Research by the Marriage Foundation predicts that just 57 per cent of girls and 55 per cent of boys currently aged 13 to 18 will marry in their lifetimes.

The figures, obtained from Office of National Statistics data, represent a steep decline from previous generations where, among people now in their 60s, 91 per cent of women and 86 per cent of men have married.

The study also reveals that current marriage rates among under-25s have plunged virtually to zero, with just eight per cent of women and four per cent of men in that age group getting married. This is because of young people now waiting until they are in their 30s to marry, compared with only a few decades ago.

The former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, warned that the authorities must act. He said: ‘The Government should be putting more money into marriage education. Teaching young people about relationships should be more than just giving them facts about sex. We should also be recognising marriage in a more favourable tax structure.’