The United States has historically had higher rates of marriage than those of other industrialized countries. The current annual marriage (1)_____ in the United States-about 9 new marriages for every 1, 000 people-is (2)_____ higher than it is in other industrialized countries. However, marriage is (3)_____ as widespread as it was several decades ago. (4)_____ of American s who are married (5)_____ from 72 percent in 1970 to 60 percent in 2002. This does not mean that large numbers of people will remain unmarried (6)_____ their lives. Throughout the 20th century, about 90 percent of Americans married at some (7)_____ in their lives. Experts (8)_____ that about the same proportion of today"s young s will ually marry. The timing of marriage has varied (9)_____ over the past century. In 1995 the average age of women in the United States at the (10)_____ of their first marriage was 25. The average age of men was about 27. Men and women in the United States marry (11)_____ the first time at an average of five years later than people (12)_____ in the 1950s. (13)_____, young s of the 1950s married younger than did any previous (14)_____ in U.S. history. Today"s later age of marriage is (15)_____ the age of marriage between 1890 and 1940. (16)_____, a greater proportion of the population was married (95 percent) during the 1950s than at any time before (17)_____. Experts do not agree on (18)_____ the "marriage rush" of the late 1940s and 1950s occurred, but most social scientists believe it represented a (19)_____ to the return of peaceful life and prosperity after 15 years of severe economic (20)_____ and war.