New figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have shown that more people in the country are marrying but not in civil marriages. The figures also show that more people are living together before tying the knot.

|TOP|According to the statistics, 110,958 marriages took place in 2004, up from the just over 106,000 in 2003, the first increase since 2002.

Queensland registered the highest marriage rate in the country, at 6.3 per 1,000, while the Northern Territory had the lowest rate at just 3.9 per 1,000.

Despite the overall increase in number of marriages taking place, the figures are not matched by an increase in church marriages, with nearly 60 per cent of all marriages in Australia in 2004 carried out by a marriage celebrant. Just twenty years ago, only 40 per cent of marriages were outside the church.

The Northern Territory does not just have the lowest rate of marriages in the country, it also has the highest number of civil marriages, a massive 75 per cent. The lowest rate, in South Australia, is still a high 55 per cent.

The figures also showed that out of the church marriages, most married in a Catholic Church.

More couples now live together before marrying, over three quarters, with those living together prior to marriage also more likely to opt for a civil ceremony, 66 per cent.