rhoades, "Before 1970, living together outside marriage was uncommon, but by the late 1990s at least 50% to 60% of couples lived together premaritally."<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |year=2012 |title=A longitudinal investigation of commitment dynamics in cohabiting relationships |journal=Journal of Family Issues |volume=33 |issue=3| pages=369–390 |doi=10.1177/0192513x11420940| pmc=3377181 |pmid=22736881}}</ref>

People may live together for a number of reasons. Cohabitants could live together to save money, or because of the convenience of living with another, or a need to find housing.<ref name="Kramer 2004 28"/>
Lower income individuals facing financial uncertainty may delay or avoid marriage, not only because of the cost of a wedding<ref name="Smock2004">{{cite journal
|url=http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/pdf/rr04-564.pdf
|author1=Pamela J. Smock|author1-link=Pamela Smock |author2=Wendy D. Manning |author3=Meredith Porter
|title="Everything's There Except Money": How Money Shapes Decisions to Marry Among Cohabitors
|journal=Journal of Marriage and Family
|year=2005
|volume=67
|issue=3
|pages=680–696
|doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00162.x
|access-date=29 November 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405094608/http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/pdf/rr04-564.pdf
|archive-date=5 April 2013
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> but also because of fear of financial hardship if a marriage were to end in divorce.<ref name="pmid22822285">{{cite journal |vauthors=Miller AJ, Sassler S, Kusi-Appouh D |title=The Specter of Divorce: Views From Working- and Middle-Class Cohabitors |journal=Fam Relat |year=2011 |volume=60 |issue=5 |pages=602–616 |pmid=22822285 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00671.x |pmc=3399247}}</ref>

When responding to a survey of the reasons for cohabitation, most couples listed reasons such as spending more time together, convenience-based reasons, and testing their relationships, while few gave the reason that they do not believe in marriage.<ref name=pmc2743430>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |year=2009a |title=Couples' reasons for cohabitation: Association with individual well-being and relationship quality |journal=Journal of Family Issues |volume=30| issue=2| pages=233–258| pmc=2743430| pmid=19756225| doi=10.1177/0192513x08324388}}</ref> The extremely high costs of housing and tight budgets of the economy are also factors that can lead a couple to cohabitation.<ref name="Sharon Jayson"/>

Sixty percent of all marriages are preceded by a period of cohabitation.<ref name="Cohabitation">{{cite web |title=Cohabitation |website=For Your Marriage |url=http://foryourmarriage.org/catholic-marriage/church-teachings/cohabitation/ |access-date=16 March 2012}}</ref> Researchers suggest that couples live together as a way of trying out marriage to test compatibility with their partners, while still having the option of ending the relationship without legal implications.<ref>{{cite report |author1=Wendy D. Manning |author2=P. J. Smock |author2-link=Pamela Smock|date=2009 |publisher=[[National Council on Family Relations]] |id=NCFR Report 54 |title=Divorce-proofing marriage: Young adults' views on the connection between cohabitation and marital longevity}}</ref> In 1996, "More than three-quarters of all cohabitors report[ed] plans to marry their partners, which implies that most of them viewed cohabitation as a prelude to marriage."<ref name="Journal"/> Cohabitation shares many qualities with marriage. Often couples who are cohabiting share a residence, personal resources, exclude intimate relations with others, and more than 10% of cohabiting couples have children.<ref name="Journal"/> "Many young adults believe cohabitation is a good way to test their relationships prior to marriage."<ref name=pmc2743430/> Couples who have plans to marry before moving in together or who are engaged before cohabiting typically marry within two years of living together.<ref name="Murrow 2010 397–412">{{cite journal |last=Murrow |first=Carrie |author2=Lin Shi|s2cid=144241396|title=The Influence of Cohabitation Purposes on Relationship Quality: An Examination in Dimensions |journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy |year=2010|volume=38|issue=5|pages=397–412 |doi=10.1080/01926187.2010.513916}}</ref> The state of cohabitation of a couple often ends either in marriage or in break-up; according to a 1996 study about 10% of cohabiting unions remained in this state more than five years.<ref name="Journal"/> According to a survey done by The National Center for Health Statistics, "over half of marriages from 1990 to 1994 among women began as cohabitation."<ref name="autogenerated2002"/>

Cohabitation can be an alternative to marriage in situations where marriage is not possible for legal or religious reasons (such as [[same-sex marriage|same-sex]], [[interracial marriage|interracial]] or [[interreligious marriage]]s).<ref name="Murrow 2010 397–412"/>

Cohabitation, sometimes called de facto marriage, is becoming a more common substitute for conventional marriage.{{cn|date=August 2022}} [[Common-law marriage in the United States]] can still be contracted in nine US states, and in two others under restriction.{{efn|"Eleven states recognize common-law marriages currently being established within their borders. They are Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Utah."<ref>{{cite book |title=Common-Law Marriage Handbook |date=June 2016 |publisher=U.S. Department of Labor |url=https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/PolicyandProcedures/CommonLaw_Marriage.pdf |page=13}}</ref> However, in New Hampshire, common law [[Posthumous marriage|marriage is recognized only posthumously]], for purposes of probate only,<ref>{{cite web |title=Title XLIII: Domestic Relations — Chapter 457: Marriages, Proof of Marriage — Section 457:39 |website=gencourt.state.nh.us |url=http://gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/457/457-39.htm |access-date=2023-06-25 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014190117/http://gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/457/457-39.htm |archive-date=14 October 2007}}</ref> and Utah recognizes common-law marriages only if they have been validated by a court or administrative order.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE30/htm/30_01_000405.htm |access-date=16 December 2014 |title=Title 30 Chapter 1 Section 4.5 |publisher=Utah State Legislature |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216175439/http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE30/htm/30_01_000405.htm}}</ref>}} This helps provide the surviving partner a legal basis for inheriting the decedent's belongings in the event of the death of their cohabiting partner. In modern cohabiting relationships, forty percent of households include children, giving an idea of how cohabitation could be considered a new normative type of family dynamic.<ref name="Cohabitation"/> In 2012, 41% of all births in the US were to unmarried women.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/7-births-to-unmarried-women#detailed/1/any/false/868/any/257,258 |title=Births to unmarried women (for the nation, 2012) |website=Kids Count Data Center |publisher=The Annie E. Casey Foundation |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> In three states ([[Mississippi]] – 55%, [[Louisiana]] – 53%, and [[New Mexico]] – 52%) births outside marriage were in the majority; the lowest percentage of births outside marriage was in Utah, at 19%.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datacenter.aecf.org/data/tables/7-births-to-unmarried-women#detailed/2/2-52/false/868/any/257,258 |title=Births to unmarried women (by state, 2012) |website=Kids Count Data Center |publisher=The Annie E. Casey Foundation |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> During the period 2006–2010, 58% of births outside marriage were to cohabiting parents.<ref>{{cite web|author=Joan Raymond |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/more-unmarried-moms-are-living-partners-n179031|title=More Unmarried Moms Are Living With Partners |work=NBC News |date=13 August 2014 |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>

==Contemporary objections to cohabitation==

Contemporary objections to cohabiting couples include religious opposition to non-marital unions, social pressure for couples to get married, and potential effects of cohabitation on a child's development.

The rise in the number of cohabiting couples and children born out of wedlock in the Western world has made cohabitation a strong focus of sociological research.<ref name="germanypmc"/> The rise in cohabiting couples in the United States, from around 450,000 in 1960 to 7.5&nbsp;million in 2011<ref>{{cite news|last=Jay|first=M |title=The Downside of Cohabitation Before Marriage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday|access-date=22 April 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 April 2012}}</ref> has been accompanied by US research performed on child development within cohabiting households.<ref name="Dunifon">{{cite journal|last1=Dunifon|first1=R |last2=Kowaleski-Jones|first2=L|title=Who's in the house? race differences in cohabitation, single-parenthood, and child development|journal=Child Development|year=2002 |volume=73|issue=4|url=http://ebscohost.com|access-date=22 April 2012|doi=10.1111/1467-8624.00470|pmid=12146746 |pages=1249–1264}}</ref> Opponents of cohabitation say non-marital parenting is an unsuitable environment for a child's development. One study from 2002 correlated lower numeracy skills and higher delinquency to children of cohabiting couples;<ref name="Dunifon" /> however, recent studies that control for factors including poverty, the educational level of parents and violence in the home show children of cohabiting couples are developmentally similar to peers of comparable married couples.<ref>{{cite news |last=Coontz|first=S.|title=Cohabitation Doesn't Cause Bad Parenting|newspaper=The New York Times|date=30 August 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/opinion|access-date=22 April 2012}}</ref>

===Effect on children===

In 2001, researchers compared teenage children in the United States living in a cohabiting household (a single mother and her boyfriend who was not related to the teenager) against peers in single-parent households. The results showed white and Hispanic teenagers had lower performance in school, greater risk of suspension or expulsion than peers from single-parent households, and the same rate of behavioral and emotional problems.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Sandi |author2=Rebecca L. Clark |author3=Gregory Acs |title=Beyond the Two-Parent Family: How Teenagers Fare in Cohabitating Couple and Blended Families |journal=Urban Institute |date=May 2001 |series=New Federalism: National Survey of America's Families |issue=B-31 |url=http://www.urban.org/publications/310339.html |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=16 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716000838/http://www.urban.org/publications/310339.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A study on the 1995 and 2002 National Survey of Family Growth found increases in both the prevalence and duration of unmarried cohabitation.<ref name="pmid19119426">{{cite journal |last=Kennedy |first=Sheela |author2=Larry Bumpass |title=Cohabitation and children's living arrangements: New estimates from the United States |journal=Demographic Research |date=19 September 2008 |volume=19 |issue=47 |pages=1663–1692 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.47 |pmc=2612998 |pmid=19119426}}</ref> The study found that 40% of children in the United States would live in a cohabiting household by age 12, and children born to single mothers were more likely than those born to married mothers to live in a cohabiting household. The percentage of women ages 19–44 who had ever cohabited increased from 45% in 1995 to 54% in 2002.<ref name="pmid19119426" />

In 2002, 63% of women who graduate from high school were found to spend some time cohabiting, compared to only 45% of women with a four-year college degree.<ref name="pmid19119426" /> Cohabiting couples who have children often get married. One study found that children born of parents who cohabit are 90% more likely to end up living in households with married parents than children born to single mothers. 67% of unmarried Hispanic mothers are expected to marry, while 40% of African American mothers are expected to marry.<ref name="pmid19119426" />

===Religious views===
{{main|Fornication}}
{{See also|Marriage#Religion|Extramarital sex#Religions}}

Studies have found that religious affiliation correlates with cohabitation and marriage entry.<ref name="peer2011">{{cite journal |vauthors=Manning WD, Cohen JA, [[Pamela Smock|Smock PJ]] |title=The Role of Romantic Partners, Family and Peer Networks in Dating Couples' Views about Cohabitation |journal=J Adolesc Res |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=115–149 |date=January 2011 |pmid=23087542 |pmc=3476461 |doi=10.1177/0743558410376833}}</ref> People frequently cite religious reasons for their opposition to cohabitation. The Roman Catholic Church and nearly all mainstream Protestant denominations around the world oppose cohabitation and consider it to be the sin of [[fornication]].<ref name=Halstead>{{cite journal |last=Halstead |first=J |title=Muslims and Sex Education |journal=Journal of Moral Education |year=1997 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=317–331 |doi=10.1080/0305724970260306}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |work=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |title=Marriage Preparation and Cohabitating Couples |url=http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/marriage-preparation/cohabiting.cfm |year=1999 |publisher=United States Catholic Conference Inc. |access-date=22 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713192304/http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/marriage-preparation/cohabiting.cfm|archive-date=13 July 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Prager">{{cite web |last=Prager|first=D|title=Judaism's sexual revolution: Why Judaism (and then Christianity) rejected homosexuality |website=Orthodoxy Today |url=http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles2/PragerHomosexuality.php|access-date=22 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127051825/http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles2/PragerHomosexuality.php |archive-date=27 January 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, others, such as the [[Church of England]] "welcome cohabiting couples in the Church and encourage them to regard cohabitation as a prelude to [[Christian marriage]]."<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Ina |title=Religion and Life with Christianity |year=2005 |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |isbn=9780435302283 |page=45}}</ref>

Religion can also lead to societal pressures against cohabitation especially within highly religious communities.<ref name=jstor-2781460>{{cite journal |vauthors=Thorton A, Axinn W |title=Reciprocal effects of religiosity, cohabitation, and marriage |journal=American Journal of Sociology |date=November 1992 |volume=98 |issue=3 |pages=628–651 |jstor=2781460 |doi=10.1086/230051 |s2cid=143924400}}</ref> Some couples may refrain from cohabitation because one or both partners fear disappointing or alienating conservative family members.<ref name="peer2011"/> Young adults who grew up in families that oppose cohabitation have lower rates than their peers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Newman |first=B. |title=Development Through Life: A Psychosocial Approach |year=2011 |publisher=Wadsworth |isbn=978-1-111-34466-5}}</ref>

The increase in cohabitation in the United States and other developed nations has been linked to the [[secularization]] of those countries.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Impicciatore R, Billari FC |title=Secularization, Union Formation Practices, and Marital Stability: Evidence from Italy |journal=Eur J Popul |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=119–138 |date=May 2012 |pmid=22707812 |pmc=3371187 |doi=10.1007/s10680-012-9255-4}}</ref> Researchers have noted that changes in the religious demographics of a society have accompanied the rise in cohabitation.<ref name=jstor-2781460/>

Non-marital and same-sex relationships are forbidden by the Islamic law of [[Zina]],<ref name=Halstead/> and cohabitation is against the law in many Muslim majority countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite web |title=New Sorrow for Afghanistan: AIDS Joins List |url=http://www.aidsportal.org/news_details.aspx?ID=4236 |website=AIDSPortal |archive-date=26 October 2008 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20081026065259/http://www.aidsportal.org/news_details.aspx?ID=4236 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="travel.state.gov">{{cite web |title=Iran |website=Travel.state.gov |url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1142.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801084310/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1142.html}}</ref> Iran,<ref name="travel.state.gov"/> Kuwait,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/2f5665ae20b956cb8025675a0033cafb?Opendocument |title=Summary record of the 488th meeting: Kuwait. 04/14/1999. CRC/C/SR.488. (Summary Record) |work=Convention on the Rights of the Child |place=Palais des Nations, Geneva |date=28 September 1998 |publisher=United Nations |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182449/http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/2f5665ae20b956cb8025675a0033cafb?Opendocument |archive-date=2011-06-04}}</ref> Maldives,<ref>{{cite web |title=Culture of Maldives |website=Everyculture.com |url=http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Maldives.html}}</ref> Morocco,<ref>{{cite news|last=Fakim |first=Nora |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19049000 |title=Morocco: Should pre-marital sex be legal? |website=BBC News |date=9 August 2012}}</ref> Oman,<ref>{{cite web |title=Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offences against children – Oman |publisher=Interpol |url=http://www.interpol.com/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaOman.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616214243/http://www.interpol.com/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaOman.pdf |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Mauritania,<ref>{{cite web |title=Mauritania |date=8 April 2011 |work=2010 Human Rights Report |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154358.htm |via=State.gov}}</ref> United Arab Emirates,<ref>{{cite web |author=Dubai FAQs |url=http://www.dubaifaqs.com/education-dubai.php |title=Education in Dubai |website=Dubaifaqs.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mate.ae/flat-and-room-sharing-guide-dubai-uae |title=Dubai Room Sharing Guide |website=mate.ae |access-date=2018-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328043507/https://www.mate.ae/flat-and-room-sharing-guide-dubai-uae |archive-date=28 March 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Judd |first1=Terri |last2=Sajn |first2=Nikolina |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/briton-faces-jail-for-sex-on-dubai-beach-863918.html |title=Briton faces jail for sex on Dubai beach |work=The Independent |date=10 July 2008}}</ref> Sudan,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sudan must rewrite rape laws to protect victims |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/28/idUSL28849488._CH_.2400 |work=Reuters |date=28 June 2007 |access-date=30 June 2017 |archive-date=15 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615115805/http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/28/idUSL28849488._CH_.2400 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and Yemen.<ref>{{cite web |author=Amal Basha |author2=Rana Ghanem |author3=Nabil Abdulhafid |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47387b712f.html/ |via=Refworld |title=Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa – Yemen |publisher=Freedom House}}</ref>

==Effects on marriage and family life==

===Likelihood of split===

Conflicting studies on the effect of cohabitation on subsequent marriage have been published. In countries where the majority of people disapprove of unmarried individuals living together, or a minority of the population cohabits before marriage, marriages resulting from cohabitation are more prone to divorce. But in a study on European countries, those where around half of the population cohabits before marriage, cohabitation is not selective of divorce-prone individuals, and no difference in couples that have cohabited before and after marriage is observed.<ref name="pmid16889125">{{cite journal |vauthors=Liefbroer AC, Dourleijn E |s2cid=13210179 |title=Unmarried cohabitation and union stability: testing the role of diffusion using data from 16 European countries |journal=Demography |year=2006 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=203–221 |pmid=16889125 |doi=10.1353/dem.2006.0018 |doi-access= free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://econpapers.repec.org/article/uwpjhriss/v_3a39_3ay_3a2004_3ai_3a2_3ap523-535.htm |author=Svarer, Michael
|year=2004
|journal=Journal of Human Resources
|title=Is Your Love in Vain? Another Look at Premarital Cohabitation and Divorce
|pages=523–535
|volume=39
|issue=2
|doi=10.2307/3559025|jstor=3559025
}}</ref> In countries such as Italy, the increased risk of marital disruption for people who experienced premarital cohabitation can be entirely attributed to the selection of the most divorce-prone into cohabitation.<ref name="pmid22707812">{{cite journal |vauthors=Impicciatore R, Billari FC |title=Secularization, Union Formation Practices, and Marital Stability: Evidence from Italy. |journal=Eur J Popul |year=2012 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=119–138 |pmid=22707812 |doi=10.1007/s10680-012-9255-4 |pmc=3371187}}</ref>

In 2002, the [[Centers for Disease Control|CDC]] found that for married couples the likelihood percentage of the relationship ending after five years is 20%, for unmarried cohabitators the likelihood percentage is 49%. After 10 years the likelihood percentage for the relationship to end is 33% for married couples and 62% for unmarried cohabitators.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cohabitating and Domestic Partnership.
|work=PsychPage |url=http://www.psychpage.com/family/mod_couples_thx/cohabitation.html |access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Report Sheds Light on Trends and Patterns in Marriage, Divorce, and Cohabitation
|date=24 July 2002
|work=National Center for Health Statistics
|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control]]
|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/02news/div_mar_cohab.htm}}</ref> One German study found that in regions with high rates of childbirth to cohabitating parents, no negative effect is observed in cohabitation. The study states "union stability of cohabiting mothers is positively related to their prevalence".<ref name=germanypmc/>

A 2004 study of 136 couples (272 individuals) from researchers at the [[University of Denver]] found differences among couples that cohabited before engagement, after engagement, or not until marriage. The [[longitudinal study]] collected survey data before marriage and 10 months into marriage, with findings suggesting those who cohabit before engagement are at greater risk for poor marital outcomes than those who cohabit only after engagement or at marriage.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |url         = http://cyber.gwc.cccd.edu/faculty/sisonio/timing.pdf
 |journal     = Journal of Family Psychology
 |publisher   = [[American Psychological Association]]
 |title       = Timing Is Everything: Pre-Engagement Cohabitation and Increased Risk for Poor Marital Outcomes
 |author1     = Galena H. Kline
 |author2     = Scott M. Stanley
 |year        = 2004
 |doi         = 10.1037/0893-3200.18.2.311
 |pmid = 15222838
 |volume      = 18
 |issue = 2
 |pages       = 311–318
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120813175600/http://cyber.gwc.cccd.edu/faculty/sisonio/timing.pdf
 |archive-date = 13 August 2012
}}</ref>
A follow-up [[Statistical survey|survey]] by the researches of over 1,000 married men and women married in the past 10 years found those who moved in with a lover before engagement or marriage reported significantly lower quality marriages and a greater possibility of a separation than other couples.<ref name="pmid19203165">{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |title=The pre-engagement cohabitation effect: a replication and extension of previous findings. |journal=J Fam Psychol |year=2009 |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=107–111 |pmid=19203165 |doi=10.1037/a0014358 |pmc=5956907}}</ref>
About 20% of those who cohabited before getting engaged had since suggested splitting – compared with only 12% of those who only moved in together after getting engaged and 10% who did not cohabit prior to marriage.<ref name="telegraph.co.uk">{{cite news |title=Couples who live together before marriage more likely to get divorced |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=16 July 2009 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5840263/Couples-who-live-together-before-marriage-more-likely-to-get-divorced.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5840263/Couples-who-live-together-before-marriage-more-likely-to-get-divorced.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 

Another 2004 study of 92 couples linked communication to cohabitation and instability. They found that married couples who cohabited before they were married had more negative problem-solving and communication skills. They also found that those who had cohabited expressed more (verbal) aggression throughout their conversations. This negative communication could be contributing to the cohabitation effect and causing a larger amount of marital instability.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cohan |first1=Catherine L. |last2=Kleinbaum |first2=Stacey |date=February 2002 |title=Toward a Greater Understanding of the Cohabitation Effect: Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Communication |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |language=en |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=180–192 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00180.x |issn=0022-2445}}</ref>

The researchers from Denver suggest that relationships with pre-engagement cohabitation "may wind up sliding into marriage",<ref name="telegraph.co.uk"/> whereas those that only cohabit post engagement or marriage make a more clear decision. This could explain their 2006 study of 197 heterosexual couples finding that men who cohabited with their spouse before engagement were less dedicated than men who cohabited only after engagement or not at all before marriage.<ref name="pmid17176189">{{cite journal|vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |s2cid=24707669 |title=Pre-engagement cohabitation and gender asymmetry in marital commitment |journal=J Fam Psychol |year=2006 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=553–560 |doi=10.1037/0893-3200.20.4.553 |pmid=17176189}}</ref>
In some heterosexual couples, women are more likely to understand cohabitation as an intermediary step preceding marriage, and men more likely to perceive it without an explicit connection to marriage.<ref name="Sharon Jayson"/><ref name="pmid21643456">{{cite journal |vauthors=Huang PM, [[Pamela Smock|Smock PJ]], Manning WD, Bergstrom-Lynch CA |title=He Says, She Says: Gender and Cohabitation |journal=J Fam Issues |year=2011 |volume=32 |issue=7 |pages=876–905 |pmid=21643456 |pmc=3106995 |doi=10.1177/0192513X10397601}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|author=Meg Jay|title=The Downside of Cohabiting Before Marriage
|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 April 2012
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/the-downside-of-cohabiting-before-marriage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
}}</ref>

An analysis of data from the CDC's [[National Survey of Family Growth]] data from 1988, 1995, and 2002 suggests that the positive relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital instability has weakened for more recent birth and marriage cohorts, as the total number of couples cohabiting before marriage has increased.<ref name="pmid20879685">{{cite journal| vauthors=Reinhold S| title=Reassessing the link between premarital cohabitation and marital instability| journal=Demography| year=2010| volume=47| issue=3| pages=719–733| pmid=20879685| doi=10.1353/dem.0.0122| pmc=3000053}}</ref>

Later CDC work found that between 2002 and 2006-2010, the number of couples in opposite-sex cohabiting relationships increased from 9.0% to 11.2% for women, and from 9.2% to 12.2% for men.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/abc_list_c.htm#chabitation
|title=Key Statistics from the National Survey of Family Growth
|work=National Survey of Family Growth
|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control]]
}}</ref>
Drawing on the 2006–2008 data, [[Princeton University]] researchers examined whether and to what extent variation in premarital cohabitation experiences influence marital stability. They found that the relationship between cohabitation and marital instability is complex and depends in part on marriage cohort, race/ethnicity, and marriage plans. Their analyses reveal that a 'cohabitation effect' exists only for women married prior to 1996, and that, until marriage plans are considered, there is no cohabitation effect among women married since 1996.<ref>{{cite web
|author1=Wendy D. Manning
|author2=Jessica A. Cohen
|url=http://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/112067
|publisher=[[Princeton University]]
|title=Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution: The Significance of Marriage Cohort
|access-date=22 November 2012
|archive-date=15 April 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415160801/https://paa2011.princeton.edu/papers/112067
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

Recent research from 2011 by the [[Pew Research Center]] has found that the number of couples that cohabit before marriage has increased. 44% of adults (and more than half of 30- to 49-year-olds) say they have cohabited at some point. Nearly two-thirds of adults who ever cohabited (64%) say they thought about it as a step toward marriage. The report also notes a trend toward rising public acceptance of cohabiting couples over the years. Most Americans now say the rise in unmarried couples living together either makes no difference to society (46%) or is good for society (9%).<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1959/family-meals-cohabitation-divorce-new-findings-contradict-conventional-wisdom
 |title        = New Facts About Families – Recent Findings on Family Meals, Cohabitation and Divorce
 |author       = D'Vera Cohn
 |date         = 8 April 2011
 |work         = Pew Research Center Publications
 |publisher    = [[Pew Research Center]]
 |access-date  = 22 November 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121016222803/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1959/family-meals-cohabitation-divorce-new-findings-contradict-conventional-wisdom
 |archive-date = 16 October 2012
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

A 2012 study found that, among cohabiting individuals, those who were engaged prior to cohabitation or had "definite plans for marriage" were linked to lower risks of marital instability among women, but the relationship was not observed with men.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Wendy Manning |author2=Jessica Cohen |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family| title=Premarital cohabitation and marital dissolution: An examination of recent marriages |pmc=3487709 |pmid=23129875 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00960.x |volume=74 |issue=2 |date=April 2012 |pages=377–387}}</ref>

One study on low to moderate income couples living with minor children found that respondents who became sexually involved within the first month of their relationship were correlated to lower scores of relationship quality among women.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Sassler S, Addo FR, Lichter OT |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family| title=The tempo of sexual activity and later relationship quality |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00996.x| volume=74 |issue=4 |pages=708–725 |year=2012}}</ref> Another study found respondents to a mail-in survey self-reported higher levels of commitment in the cohabiting group, as well as lower relationship satisfaction and more negative communication.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rhoades GK, Stanley SM, Markman HJ |journal=Journal of Family Psychology| title=The impact of the transition to cohabitation on relationship functioning: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings |pmid=22545935 |pmc=5956859 |doi=10.1037/a0028316 |volume=26 |issue=3 |date=June 2012 |pages=348–358}}</ref>

A 2018 study found that cohabiting before marriage was linked to a lower risk of divorce during the first year of marriage, but a greater risk of divorce in the long run.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Michael J. Rosenfeld |author2=Katharina Roesler |title=Cohabitation Experience and Cohabitation's Association With Marital Dissolution |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |date=24 September 2018 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=42–58 |s2cid=150211124 |doi=10.1111/jomf.12530|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, a report published by the Council on Contemporary Families that same year found that couples who cohabited before marriage were less likely to divorce than couples who did not.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fetters |first1=Ashley |title=So Is Living Together Before Marriage Linked to Divorce or What? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/10/premarital-cohabitation-divorce/573817/ |access-date=14 March 2021 |work=The Atlantic |date=24 October 2018}}</ref>

===Abuse and infidelity===

University of Chicago sociologist [[Linda Waite]]<ref name="chronicle.uchicago.edu">{{cite journal |vauthors=Harms W |year=2000 |title=The University of Chicago Chronicle |url=http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/000302/cohabit.shtml |journal=Research Looks at Cohabitation's Negative Effects |volume=19 |issue=11}}</ref> found that "16 percent of cohabiting women reported that arguments with their partners became physical during the past year, while only 5 percent of married women had similar experiences."  Most cohabiting couples have a faithful relationship, but Waite's surveys also demonstrated that 20% of cohabiting women reported having secondary sex partners, compared to only 4% of married women.<ref name="pmid1393717">{{cite journal| vauthors=Margolin L| title=Child abuse by mothers' boyfriends: why the overrepresentation?| journal=Child Abuse Negl| year=1992| volume=16| issue=4| pages=541–551| doi=10.1016/0145-2134(92)90070-8| pmid=1393717}}</ref>

According to an article by Judith Treas and Deirdre Giesen, cohabiting couples are twice as likely to experience infidelity within the relationship than married couples.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Judith Treas |author2=Deirdre Giesen|title=Sexual Infidelity Among Married and Cohabiting Americans|journal=Journal of Marriage and Family|date=February 2000|volume=62|issue=1|pages=48–60 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00048.x}}<!--|access-date=18 April 2012--></ref>

=== Fertility ===
Regarding cohabitation as a [[fertility factor (demography)|fertility factor]], a large survey in the United States came to the result that married women had an average of 1.9 children, compared to 1.3 among those cohabiting. The corresponding numbers for men were 1.7 and 1.1, respectively. The difference of 0.6 children for both sexes was expected to decrease to between 0.2 and 0.3 over the lifetime when correcting for the [[confounder]] that married people have their children earlier in life.<ref name=us2012>{{cite web |author1=Gladys Martinez |author2=Kimberly Daniels |author3=Anjani Chandra |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr051.pdf |title=Fertility of Men and Women Aged 15–44 Years in the United States: National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010 |publisher=Division of Vital Statistics, [[National Center for Health Statistics]] |year=2012}}</ref>

A study of the United States and multiple countries in Europe came to the result that women who continue to cohabit after birth have significantly lower probability of having a second child than married women in all countries except those in Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=European Journal of Population |year=2014 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=437–464 |title=How Similar are Cohabiting and Married Parents? Second Conception Risks by Union Type in the United States and Across Europe |author=Brienna Perelli-Harris |doi=10.1007/s10680-014-9320-2 |pmid=25395696 |pmc=4221046}}</ref> Another study, on the contrary, came to the result that cohabiting couples in France have equal fertility as married ones.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research |author1=Nicoletta Balbo |author2=Francesco C. Billari |author3=Melinda Mills |journal=European Journal of Population |year=2013 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=1–38 |doi=10.1007/s10680-012-9277-y |pmid=23440941 |pmc=3576563}}</ref> Also, Russians have a higher fertility within cohabitation, while Romanians rather tend to have childless marriages.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Potarca, Mills, Lesnard|year=2013 |title=Family Formation Trajectories in Romania, the Russian Federation and France: Towards the Second Demographic Transition? |journal=European Journal of Population |volume=29 |pages=69–101 |s2cid=3270388 |url=http://spire.sciencespo.fr/hdl:/2441/53r60a8s3kup1vc9l2o8ij6a6 |doi=10.1007/s10680-012-9279-9}}</ref>

Survey data from 2003 in [[Romania]] came to the result that marriage equalized the total fertility rate among both highly educated and low educated people to approximately 1.4. Among those cohabiting, on the other hand, lower level of education increased fertility rate to 1.7, and a higher level of education decreased it to 0.7.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Recent Features of Cohabitational and Marital Fertility in Romania|author1=Jan M. Hoem |author2=Cornelia Mureşan |author3=Mihaela Hărăguş |journal=Population English Edition|year=2013 |url=http://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2013-007.pdf}}</ref> On the other hand, another study came to the result that Romanian women with little education have about equal fertility in marital and cohabiting partnerships.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hoem, Jan M. |author2=Muresan, Cornelia |title=The Role of Consensual Unions in Romanian Total Fertility |journal=Stockholm Research Reports in Demography |year=2011 |url=http://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/projects_publications/publications_1904/other_working_papers/the_role_of_consensual_unions_in_romanian_total_fertility_4544.htm|access-date=20 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303104323/http://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/projects_publications/publications_1904/other_working_papers/the_role_of_consensual_unions_in_romanian_total_fertility_4544.htm|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

===Financial effects===

In the United States, married couples that submit a combined tax return may face a [[marriage penalty]], where tax credits for low-income single earners are not applied to the combined income.
In October 1998, Senate GOP leader [[Trent Lott]] decided to pull a bill to abolish "the [[marriage penalty]], which in the tax code reflects the fact that married couples who both work for wages frequently pay more in taxes than if they earned the same amount of income but weren't married. And the more equal the incomes of the couple, the steeper the marriage tax penalty."<ref name="americanvalues.org">{{cite news |author=Wade Horn |date=October 20, 1998 |work=The Washington Times |via=Institute for American Values |url=http://www.americanvalues.org/html/mp8.html |title=Government Punishes Marriage, Pushes Cohabitation |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110803200857/http://www.americanvalues.org/html/mp8.html |archive-date=3 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[earned income tax credit]] (EITC) is cash welfare for low-income workers, but the problem is the EITC is not for married couples because they have to combine their wages, which again leads to "the marriage penalty". If couples do not get married then their wages do not have to combine and the EITC in a way is "paying for" low-income couples not to marry. Opponents of cohabitation believe that some cohabiting couples choose not to marry because they would suffer a tax penalty.<ref name="americanvalues.org"/>

Despite the perceived disincentive to marry that the EITC provides, cohabiting couples suffer many financial losses as their unions are not recognized with the same legal and financial benefits as those who are legally married. These financial penalties can include the costs of separate insurance policies and the costs of setting up legal protections similar to those that are automatically granted by the state upon marriage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Marriage Makes Financial Sense |website=Investopedia |url=https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0412/why-marriage-makes-financial-sense.aspx |access-date=2022-08-07 |language=en}}</ref>

===No effect===

A conflicting study, published by the [[National Center for Health Statistics]], with a sample of 12,571 people, concludes that "those who live together after making plans to marry or getting engaged have about the same chances of divorcing as couples who never cohabited before marriage".<ref>{{cite news|author=Jayson, Sharon |date=14 October 2010 |title=Report: Cohabiting has little effect on marriage success |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-02-cohabiting02_N.htm}}</ref>

Additionally, William Doherty, a professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota has remarked that in his research he has found that "committed cohabiting relationships seem to confer many of the benefits of marriage".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unmarried.org/experts.html#cohabitation |title=The Experts Speak |publisher=Alternatives to Marriage Project |website=Unmarried.org |access-date=10 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130207003408/http://www.unmarried.org/experts.html#cohabitation}}</ref>

A 2003 study by the [[Australian Institute of Family Studies]] found that "The differences in measured outcomes for those from direct and indirect marriages appear to be entirely attributable to other factors."<ref>{{cite journal|title=Premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital stability
|journal=Family Matters
|author1=David de Vaus |author2=Lixia Qu |author3=Ruth Weston
|date=Winter 2003
|issue=65
|pages=34–39
|url=http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2003/fm65/dev2.pdf
|publisher=[[Australian Institute of Family Studies]]
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509194635/http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2003/fm65/dev2.pdf
|archive-date=2005-05-09
}}</ref> The study concluded that the evidence suggests that premarital cohabitation has "little impact one way or the other" on the chances of any subsequent marriage surviving.

==By region==

===Americas===

====Canada====

[[File:Québec, Canada.svg|thumb|Cohabitation is very common in Quebec. From 1995, the majority of births in Quebec are from unmarried couples.<ref name="stat.gouv.qc.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/population-demographie/naissance-fecondite/5p2.htm|title=Proportion de naissances hors mariage selon le rang de naissance, Québec, 1976-2017 |publisher=Institut de la Statistique du Québec |website=www.stat.gouv.qc.ca |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=5 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205202311/http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/population-demographie/naissance-fecondite/5p2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

Canadian laws on the recognition of unmarried cohabitation for legal purposes vary significantly by province/territory; and in addition to this, federal regulations also have an impact across the country (see [[Common-law marriage#Canada]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.commonlawrelationships.ca/|title=Home |website=Common Law Relationships|access-date=22 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702145345/http://www.commonlawrelationships.ca/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=346&t=14|title=What does the Government of Canada consider to be a common-law relationship? |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=21 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150821093246/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=346&t=14|url-status=dead |website=Help Centre |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> Family formation has undergone significant changes in Canada during the last decades of the 20th century, but the patterns vary widely across the country, suggesting differing cultural norms in different regions. From 1995, births to cohabiting parents have increased, particularly in [[Quebec]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Two period measures for comparing the fertility of marriage and cohabitation |url=http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol32/14/32-14.pdf |author=Benoît Laplante|author2=Ana Laura Fostik |date=12 February 2015 |journal=Demographic Research|volume=32|pages=421–442 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.14 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In Canada, it is difficult to obtain exact data on the percentage of births outside marriage, because data on the marital status of mothers is collected differently across the [[provinces and territories of Canada]], and in some (such as [[Alberta]]) it is not broken down in detail in regard to whether the mother was legally married at the birth of her child.{{efn|In 2003, "Alberta Registries amended their Registration of Birth form in such a way that Statistics Canada can no longer determine the legal marital status of those persons in common-law marriages".<ref>{{cite web |title=Table 6-1: Live births, Canada — Age and marital status of mother |date=2015-11-27 |work=Statistics Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |at=Note 3 |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/84f0210x/2009000/t007-eng.htm}}</ref>}} As of 2012, the statistical category of "single mothers" (defined as ''never married'' at the time of the birth) encompassed 28.3% of mothers, the category "divorced" (i.e. mothers who were unmarried at the time of birth, but had been previously married during their lives) encompassed 1%, while for 10% of mothers the marital status was unknown ("not stated").<ref name="www5.statcan.gc.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26 |title=ERROR |publisher=Government of Canada |work=Statistics Canada |access-date=23 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717132455/http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26|archive-date=17 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are, however, very significant differences by province/territory; for example in 2012, 77.8% of births in [[Nunavut]] were listed to "single mothers", by contrast, less than 20% of mothers in [[Ontario]] were listed in this category.<ref name="www5.statcan.gc.ca"/> Latest data from the [[Institut de la statistique du Québec|Quebec Statistical Institute]] shows that as of 2015, in Quebec, 63% of children were born to unmarried women.<ref name="stat.gouv.qc.ca"/> In Canada, legal issues regarding cohabitation are complicated by the fact that [[family law]] in this regard differs by province/territory, which is confusing to the public,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/4-myths-about-common-law-relationships-1.1315129 |author=Alexandra Kazia |title=4 myths about common-law relationships |work=CBC News |date=20 March 2013 |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>
as this contrasts to [[criminal law]] which is uniform across Canada, as well as to marriage and divorce law, which is also the same across the country, under the 1986 ''[[Divorce Act (Canada)]]'' (although provinces/territories have jurisdiction over some marital issues, including the solemnization of marriage, spousal and child support, and property division).<ref>{{cite web |title=Provincial and Territorial Government Web Sites|date=29 March 2002 |work=Department of Justice Canada – Family Law |publisher=Government of Canada |url=http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/pt-tp/ |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> The [[marital status]] of Canadians also varies by province/territory: in 2011, 46.4% of the population aged 15 and over was legally married; ranging from the lowest percentage of married people in Nunavut (29.7%), Northwest Territories (35.0%), Quebec (35.4%), and Yukon (37.6%); to highest in Newfoundland and Labrador (52.9%), Prince Edward Island (51.7%), Ontario (50.3%) and Alberta (50.2%).<ref>{{cite web |author=Anne Milan|title=Marital Status: Overview, 2011 |date=9 July 2013 |work=Statistics Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-209-x/2013001/article/11788-eng.htm|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> While Quebec is known for liberal family formation and cohabitation, this is a recent development: during the first half of the 20th century, family life in the province was conservative and strongly dominated by [[Roman Catholicism]]; before 1968, there was no provincial divorce legislation in Quebec, and spouses could only end their marriage if they obtained a private [[act of Parliament]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Kristen Douglas |date=30 September 2008 |orig-year=October 1996 |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/963-e.htm |title=Divorce Law in Canada |id=Current Issue Review 96-3E |publisher=Parliament of Canada |access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=8 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908012100/http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/963-e.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> One  explanation of the high rates of cohabitation in Quebec is that the traditionally strong social control of the church and Catholic doctrine over people's private relations and sexual morality has led the population to rebel against traditional, conservative social values.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Rise of Cohabitation in Quebec: Power of Religion and Power over Religion |journal=The Canadian Journal of Sociology |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=1–24 |last1=Laplante |first1=Benoît |year=2006 |jstor=20058678 |doi=10.2307/20058678|doi-access=free }}</ref> While some provinces were early to modernize family law, in others this only occurred in the 1990s and the 21st century, such as in [[Alberta]], through the ''[[Family Law Act (Alberta)]]'' which came into force in 2005. This Act overhauled family legislation, replacing the ''Domestic Relations Act'', the ''Maintenance Order Act'', the ''Parentage and Maintenance Act'', and parts of the ''Provincial Court Act'' and the ''Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act'', which were seen as outdated. Also, the [[Adult interdependent relationship in Alberta|''Adult Interdependent Relationships Act'' (S.A. 2002, c. A-4.5)]] amended 69 Alberta laws.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law-faqs.org/alberta-faqs/family-law/adult-interdependent-relationships/|title=Adult Interdependent Relationships |work=Canadian Legal FAQs|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> The [[Canadian Prairies]] provinces of [[Manitoba]] and [[Saskatchewan]] have strong common-law spousal.  regulations, imposing rights and obligations on common-law couples.<ref>{{cite news |title=Quebec case puts spotlight on economic rights of common-law partners |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-case-puts-spotlight-on-economic-rights-of-common-law-partners/article1358810/ |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> [[Nova Scotia]] has also been very slow to advance family law – it was only in 1999 that this province abolished discrimination against "illegitimate" children with regard to inheritance (through section 16 of ''NS Intestate Succession Act'' amended in 1999).<ref>{{cite web |title=Intestate Succession Act |publisher=Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly |date=18 December 2001 |url=http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/intestat.htm |access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=2015-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815064558/http://nslegislature.ca/legc/statutes/intestat.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> In general, provinces in Western Canada give more rights to common-law spouses than those in [[Atlantic Canada]] and in Quebec. This may seem paradoxical, because the eastern provinces have the strongest tradition of cohabitation; according to a study "unmarried cohabitation seems to be more common in Eastern Canada than in Western Canada, which might be related to internal and international migration".<ref>{{Cite conference |url=http://paa2015.princeton.edu/uploads/150158 |title=Cohabitation and Marriage in Canada. The Geography, Law and Politics of Competing Views on Gender Equality |author1=Benoît Laplante |author2=Ana Laura Fostik |work=Session 259 Marriage and Family in a Legal Context |conference=Population Association of America 2015 Annual Meeting, San Diego, 26 April–2 May 2015 |access-date=23 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623211955/http://paa2015.princeton.edu/uploads/150158}}</ref> (as of 2012, 48% of births in [[New Brunswick]], 47.1% in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], and 45.2% in [[Nova Scotia]], were listed to "single mothers", way above the national average).<ref name="www5.statcan.gc.ca"/> In [[British Columbia]], the ''Family Law Act'' came into force in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/legislation/family-law/ |title=Family Law Act |publisher=British Columbia Ministry of Justice |access-date=22 August 2015|archive-date=14 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814180404/http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/legislation/family-law/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====United States====
[[File:Cohabitation Approval General Social Survey 1994-2012 v2.png|thumb|right|Public approval in the United States for cohabiting couples has risen since 1994.<ref name="roper2014">{{cite web|quote=just 20 percent in the 2012 General Social Survey disagreed with the assertion that it was all right for a couple to live together |url=http://today.uconn.edu/blog/2014/10/love-marriage-and-the-vatican/|title=Love, Marriage, and the Vatican |author1=Paul Herrnson |author2=Kathleen Weldon |publisher=Center for Public Opinion Research|date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
{{legend|#004586|Agree}}
{{legend|#ffd320|Neither agree nor disagree}}
{{legend|#ff420e|Disagree}}]]

[[Cohabitation in the United States]] became common in the late 20th century. {{As of|2005}}, 4.85&nbsp;million unmarried couples were living together, and {{as of|2002|lc=y}}, about half of all women aged 15 to 44 had lived unmarried with a partner. In 2007, it is estimated that 6.4 million households were maintained by two opposite sex persons who said they were unmarried.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cherlin|first=Andrew|title=Public and Private Families|year=2010|publisher=McGraw Hill|location=New York|isbn=978-0-07-340435-6|page=227}}</ref> In 2012, the General Social Survey found that public disapproval of cohabitation had dropped to 20% of the population.<ref name="roper2014"/>

Researchers at the National Center for Family and Marriage Research estimated in 2011 that 66% of first marriages are entered after a period of cohabitation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://paa2013.princeton.edu/papers/132048|title=Two Decades of Stability and Change in Age at First Union Formation|publisher=Population Association of America|date=12 April 2013}}</ref> According to the 2009 American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau, the proportion of 30- to 44-year-olds living together has almost doubled since 1999, from 4% to 7%. Fifty-eight percent of women aged 19 to 44 had ever cohabited in data collected in 2006–08, while in 1987 only 33% had. Cohabitation is more prevalent among those with less education. "Among women ages 19 to 44, 73% of those without a high school education have ever cohabited, compared with about half of women with some college (52%) or a college degree (47%)," note the Pew study's authors, Richard Fry and D'Vera Cohn.<ref>Luscombe, B. (June 2011). [https://healthland.time.com/2011/06/27/the-strange-economics-of-living-together/ "More Americans Are Cohabiting, But the Benefits of Living Together Apply Mainly to the Wealthier, More Educated"]. Retrieved 21 March 2012</ref>

Before the mid-20th century, laws against cohabitation, fornication, adultery and other such behaviors were common in the US (especially in Southern and Northeastern states), but these laws have been gradually abolished or struck down by courts as unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite news |title=N.C. Cohabitation Law Struck Down |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nc-cohabitation-law-struck-down/ |access-date=28 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002081733/http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-2007258.html |archive-date=2 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Virginia strikes down state fornication law |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-25/justice/grossman.oldlaws_1_criminal-ban-fornication-virginia-court?_s=PM:LAW |work=CNN |date=25 January 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121210230745/http://articles.cnn.com/2005-01-25/justice/grossman.oldlaws_1_criminal-ban-fornication-virginia-court?_s=PM%3ALAW}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/judge-rules-state-adultery-law-unconstitutional/article_7aab8dd6-5cf4-5f08-b1cf-e5d9faa9857b.html|title=Judge rules state adultery law unconstitutional|agency=Associated Press |work=Bismarck Tribune |date=28 February 2005 |access-date=22 August 2015 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526133611/http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/judge-rules-state-adultery-law-unconstitutional/article_7aab8dd6-5cf4-5f08-b1cf-e5d9faa9857b.html |archive-date=2016-05-26}}</ref>
{{blockquote
  | Cohabitation was almost impossible in the United States prior to the 1960s. Laws prevented unmarried couples from registering in hotels and it was very difficult for an unmarried couple to obtain a home mortgage. From 1960 to 1998, cohabitation moved from disreputable and difficult to normal and convenient.
  |source = {{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/fmc/timeline/ddisruption.htm |title = The First Measured Century: Social disruptions |publisher = [[PBS]]}}
}}

As of December 2023, cohabitation of unmarried couples remains illegal in two states ([[Mississippi]] and [[North Carolina]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/after-148-years-florida-makes-it-legal-to-shack-up/|title=After 148 years, Florida makes it legal to shack up|website=[[CBS News]]|date=6 April 2016}}</ref> while as of 2023 [[fornication]] remains illegal in two states ([[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Georgia Code :: Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses :: Chapter 6 - Sexual Offenses :: § 16-6-18. Fornication |url=https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2022/title-16/chapter-6/section-16-6-18/ |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref> and [[South Carolina]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Code of Laws - Title 16 - Chapter 15 - Offenses Against Morality And Decency |url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c015.php |access-date=2023-12-31 |website=www.scstatehouse.gov}}</ref>). These laws are almost never enforced and are now believed to be unconstitutional since the legal decision ''[[Lawrence v. Texas]]'' in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sullivan-county.com/bush/7_states.htm |author=Robin Fields |title=Virginia and Six Other States Still Classify Cohabitation as Illegal |website=sullivan-county.com |date=20 August 2001 |access-date=10 November 2012}}</ref> However, these laws may have indirect effects. For example, one consequence may be that one may not claim their partner as a dependent (for a tax exemption), whereas in the other states it may be possible to do so after meeting four criteria: residency, income, support and status.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Can-I-Claim-a-Boyfriend-Girlfriend-As-a-Dependent-on-Income-Taxes--/INF14242.html|title=Can I Claim a Boyfriend/Girlfriend As a Dependent on Income Taxes? |publisher=INTUIT TurboTax |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>

In 2006, in North Carolina, Pender County Superior Court judge Benjamin G. Alford ruled that North Carolina's cohabitation law is unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nc-cohabitation-law-struck-down/|title=N.C. Cohabitation Law Struck Down|website=[[CBS News]]|date=14 September 2006|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> However, the [[Supreme Court of North Carolina]] has never had the opportunity to rule on it, so the law's statewide constitutionality remains unclear.

On 13 December 2013, [[United States federal judge|US Federal judge]] [[Clark Waddoups]] ruled in ''[[Brown v. Buhman]]'' that the portions of Utah's anti-[[polygamy]] laws which prohibit multiple cohabitation were unconstitutional, but also allowed Utah to maintain its ban on multiple marriage licenses.<ref>{{cite news |last=Schwartz |first=John |date=14 September 2013 |title=A Law Prohibiting Polygamy is Weakened |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/us/a-utah-law-prohibiting-polygamy-is-weakened.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131215&_r=0 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date= 13 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mears |first=Bill |date=14 December 2013 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/14/justice/utah-polygamy-law/ |title='Sister Wives' case: Judge strikes down part of Utah polygamy law |publisher=[[CNN]] |work=CNN.com |access-date= 13 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stack |first=Peggy Fletcher |author-link=Peggy Fletcher Stack |date=14 December 2013 |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57264020-78/church-polygamy-mormon-says.html.csp |title=Laws on Mormon polygamists lead to win for plural marriage |newspaper=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=13 January 2014}}</ref> This decision was overturned by the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit]], thus effectively recriminalizing polygamy as a felony.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-utah-polygamy-sisterwives-idUSKCN0X82AJ |title=Appeals court restores Utah's polygamy law in 'Sister Wives' case |work=Reuters |date=11 April 2016}}</ref> In 2020, Utah voted to downgrade polygamy from a felony to an [[infraction]], but it remains a felony if force, threats or other abuses are involved.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/utah-bigamy-law.html |title=Utah Lowers Penalty for Polygamy, No Longer a Felony |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 May 2020 |last1=Hauser |first1=Christine}}</ref> Unlawful cohabitation, where prosecutors did not need to prove that a marriage ceremony had taken place (only that a couple had lived together), had been a major tool used to prosecute polygamy in Utah since the 1882 [[Edmunds Act]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Jessie L. |last=Embry |contribution=Polygamy |contribution-url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html |editor-last=Powell |editor-first=Allan Kent |year=1994 |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher=[[University of Utah Press]] |isbn=978-0874804256 |oclc=30473917 |access-date=13 January 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170417163937/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/p/POLYGAMY.html}}</ref>

====Latin America====

Cohabitation in Latin America is becoming more common. Indeed, although this is a largely [[Roman Catholic]] region, it has the highest rates of non-marital childbearing in the world (55–74% of all children in this region are born to unmarried parents).<ref name="sustaindemographicdividend.org">{{cite web |url=http://sustaindemographicdividend.org/articles/international-family-indicators/global-childrens-trends |title=Global Children's Trends |work=The Sustainable Demographic Dividend |access-date=10 November 2012}}</ref> In Mexico, 18.7% of all couples were cohabiting {{as of|2005|lc=y}}. Among young people, the figures are much higher.<ref name="Vanier">{{cite web |author=Anne-Marie Ambert |title=Cohabitation and Marriage: How Are They Related? |publisher=The Vanier Institute of the Family |date=September 17, 2005 |url= https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=6642 |via=CatholicCulture.org}}</ref>

As of 2000, in [[Argentina]] 58% of births were to unmarried women.<ref name="sustaindemographicdividend.org"/>{{efn|The most recent data for Argentina are from 2000 because after 2000, Argentina's Ministry of Health changed to publishing births as mother living with a partner or not (including married or cohabiting) rather than as marital and nonmarital.}}
The percentage of births outside marriage has increased throughout Latin America during the past decades, and there is also a relation to place of residence: women living in the capital city are more likely to have children outside marriage than those living in other parts of the country.<ref>{{cite conference |author1=Teresa Castro Martín |author2=Clara Cortina |author3=Teresa Martín García |author4=Ignacio Pardo |title=La fecundidad no matrimonial en América Latina: indicadores y análisis comparativos a partir de datos censales |trans-title=Non-marital fertility in Latin America: indicators and comparative analyzes based on census data |conference=IX Jornadas de Investigación de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, UdelaR, Montevideo, 13-15 de setiembre de 2010 [IX Research Conference of the Faculty of Sciences Sociales, UdelaR, Montevideo, September 13-15, 2010] |language=es |url=http://www.fcs.edu.uy/archivos/Mesa_46_Castro%20Mart%C3%ADn%20et%20al.pdf |access-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091547/http://www.fcs.edu.uy/archivos/Mesa_46_Castro%20Mart%C3%ADn%20et%20al.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Recent data shows figures for non-marital childbearing to be 74% for [[Colombia]], 69% for [[Peru]], 68% for Chile, 66% for Brazil and 55% for Mexico.<ref name="sustaindemographicdividend.org"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vieira |first=Joice Melo |date=2013 |title=The Evolution of Births Outside of Marriage, Paternal Recognition and Children's Rights in Brazil |url=http://paa2013.princeton.edu/papers/131703 |access-date=1 August 2022 |website=Population Association of America: 2013 Annual Meeting Program |format=PDF |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084714/http://paa2013.princeton.edu/papers/131703 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Asia===
====Nepal====
In [[Nepal]], living together is socially acceptable only after marriage.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Marcantonio Caltabiano |author2=Maria Castiglioni |date=March 2008 |title=Changing Family Formation in Nepal: Marriage, Cohabitation and First Sexual Intercourse |journal= International Family Planning Perspectives |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=30–39 |doi=10.1363/3403008 |pmid=18440915 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, cohabitation is an emerging trend in urban areas of Nepal. Reports have shown that there may be significant number of unmarried couples cohabiting in cities, especially in the capital, [[Kathmandu]]. Even when unmarried couples cohabit they either prefer to remain anonymous or pose themselves as a married couple.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://xnepali.net/movies/living-together-without-marriage-new-trend-in-nepali-society/|title=Living Together Without Marriage – New Trend in Nepali Society |work=Nepali Movies, Nepali Films|date=27 June 2010|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> Cohabitation is not recognized by the law of Nepal and there is no special provision to secure the right of cohabitants in Nepalese law.

====Bangladesh====
In Bangladesh, there are no laws prohibiting cohabitation but it is still socially unacceptable. However, cohabitation is becoming more common in urban areas due to western influence.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Ishrat Hasan |date=10 August 2017 |title=Your Legal Advisor |url=https://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=88934 |website=The Daily Observer |access-date=23 August 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310081016/https://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=88934 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An unmarried couple may feel immense pressure to marry by their family, and will probably choose to live as if they were married and, if exposed, can be expelled from housing or university. Cohabitation has become tolerant in recent years, especially among youths.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f40f0072.html |publisher=Refugee Review Tribunal (Australia) |title=Research Response Number BGD32882 |date=12 February 2008 |access-date=27 June 2023 |via=refworld}}</ref>

====China====
In China, cohabitation has become popular among young adults. One study shows that the cohabitation rate before first marriage was over 20% for those born after 1977.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Yu Jia |author2=Yu Xie |date=December 2015 |title=Cohabitation in China: Trends and Determinants |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=607–628 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00087.x |pmid=30416225 |pmc=6226097 |url=https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/yuxie/files/pdr414.yu_.pp607-628.pdf |access-date=22 April 2019 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310081020/https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/yuxie/files/pdr414.yu_.pp607-628.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another recent study shows that cohabitation increases the divorce likelihood for those married in the early-reform period, but premarital cohabitation has no effect on divorce for those married in the late-reform period in China.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/jomf.12419 |title=Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution in Postreform China |author=Yongjun Zhang |journal=Journal of Marriage and Family |volume=79 |issue=5 |pages=1435–1449 |year=2017 |url=http://osf.io/gsjf9/}}</ref>

====India====
[[Cohabitation in India]] had been historically a taboo in traditional Hindu and Muslim societies. However, recently, this is more acceptable and relatively frequent in the middle and upper classes in the major cities and other urban areas, but is not as common in rural areas and smaller rural towns which are more social conservative. Legally recognised as '''Live-in''' relationships, they have been legal in India ever since independence. Recent Indian court rulings have ascribed some rights to long-term cohabiting partners. Female live-in partners have protection rights under [[Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005]] subject to following conditions as laid by Honourable [[Supreme Court of India]] in case of ''D. Velusamy v D. Patchaiammal'':

# The couple must hold themselves out to society as being akin to spouses.
# They must be of legal age to marry.
# They must be otherwise qualified to enter into a legal marriage, including being unmarried.
# They must have voluntarily cohabited and held themselves out to the world as being akin to spouses for a significant period of time.

On 12 June 2020, the Uttarakhand High Court reiterated in the case of Madhu Bala v. State of Uttarakhand and others (Habeas Corpus Petition No. 8 of 2020) that consensual cohabitation between two adults of the same-sex is legal and akin to an opposite sex relationship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian High Court Reaffirms Same-sex Couples' Right to Cohabitation |url=https://www.humanrightspulse.com/mastercontentblog/indian-high-court-reaffirms-same-sex-couples-right-to-cohabitation |access-date=2022-08-07 |website=Human Rights Pulse |date=9 August 2020}}</ref>

====Indonesia====
In Indonesia, an Islamic penal code proposed in 2005 would have made cohabitation punishable by up to two years in prison, but failed to pass.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/asia-pacific/4239177.stm | work=BBC News | title=Indonesia plans new morality laws | date=6 February 2005 | access-date=28 March 2010}}</ref> The practice is still frowned upon, and many low-end hotels and boarding houses have been raided by police for allowing unmarried couples to share a room.

====Japan====
In Japan, according to M. Iwasawa at the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, less than 3% of females between 25 and 29 are currently cohabiting, but more than one in five have had some experience of an unmarried partnership, including cohabitation. A more recent Iwasawa study has shown that there has been a recent emergence of non-marital cohabitation. Couples born in the 1950s cohort showed an incidence of cohabitation of 11.8%, where the 1960s and 1970s cohorts showed cohabitation rates of 30%, and 53.9% respectively. The split between urban and rural residence for people who had cohabited is indicates 68.8% were urban and 31.2% were rural.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://paa2006.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=61321 |title=Unmarried Cohabitation and Family Formation in Japan |date=September 23, 2005 |author1=Miho Iwasawa |author2=James M. Raymo |author3=Larry Bumpass |access-date=26 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901174621/http://paa2006.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=61321}}</ref>

====Philippines====
In the [[Philippines]], around 2.4&nbsp;million Filipinos were cohabiting {{as of|2004|lc=y}}. The 2000 census placed the percentage of cohabiting couples at 19%. The majority of individuals are between the ages of 20–24. Poverty was often the main factor in decision to cohabit.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gmanews.tv/wedding/tomarryornot.html |title=tomarryornot |author=Clarissa V. Militante |date=c. 2007 |website=GMANews.TV |access-date=18 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611171539/http://www.gmanews.tv/wedding/tomarryornot.html}}</ref>

====Iran====
In [[Iran]], the cohabitation of two people is known as 'white marriage'. According to researchers, the number of white marriages in Iranian [[Metropolis|metropolises]] is increasing.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |display-authors=et al |year=2021 |title=House with Open Door A comprehensive research study on white marriage (cohabitation) in Iran |publisher=Mehri Publication |place=London, UK}}</ref><ref name=yyyy>{{Cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |date=2021-04-06 |title=Changing the Attitude of Young People Towards Marriage with a Focus on Law and Environmental Conditions such as Religion and Custom |journal=Psychology and Education Journal |volume=58 |issue=4 |pages=5233–5244 |url=http://psychologyandeducation.net/pae/index.php/pae/article/view/6826 |issn=1553-6939 |language=en}} [http://psychologyandeducation.net/pae/index.php/pae/article/view/6826/5653 PDF]<br/>{{*}}{{cite conference |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title=Changing the Attitude of Young People Towards Marriage with a Focus on Law and Environmental Conditions such as Religion and Custom |conference=8th International Conferences on Economics and Social Sciences hosted by Cyprus Science University, Antalya, TURKEY |pages=314–328 |date=October 2022}}</ref><ref name=bbc-30391593>{{Cite news |date=2014-12-10 |title=Can Iran 'control' its cohabiting couples? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30391593 |access-date=2023-02-04 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name=xxxx>{{Cite web |date=2016-02-05 |title=Iranian Couples Increasingly Living Together Outside of Marriage |url=https://iranhumanrights.org/2016/02/white-marriage/ |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Center for Human Rights in Iran}}</ref><ref name=LATimes>{{Cite web |author1=Ramin Mostaghim |author2=Sarah Parvini |date=2015-05-29 |title='White marriage' a growing trend for young couples in Iran |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iran-white-marriage-20150529-story.html |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Mehrnaz Samimi |date=6 January 2014 |title=More unmarried couples living together in Iran |website=Al-Monitor |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2014/01/iranian-unmarried-couples-living-together.html |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref><ref name="article/370805">{{Cite web |title=کلان شهر تهران و ظهور نشانه های الگوی تازه ای از روابط زن و مرد؛ مطالعه زمینه ها، فرایند، و پیامدهای هم خانگی |trans-title=Tehran metropolis and the emergence of signs of a new model of male-female relations; A study of contexts, processes, and consequences of domestication |website=پرتال جامع علوم انسانی |trans-website=Comprehensive humanities portal |url=http://ensani.ir/fa/article/370805/%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%B8%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%84%DA%AF%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%B2%D9%86-%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%B2%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%88-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C |access-date=2023-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204201443/http://ensani.ir/fa/article/370805/%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%B8%D9%87%D9%88%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%84%DA%AF%D9%88%DB%8C-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%B2%D9%86-%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%B2%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%D9%87-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AF-%D9%88-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%86%DA%AF%DB%8C |archive-date=4 February 2023 |url-status=dead |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-02 |title=ازدواج سفید در ایران، جایگزین ازدواج سنتی و روش مبارزه با قوانین اسلامی |trans-title=White marriage in Iran, an alternative to traditional marriage and a method of fighting against Islamic laws |website=ایندیپندنت فارسی |trans-website=Farsi Independent |url=https://www.independentpersian.com/node/143326/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C/%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%8C-%D8%AC%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%AF%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%88-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B4-%D9%85%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%A7-%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%DB%8C |access-date=2023-02-04 |language=fa}}</ref>

Under Iranian law, which is based on [[Islamic Sharia Council|Islamic Sharia]] law, the cohabitation of a man and a woman outside the framework of official marriage is a crime.<ref name=bbc-30391593/><ref name=xxxx/><ref name=idUSL8N0XO11120150427>{{Cite news |date=2015-04-27 |title=Iran bans magazine for encouraging cohabitation over wedlock - report |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-judiciary-publication-idUSL8N0XO11120150427 |access-date=2023-02-04 |work=Reuters}}<br/>{{*}}{{Cite news |agency=Reuters |date=2015-04-27 |title=Iran bans magazine after 'white marriage' special |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/27/iran-bans-magazine-white-marriage-unmarried-couples-cohabiting |access-date=2023-02-04 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

It is estimated that the duration of a cohabitation in Iran is between one and three years.<ref name=bbc-30391593/><ref name=a-45206118>{{Cite web |title=ازدواج سفید: تغییر سبک زندگی در ایران یا معضل اجتماعی؟ – DW – ۱۳۹۷/۶/۲ |trans-title=White marriage: lifestyle change in Iran or a social problem? - DW - 6/2/1397 |url=https://www.dw.com/fa-ir/%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%BA%DB%8C%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A8%DA%A9-%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%AF%DA%AF%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%DB%8C%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B6%D9%84-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C/a-45206118 |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=dw.com |language=fa}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite report |title=Relations outside of marriage in Iran and marriages without the accept of the family |place=Copenhagen |date=February 2018 |publisher=Danish Immigration Service |url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5ab8ea1b4.pdf}}</ref> 

Cohabitation has no place in Iran from traditional social, legal and [[Religion|religious]] points of view.<ref name=xxxx/><ref name=idUSL8N0XO11120150427/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title="زیر پوست شهر": تحلیل پدیده ازدواج سفید در کلان شهرهای ایران، |trans-title="Under the Skin of the City": Analysis of the White Marriage Phenomenon in Iran's Big Cities |journal=نشریه علمی مطالعات پژوهشی در علوم انسانی و علوم اجتماعی |trans-journal=Journal of Research Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences |volume=63 |date=Summer 2019 |pages=94–108 |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Esfandiari |first=Golnaz |date=6 December 2014 |title=Rise In Cohabitation Has Iran Officials Railing Against 'White Marriage' |work=RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/26728820.html |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodziewicz |first=Magdalena |date=Summer 2020 |title=The Legal Debate on the Phenomenon of 'White Marriages' in Contemporary Iran |journal=Anthropology of the Middle East |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=50–63 |doi=10.3167/ame.2020.150105 |s2cid=218967303 |issn=1746-0719|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, cohabitation in Iran can be explained by considering recent cultural changes in Iranian society, including the growth of [[individualism]], [[modernity]], and fluid relationships, and the gaps and conflicts between values.<ref name=yyyy/><ref name="article/370805"/><ref>{{Cite web |title= واکاوی پدیدارشناسانه (ازدواج سفید)، مورد مطالعه: جوانان شهر تهران |trans-title=Phenomenological analysis (white marriage), case study: Tehran youth |website=پرتال جامع علوم انسانی |trans-website=Comprehensive humanities portal |language=fa |url=http://ensani.ir/fa/article/497377/%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C-%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86 |access-date=2023-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204201436/http://ensani.ir/fa/article/497377/%D9%88%D8%A7%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C-%D9%BE%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%87-%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Nian Abdi |author2=Afroz Saz |author3=Alamet Betul |date=11 April 2018 |title=های پیامد و سفید ازدواج آن در ایران کشور |trans-title=The consequences and whiteness of its marriage in Iran |journal=مجله دستاوردهای نوین در مطالعات علوم انسانی |trans-journal=Journal of new achievements in humanities studies |language=fa |url=http://ensani.ir/file/download/article/1612094025-10144-99-74.pdf |access-date=4 February 2023 |url-status=live |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204201439/http://ensani.ir/file/download/article/1612094025-10144-99-74.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cohabitation: Iran's Common but Unrecognized Phenomenon |website=Iran Open Data |date=5 April 2022 |language=en |url=https://iranopendata.org/en/pages/56e |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Ahmady |first=Kameel |title=Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan |chapter=The Role of Temporary Marriage (TM) in Promoting Early Child Marriage (ECM) in Iran |date=2021 |work=Temporary and Child Marriages in Iran and Afghanistan: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Issues |pages=47–66 |editor-last=Hosseini |editor-first=S. Behnaz |place=Singapore |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-981-33-4469-3_3 |isbn=978-981-334-469-3 |s2cid=234317299}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=آپارات - سرویس اشتراک ویدیو |trans-title=Aparat - video sharing service |url=https://www.aparat.com/v/98iFz |access-date=2023-02-04 |website=آپارات - سرویس اشتراک ویدیو |trans-website=Aparat - video sharing service |language=fa}}</ref>

Various factors such as economic crises and cultural and social changes in cities are reasons for the increase in the number of cohabitation in Iran. In other words, the emergence of [[capitalism]], the increase of job insecurity, the emergence of moral [[liberalism]], the revision of cultural traditions, the anonymity of people in cities, the elimination of the concepts and functions of neighborhoods, changes in family structures and the emergence of temporary relationships are among the major reasons for white marriage in Iran.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=yyyy/><ref name=LATimes/><ref name=a-45206118/><ref name=":2"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=برساخت اجتماعی ازدواج سفید |trans-title=The social construction of white marriage |website=پرتال جامع علوم انسانی |trans-website=Comprehensive humanities portal |language=fa |url=http://ensani.ir/fa/article/464341/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF |access-date=2023-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204201437/http://ensani.ir/fa/article/464341/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Omidvar |first1=Pouran |last2=Danesh |first2=Parvaneh |last3=Javaheri |first3=Fatemeh |last4=Zahedi Mazandarani |first4=Mohammad javad |date=2019-03-10 |title=Studying the cohabitation subculture in metropolis Tehran (backgrounds and consequents) |journal=Social Welfare Quarterly |volume=18 |issue=71 |pages=279–320 |doi=10.29252/refahj.18.71.8 |s2cid=200062397|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beyond the Shari'a: "White Marriages" in the Islamic Republic of Iran |publisher=Association for Iranian Studies (AIS) {{!}} انجمن ایران‌ پژوهی |url=https://associationforiranianstudies.org/content/beyond-sharia-white-marriages-islamic-republic-iran|access-date=2023-02-04|website=associationforiranianstudies.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="ازدواج سفید شبه قانونی" بدیلی در برابر ازدواج سنتی؟ – DW – ۱۳۹۶/۸/۱۱ |trans-title="White quasi-legal marriage" an alternative to traditional marriage? - DW - 8/11/1396 |website=dw.com |language=fa |url=https://www.dw.com/fa-ir/%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%81%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%B4%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%AF%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AA%DB%8C/a-41206307|access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref>

New research published by social anthropologist [[Kameel Ahmady]] and his team under the title '''''House with Open Door'':''' ''A Comprehensive Research Study on White Marriage (Cohabitation) in Iran'' reveals the previously concealed and multi-dimensional aspects of this phenomenon at the macro level, focusing on the [[Tehran]], [[Mashhad]] and [[Isfahan]] metropolitan areas. The research pieces argues that this phenomenon is more prevalent among educated and post-graduate young people who have migrated to metropolitan areas for work and education.<ref name=":1"/><ref name=yyyy/><ref name=a-45206118/><ref>{{Cite news |author=Niloufar Rostami |date=14 August 2019 |title=IranWire Speaks to Wife of Jailed Iranian-British Anthropologist |website=IranWire |language=en |url=https://iranwire.com/en/features/66235/ |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kameel Ahmady |website=The Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery Expert Directory |url=https://www.humantraffickingexperts.com/main/business_details/359 |access-date=2023-02-04}}</ref>

===Europe===
In the [[European Union]], cohabitation is very common. In 2014, 42% of all births in the 28 EU countries were nonmarital.<ref name=tps00018>{{cite web |title=Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table |date=11 August 2016 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018 |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-date=2019-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909025921/https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00018 |url-status=dead |website=Eurostat}}</ref> In the following European countries the majority of births occur outside marriage: [[Iceland]] (69.9% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), France (59.7% in 2016<ref>{{cite web |title=Naissances hors mariage en 2018 |website=www.insee.fr |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2381394#tableau-Donnes}}</ref>), [[Bulgaria]] (58.6% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), [[Slovenia]] (58.6% in 2016<ref>{{cite web |title=Births, Slovenia, 2016 |website=www.stat.si |url=https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/News/Index/6768}}</ref>), [[Norway]] (56.2% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), [[Estonia]] (56.1% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), Sweden (54.9% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), [[Denmark]] (54% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>), [[Portugal]] (52.8% in 2016<ref>{{cite web |website=Pordata.pt |date=28 April 2016 |url=http://www.pordata.pt/en/Portugal/Live%20births%20outside%20of%20marriage%20%20with%20parents%20co%20habiting%20or%20not%20(percentage)-620 |title=Live births outside of marriage, with parents co-habiting or not (%) in Portugal |access-date=26 March 2017}}</ref>), and the [[Netherlands]] (50.4% in 2016<ref name=tps00018/>).
 
While couples of all ages cohabit, the phenomenon is much more common among younger people. In late 2005, 21% of families in Finland consisted of cohabiting couples (all age groups).<ref>{{cite web |date=2006-06-01 |title=The Finnish population structure of 2005 |url=http://www.stat.fi/til/perh/2005/perh_2005_2006-06-01_tie_001.html |website=Statistics Finland |language=fi}}</ref> Of couples with children, 18% were cohabiting.{{citation need |date=June 2023}} Of ages 18 and above in 2003, 13.4% were cohabiting.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.fi/til/evaa/2003/evaa_2003_2004-05-31_kat_002_en.html |title=Elected MPs and candidates by family type in 2003 |website=Statistics Finland |language=en}}</ref> Generally, cohabitation amongst Finns is most common for people under 30. Legal obstacles for cohabitation were removed in 1926 in a reform of the [[Criminal Code of Finland|Criminal Code]], while the phenomenon was socially accepted much later on. In France, 17.5% of couples were cohabiting as of 1999.<ref name=Vanier />

====United Kingdom====
{{main|Cohabitation in the United Kingdom}}
In the United Kingdom today, nearly half of babies are born to people who are not married (in the United Kingdom 47.3% in 2011;<ref name=tps00018/> in [[Scotland]] in 2012 the proportion was 51.3%<ref>{{cite web |website=www.gro-scotland.gov.uk |url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files2/stats/births-marriages-deaths-quarterly/ve-2012-q4-tableq1.pdf |title= Table Q1: Births, stillbirths, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships, numbers and rates, Scotland, quarterly, 2002 to 2012|access-date=17 April 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617080614/http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files2/stats/births-marriages-deaths-quarterly/ve-2012-q4-tableq1.pdf |archive-date=17 June 2013}}</ref>). It is estimated that by 2016, the majority of births in the United Kingdom will be to unmarried parents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23265810 |title=Most babies born out of marriage by 2016, trend suggests|work=BBC News|date=11 July 2013|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>{{Needs update|date=December 2022}}

The [[Victorian era]] of the late 19th century is famous for the Victorian standards of personal morality.  Historians generally agree that the middle classes held high personal moral standards and rejected cohabitation. They have debated whether the working classes followed suit. Moralists in the late 19th century such as [[Henry Mayhew]] decried high levels of cohabitation without marriage and illegitimate births in London slums. However new research using computerized matching of data files shows that the rates of cohabitation were quite low—under 5% – for the working class and the urban poor.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Rebecca Probert |title=Living in Sin |magazine=BBC History Magazine |date=Sep 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=G. Frost |title=Living in Sin: Cohabiting as Husband and Wife in Nineteenth-Century England |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2008}}</ref>

Falling marriage rates and increased births outside marriage have become a political issue, with questions of whether the government should promote marriage or focus on the status of a parent rather than a spouse; the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] support the former whilst [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]] support the latter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marriage and cohabitation: key issues for the 2010 Parliament|work=UK Parliament |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/key-issues-for-the-new-parliament/social-reform/marriage-and-cohabitation/|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> There are also differences between [[England and Wales]] and [[Scotland]], with the latter being more accepting of cohabitation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Matters – Cohabitation |publisher=Scottish Government |url=http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17867/fm-couples-root/fm-couples-cohabitation|access-date=22 August 2015 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924040817/http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/law/17867/fm-couples-root/fm-couples-cohabitation|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Family Law Week|title=Lessons to be learned for cohabitation cases in England, says Lady Hale in Supreme Court Scottish case |url=http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed98906 |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310081023/https://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed98906}}</ref>

====Bulgaria====

In Bulgaria, there has been a rapid increase in cohabitation after the fall of Communism. The transition from communism to market economy had a great impact on the demographic behavior of the population. After the fall of Communism, the legal and social pressure to get married has declined, and the population has started to experience new life styles.<ref name="Elena von der Lippe"/> As of 2014, 58.8% of children were born to unmarried mothers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population and Demographic Processes in 2014 (Final Data) |publisher=Republic of Bulgaria: National Statistical Institute |url=https://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Population2014_en_2Y19BGI.pdf|access-date=2022-08-07}}</ref>

====Czech Republic====

The marriage rates in Czech Republic have fallen dramatically during the past decades. In the 1970s to 1980s, about 96–97% of women married; in 2000 it was estimated that only 75% of women would ever marry.<ref name="paa2004.princeton.edu">{{Cite web |last=Kantorova |first=Vladimira |title=Marriage or cohabitation: First union formation in the Czech Republic |url=https://paa2004.princeton.edu/papers/41732 |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=princeton.edu |archive-date=7 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807132131/https://paa2004.princeton.edu/papers/41732 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[age at first marriage]] for women has increased from being in the range of 21.4–21.8 years in the 1970s and 1980s,<ref name="paa2004.princeton.edu"/> to being 29.6 in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=FirstMariages by Age, Sex, Measurement, Country and Year |website=UNECE Statistical Database |publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe |url=https://w3.unece.org/PXWeb2015/pxweb/en/STAT/STAT__30-GE__02-Families_households/051_en_GEFH_FirstMariages_r.px/table/tableViewLayout1/ |access-date=2023-06-26}}{{verification failed|date=June 2023|reason=Query returned "data not available".}}</ref> In the early 1990s, predictions were made by some Czech demographers that cohabitation would increase during the next decades; and indeed, there has been a marked increase in the number of people who live in non-marital couple relations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hamplová |first=Dana |date=5 June 2002 |title=Marriage and Cohabitation: Qualitative Differences in Partnership Arrangements |journal=Sociologický časopis |trans-journal=Czech Sociological Review |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=771–788 |url=http://sreview.soc.cas.cz/pdfs/csr/2002/06/05.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022}}</ref> In 2016, 48.6% of births were to unmarried women.<ref name=tps00018/>

====Germany====
Until the 1980s, it was illegal for unmarried couples to cohabitate, which made it impossible for many same-sex couples to live together. At this point the [[Bundesgerichtshof]] ruled that cohabitation could not be banned as it was protected by the [[Basic Law]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Von 1933 bis heute: Lesben und Schwule in Deutschland und der DDR |url=https://www.lsvd.de/de/ct/934-von-1933-bis-heute-lesben-und-schwule-in-deutschland-und-der-ddr |website=www.lsvd.de |access-date=1 November 2021 |language=de}}</ref>
As in other western societies, patterns of family life have been changing in Germany during the past decades. This has not created a [[moral panic]], but has been seen more as an ongoing social evolution.<ref name="lawfamger">{{cite web |url=http://lawfam.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/1/88.short |url-status=dead|archive-date=19 January 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150119081510/http://lawfam.oxfordjournals.org/content/15/1/88.short|title=Cohabitation in Germany – rules, reality and public discourses |work=oxfordjournals.org|access-date=13 January 2016}}</ref> Cohabitation, divorce rates, lone parents, and people's reluctance to marry or to have children have increased.<ref name="lawfamger"/> However, with regards to family formation and long term cohabitation instead of marriage, there are very strong differences between the regions of former [[West Germany]] and [[East Germany]] (which was formally Communist). Significantly more children are born out of wedlock in eastern Germany than in western Germany. In 2012, in eastern Germany 61.6% of births were to unmarried women, while in western Germany only 28.4% were.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Klärner |first=Andreas |date=22 July 2015 |title=The low importance of marriage in eastern Germany – social norms and the role of peoples' perceptions of the past |url=https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol33/9/33-9.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=Demographic Research}}</ref> A [[Panel data|longitudinal survey]] found that union stability was significantly higher for cohabiting mothers in eastern Germany than western Germany, due to differences in German society.<ref name="germanypmc">{{cite journal |vauthors=Schnor C |title=The Effect of Union Status at First Childbirth on Union Stability: Evidence from Eastern and Western Germany |journal=Eur J Popul |volume=30 |issue= 2|pages=129–160 |year=2014 |pmid=24882913 |pmc=4037585 |doi=10.1007/s10680-013-9304-7}}</ref>

====Greece====
In [[Greece]], family dynamics remain conservative. The principal form of partnership is marriage, and extramarital childbearing and long term cohabitation are not widespread. For instance, in 2016 only 9.4% of births were outside marriage, which is the lowest percentage among the European Union member states.<ref name=tps00018/> [[Religion in Greece]] plays a very important role in society; it was only in 1983 that [[civil marriage]] was introduced in the country. The new laws modernized [[family law]], abolished [[dowry]], and provided for equal rights for "[[Legitimacy (family law)|illegitimate]]" children.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marcos |first1=Anastasios C. |last2=Bahr |first2=Stephen J. |date=2001 |title=Hellenic (Greek) Gender Attitudes |journal=[[Gender Issues (magazine)|Gender Issues]] |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=21–40|doi=10.1007/s12147-001-0009-6 |s2cid=143989412 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=AROUND THE WORLD; Greece Approves Family Law Changes |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/world/around-the-world-greece-approves-family-law-changes.html# |newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 January 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |last=Demos |first=Vasilikie |date=11 August 2007 |title=The Intersection of Gender, Class and Nationality and the Agency of Kytherian Greek Women |conference=Aannual meeting of the American Sociological Association}}</ref> According to a 2008 study: "Greek society still remains conservative and birthing outside marriage, although protected by law, remains in many ways socially unacceptable."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org/docs/vol1_issue3_04_sapountzi.pdf |title=Greek mothers' perceptions of their cooperation with the obstetrician and the midwife in the delivery room.}}</ref> Despite this, there have been further legal changes providing for a modern "western" outlook on family life, including Law 3719/2008 dealing with family issues, including Article 14 of the law, which reduced the separation period (necessary before a divorce in certain circumstances) from four years to two years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www2.ohchr.org/English/bodies/cedaw/docs/54/CEDAW-C-GRC-7.pdf |title=Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women |publisher=Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women}}</ref>

====Hungary====
The literature on second demographic transition argues as well that highly educated women are more prone to engage in cohabitation, although the reasons are different: they are less concerned with respecting the societal norms.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Lesthaeghe R |year=1983 |title=A Century of Demographic and Cultural Change in Western Europe: an Exploration of Underlying Dimensions |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=9 |issue=3| pages=411–435 |doi=10.2307/1973316| jstor=1973316}}</ref> Some scholars argued that cohabitation is very similar to being single in the sense of not giving up independence and personal autonomy.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rindfuss RR, van del Heuve A |year=1990 |title=Cohabitation: A precursor to marriage or an alternative to being single? |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=16 |issue=4| pages=703–726 |doi=10.2307/1972963| jstor=1972963}}</ref>

In Hungary, cohabitation was an uncommon phenomenon until the late 1980s and it was largely confined to the divorced or widowed individuals.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Carlson E, Klinger A |year=1987 |title=Partners in life: Unmarried couples in Hungary |journal=European Journal of Population |volume=3 |issue=1| pages=85–99 |doi=10.1007/bf01797093| pmid=12280732 |s2cid=3691282}}</ref> Among the ethnic groups, Gypsy/Roma tended to have higher rates of cohabitation, mainly due to their reluctance to register their marriages officially.<ref>{{cite book |last=Barany |first=Zoltan |year=2002 |title=The East European Gypsies. Regime Change. Marginality, and Ethnopolitics |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> Since the 1980s, cohabitation became much more frequent among all ethnic groups and it has been argued to have strongly influenced the decline in fertility.<ref>{{cite report |last=Speder |first=Zsolt |date=July 2001 |title=Turning Points of the Life Course |place=Budapest |publisher=Demographic Research Institute |url=http://demografia.hu/hu/letoltes/adatbazisok/eletunk-fordulopontjai/kutatasi_koncepcioEN.pdf |access-date=2023-06-26 |url-status=live |archive-date=2023-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626041541/http://demografia.hu/hu/letoltes/adatbazisok/eletunk-fordulopontjai/kutatasi_koncepcioEN.pdf}}</ref> In 2015, 47.9% of births were to unmarried women.<ref name=tps00018/>

====Ireland====

[[File:Magdalen-asylum.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|Irish [[Magdalene laundries|Magdalene Laundry]], {{circa|lk=no}} early 1900s. Women who had sexual relations outside marriage were often sent to Magdalene laundries until the mid-20th century.]]

Cohabitation in Ireland has increased in recent years, and 36.6% of births were to unmarried women in 2016.<ref name=tps00018/> Until a few decades ago, women who had children outside marriage were severely stigmatized and often detained in [[Magdalene laundries]]. The [[Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010]] gives some rights to unmarried cohabitants (under this act same-sex couples can enter into [[civil partnerships]], while long term unmarried couples – both heterosexual and same sex – who have not registered their relation have some limited rights and obligations).

====Italy====

In Italy, where [[Roman Catholicism]] had a historically strong presence, cohabitation is not as common as in other countries of Europe, yet it has increased in recent years. There are significant regional differences, with non-marital unions being more common in [[Northern Italy]] than in [[Southern Italy]]. A study published in 2006 found that long term cohabitation was still novel to Italy, though more common among young people.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Cohabitation in Italy: do parents matter?|journal = Genus|volume = 62|issue = 3/4|pages = 53–85|jstor = 29789325|last1 = Schröder|first1 = Christin|year = 2006}}</ref> As of 2015, the share of births outside marriage was 28.7%, but this varied by statistical regions as follows: [[Central Italy]] (33.8%), [[Northeast Italy]] (33.1%), [[Northwest Italy]] (31.3%), [[Insular Italy]] (24.2%), and [[South Italy]] (20.3%).<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 November 2016 |title=NATALITÀ E FECONDITÀ DELLA POPOLAZIONE RESIDENTE |url=https://www.istat.it/it/files/2016/11/Statistica-report-Nati.pdf?title=Natalit%C3%A0+e+fecondit%C3%A0++-+28%2Fnov%2F2016+-+Testo+integrale+e+nota+metodologica.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022}}</ref>

====The Netherlands====

Dutch researchers have found that research participants see cohabitation as a risk-reduction strategy in a country with high relationship instability.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Risk-avoidance or utmost commitment? Dutch focus group research on cohabitation and marriage |author=Nicole Hiekel |author2=Renske Keizer |journal=Demographic Research |volume=32 |pages=311–340 |date=3 February 2015 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.10 |doi-access=free |url=http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol32/10/32-10.pdf}}</ref> As of 2016, 50.4% births were to unmarried women.<ref name=tps00018/>

====Norway====

Cohabitation is a common type of partnership in Norway. Cohabitants have some rights if they have joint children, or if they have lived together for five years. Cohabitants can also regulate their relationship through a [[cohabitation agreement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyinorge.no/en/Familiegjenforening/New-in-Norway/Families-and-children-in-Norway-/Families-and-children-in-Norway/Cohabitation/|title=Cohabitation|access-date=22 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722130026/http://www.nyinorge.no/en/Familiegjenforening/New-in-Norway/Families-and-children-in-Norway-/Families-and-children-in-Norway/Cohabitation/|archive-date=22 July 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Norway, in 2016, 56.2% of children were born outside marriage.<ref name=tps00018/>

====Poland====
In Poland, after the fall of Communism, the influence of religion has increased. Indeed, Poland has one of the most religious populations in Europe (see [[religion in Europe]]). Cohabitation in Poland has traditionally been associated with the lower social classes, but in recent years an increase has been seen among the more educated. Family structure in Poland remains traditional: Marriages are contracted at relatively young ages, and the incidence of divorce is relatively low (by European standards). The exact incidence of cohabitation is not well established, but it is quite low compared to other Western countries. However, Poland is not completely 'immune' to Western influence and, in 2016, 25% of children were born outside marriage.<ref name=tps00018/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Matysiak |first=Anna |date=18 August 2009 |title=Is Poland really 'immune' to the spread of cohabitation? |url=http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol21/8/21-8.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=Demographic Research}}</ref>

====Slovakia====
Slovakia is more conservative and religious than neighboring Czech Republic. The principal form of partnership is marriage, but extramarital childbearing and cohabitation are slowly spreading, yet this trend is not without criticism; and some view these phenomena as a threat to traditional values.<ref name="demographic-research.org">{{cite journal |url=https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol19/25/19-25.pdf |title=Slovakia: Fertility between tradition and modernity |year=2008 |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.25 |last1=Potancokova |first1=Michaela |last2=Vano |first2=Boris |last3=Pilinská |first3=Viera |last4=Jurcová |first4=Danuša |journal=Demographic Research |volume=19 |pages=973–1018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Michaela Potančoková |publisher=Demographic Research Centre |place=Bratislava, Slovakia |title=The Meaning of Cohabitation and Marriage in Slovakia: Comparing Generation |url=http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/download/col100319mp.pdf |access-date=17 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726132730/http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/download/col100319mp.pdf |archive-date=26 July 2014}}</ref> In 2016, 40.2% of births were to unmarried women.<ref name=tps00018/> Fertility in Slovakia has been described in a 2008 study as "between tradition and modernity".<ref name="demographic-research.org"/>

====Switzerland====
[[Switzerland]] has a tradition of strong conservatism; which can be seen in its legal and social history: in Europe, Switzerland was one of the last countries to establish gender equality in marriage: married women's rights were severely restricted until 1988, when legal reforms providing gender equality in marriage, abolishing the legal authority of the husband, come into force (these reforms had been approved in 1985 by voters in a [[Voting in Switzerland|referendum]], who narrowly voted in favor with 54.7% of voters approving).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/23/world/swiss-grant-women-equal-marriage-rights.html |title=Swiss Grant Women Equal Marriage Rights |newspaper=The New York Times|date=23 September 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17988450|title=Switzerland profile – Timeline|work=BBC News|date=28 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/chronology-womens-right-vote-switzerland.html|title=The Long Way to Women's Right to Vote in Switzerland: a Chronology|first=Markus G. Jud, Lucerne|last=Switzerland|website=history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Women's movements of the world: an international directory and reference guide |author1=Sally Shreir |author2=F. John Harper |year=1988 |publisher=Longman |page=254 |isbn=9780897745086 |oclc=17353816}}</ref> [[Adultery]] was decriminalized in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hls-dhs-dss.ch/textes/f/F16108.php |title=Adultère|first=Anne-Lise|last=Head-König|website=HLS-DHS-DSS.CH}}</ref> Until the late 20th century, most [[Cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] had regulations banning unmarried cohabitation of couples; the last canton to end such prohibition was [[Valais]], in 1995.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.socialinfo.ch/cgi-bin/dicoposso/show.cfm?id=825|title=Dictionnaire Suisse de politique sociale : Union libre|website=www.socialinfo.ch|access-date=8 April 2016|archive-date=17 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217012637/http://www.socialinfo.ch/cgi-bin/dicoposso/show.cfm?id=825|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keller |first=Tomie |title=NATIONAL REPORT: SWITZERLAND |url=http://ceflonline.net/wp-content/uploads/Switzerland-IR.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=ceflonline.net}}</ref> As of 2015, 22.5% of births were to unmarried women.<ref>{{cite web|title=Naissances et fécondité |trans-title=Births and fertility |website=Statistique suisse |url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/01/06/blank/key/02.html |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160528231850/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/01/06/blank/key/02.html |archive-date=28 May 2016|url-status=dead |language=fr}}</ref>
Births outside marriage are most common in the French speaking part (highest percentage in the cantons of [[Vaud]], [[Canton of Neuchâtel|Neuchâtel]], [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]], [[Canton of Jura|Jura]]) and least common in the eastern German speaking cantons (lowest percentage in the cantons of [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]], [[Canton of Zug|Zug]], [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]], [[Appenzell Ausserrhoden]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/01/06/blank/key/02/03.html |website=Statistique suisse |title=Proportion de naissances vivantes hors mariage |trans-title=Proportion of live births outside marriage |language=fr |access-date=8 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411103759/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/themen/01/06/blank/key/02/03.html |archive-date=11 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Spain====

Spanish society has undergone major changes since the fall of the [[Francoist Spain|Franco regime]]. Important legal changes which have occurred throughout the 1970s and 1980s include legalization of divorce, decriminalization of [[adultery]], [[gender equality]] in [[family law]], and removing the ban on [[contraception]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://countrystudies.us/spain/ |chapter-url=http://countrystudies.us/spain/43.htm |editor1=Eric Solsten |editor2=Sandra W. Meditz |title=Spain: A Country Study |place=Washington, D.C. |publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress |year=1988 |chapter=SOCIAL VALUES AND ATTITUDES|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> The liberalization of the political climate has allowed for alternative family formation. In the mid-1990s, cohabitation in Spain was still described as a "marginal" phenomenon, but since the 1990s, cohabitation has increased dramatically in Spain.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sweeney |first1=Megan M. |last2=Castro-Martin |first2=Teresa |last3=Mills |first3=Melinda |date=13 January 2015 |title=The reproductive context of cohabitation in comparative perspective: Contraceptive use in the United States, Spain, and France |url=https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol32/5/32-5.pdf |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=Demographic Research}}</ref> In Spain, in 2016, 45.9% of births were outside marriage.<ref name=tps00018/> As in other countries, there are regional differences: in 2011, in [[Catalonia]] the figure was 42% – highest in mainland Spain in that year ([[Canary Islands]] 59% and [[Balearic Islands]] 43.5% were highest) while in [[Region of Murcia|Murcia]] it was only 30.7% (lowest).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.republica.com/2013/01/17/mas-de-un-tercio-de-los-nacimientos-en-espana-fuera-del-matrimonio/ |title=Más de un tercio de los nacimientos en España, fuera del matrimonio |work=Republica.com |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301053724/https://www.republica.com/2013/01/17/mas-de-un-tercio-de-los-nacimientos-en-espana-fuera-del-matrimonio/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Russia====

In Russia, many couples express a desire to cohabit before marriage, then register a civil marriage, and then at a later stage have a large church wedding.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Trust, responsibility, and freedom: Focus-group research on contemporary patterns of union formation in Russia |author=Olga Isupova |journal=Demographic Research |volume=32 |pages=341–368 |doi=10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.11 |date=3 February 2015 |doi-access=free |url=http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol32/11/32-11.pdf}}</ref>

===Middle East===
The cohabitation rate in West Asian countries is much lower than in European countries. In some parts of the continent it is however becoming more common for young people.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} As of 1994, the rate of premarital cohabitation in Israel was 25%.<ref>Kaplan, Amit. 2002. ''The roads of freedom: cohabitation patterns in Israel''. M. A. Thesis, Tel-Aviv University (in Hebrew)</ref>

Cohabitation is illegal according to [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[sharia]] law.<ref>See commentary on verses {{qref|23|1-6}}: Vol. 3, notes 7–1, p. 241; 2000, Islamic Publications.{{full citation needed|date=June 2023|reason=I believe this is a refernce to a book source, not the Quran. The qref template should not be used.}}</ref><ref>{{Qtaf|en:ibk|4|24}}</ref> Cohabitation, Bi'ah, is a legal status, "Yadua BetTzibbur", by the Jews [[Halakha]] (Halacha) religious Law.<ref>{{cite web |author=Maurice Lamm |title=Non-Jewish Wedding Ceremonies for Jews |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/479943/jewish/Non-Jewish-Wedding-Ceremonies-for-Jews.htm |website=Chabad.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=C. G. Montefiore|author2=H. M. J. Loewe|title=A Rabbinic Anthology |date=12 July 2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-04812-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nifOxU_RrCAC&pg=PR76 |pages=76–}}</ref>

==== Kuwait ====
Some legal recognition is extended to former common-law unions in Kuwait. Kuwaiti Family law applies the law of the father's, husband's or male partner's country in case of [[expatriate]] familial disputes. Hence, if the father's country of nationality recognises common-law marriages (like the United Kingdom), matters such as [[child support]] dues and [[Alimony|maintenance]] can be considered in a Kuwaiti court.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Expat divorce in Kuwait |website=Expatriate Law |url=https://expatriatelaw.com/where-to-divorce/divorce-where-you-live/expat-divorce-in-kuwait/|access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref> However, out-of-marriage sexual intercourse is an offence punishable in Kuwait with a prison sentence between 6 months and 6 years if caught in action by an official or an administrative [[deportation]] order. This meaning that common-law marriage recognition can only be practically seen in exceptional cases like where the illegitimate child was born aboard and/or former couples who have since expatriated to Kuwait.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ahmed|first=Fajer|date=28 August 2013|title=Kuwait Law: Sexual Crimes |website=248am.com |url=https://248am.com/fajer/kuwait/kuwait-law-sexual-crimes/|access-date=11 October 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629203323/https://248am.com/fajer/kuwait/kuwait-law-sexual-crimes/}}</ref> Single expat parents including expat mothers can legally sponsor their children for residency permits.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Yasmena Al Mulla |date=24 August 2020 |title=Kuwait allows expat mothers to sponsor children |website=Gulf News |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-allows-expat-mothers-to-sponsor-children-1.73390299|access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref> Couples where one or both parties are Kuwaiti are covered by local family law and hence do not have recourse to the limited recognition of common-law marriage.<ref name=":0"/>

==== United Arab Emirates ====
Children born out-of-wedlock are given partial recognition. Their single expat mother or single expat father can sponsor them for residency. However, sexual relations outside of marriage were illegal in the UAE until November 2020, when restrictions were eased.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sponsoring family residency visa by expatriates |url=https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id/residence-visa/sponsoring-family-residency-visa-by-expatriates |date=n.d. |orig-year=Updated on 3 February 2020 |access-date=11 October 2020|website=The United Arab Emirates' Government portal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517105801/https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/visa-and-emirates-id/residence-visa/sponsoring-family-residency-visa-by-expatriates |archive-date=2020-05-17 |language=en}}</ref>

===Oceania===

====Australia====
In Australia, 22% of couples were cohabiting {{as of|2005|lc=y}}. 78% of couples who marry have lived together beforehand in 2008, rising from 16% in 1975.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Percentage of marriages preceded by cohabitation 1975–2008
|website=Family Facts & Figures
|url=http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/info/charts/marriage/cohabit.html
|publisher=[[Australian Institute of Family Studies]]
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723195654/http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/info/charts/marriage/cohabit.html
|archive-date=2013-07-23
}}</ref> In 2013, 34% of all births were to unmarried women.<ref>{{cite web|title=3301.0 – Births, Australia, 2013 |date=2014-10-23 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3301.0Main+Features12013?OpenDocument= |access-date=2023-06-25}}</ref> Australia recognizes [[Australian family law|de facto relationships]]. The proportion of births outside marriage varies by state/territory, being, in 2009, lowest in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] (at 28%), [[Australian Capital Territory]] (at 29%), and [[New South Wales]] (at 30%); and highest in [[Northern Territory]] (at 63%) and [[Tasmania]] (at 51%).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/960840A446DEDF4DCA2577CF000DF019?opendocument |title=3301.0 – Births, Australia, 2009 |date=3 November 2010 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>

====New Zealand====
In New Zealand according to the 2001 census, 20.5% of couples were in ''de facto'' relationships.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Atkin |first=Bill |date=2003 |title=The Challenge of Unmarried Cohabitation—The New Zealand Response |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25740421 |journal=Family Law Quarterly |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=303–325 |jstor=25740421 |issn=0014-729X}}</ref> In New Zealand, 23.7% of couples were cohabiting as of 2006.{{citation needed|date=June 2023|reason=Previous ref used a Canadian govt. source with Canadian statistics.}} In 2010, 48% of births were outside marriage.<ref>{{cite report |title=New Zealand Families Today |date=July 2013 |publisher=Families Commission |isbn=978-0-478-36937-3 |url=http://www.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/downloads/New-Zealand-Families-Today.pdf |access-date=4 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115023200/http://www.superu.govt.nz/sites/default/files/downloads/New-Zealand-Families-Today.pdf}}</ref> Like Australia, New Zealand recognizes ''de facto'' relationships.<ref>{{cite web |title=Property (Relationships) Act 1976 |work=New Zealand Legislation |publisher=New Zealand Government |url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1976/0166/latest/DLM441113.html |access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref>

=== Africa ===

==== South Africa ====
In South Africa, the 2011 census revealed that of South Africans aged 20 or older, 43.7% had never been married, 36.7% were married at the time of the census, [[Marriage in South Africa|11.0% were living together like married partners.]] Civil marriages fell by 22,5% between 2011 and 2019 and declined by a further 31,1% in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is marriage an old-fashioned institution? |website=Statistics South Africa |date=24 March 2022 |url=https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=15247 |access-date=2023-01-17}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
One example of how cohabitation is referenced in popular culture is in the 1978 novel [[Prudence (novel)|Prudence]] by British author [[Jilly Cooper]], where it is used as an example of where American language used to describe relationships - in this case "permanent commitment" - and is mocked in popular culture.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Probert |first=Rebecca |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nPQgAwAAQBAJ&dq=prudence+jilly+cooper&pg=PA197 |title=The Changing Legal Regulation of Cohabitation: From Fornicators to Family, 1600–2010 |date=2012-09-06 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-57690-1 |pages=197 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col |colwidth=20em}}
* [[Alimony]]
* [[Coparenting]]
* [[Family law]]
* [[Fornication]]
* [[Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study]]
* [[Interpersonal relationship]] and [[Intimate relationship]]
** [[Domestic partnership]]
** [[Free union]]
** [[Pilegesh]]
** [[Samenlevingscontract]]
* [[Living apart together]]
* [[Marriage gap]]
* [[POSSLQ]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
<!--Unused reference--<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/catholics-are-more-progressive-than-the-vatican-and-almost-everyone-else/|title=Catholics Are More Progressive Than The Vatican, And Almost Everyone Else|author=Carl Bialik |date=17 October 2014|work=FiveThirtyEight}}</ref>-->
<!--Unused reference--<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-553/p24-eng.cfm|title=2006 Census: Family portrait: Continuity and change in Canadian families and households in 2006: National portrait: Provinces and territories |date=12 September 2007|work=Statistics Canada |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=22 August 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134950/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-553/p24-eng.cfm|url-status=dead}}</ref>-->

==External links==
* {{Cite Americana|short=1|wstitle=Cohabitation}}
* {{commons category-inline|Cohabitation}}

{{Accommodation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Living arrangements]]
[[Category:Intimate relationships]]
[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Criticism of marriage]]