9. What is [the respondent]'s marital status?

Question 9: What is [the respondent]'s marital status?
People who live together as husband and wife or who so regard themselves without being formally married, should be recorded as married. Thus in the main, the answer must be accepted as given by the respondent and the legal aspect of the marital status should not be questioned. It is the respondents who define their marital status.
If a person has been widowed but has since re-married, s/he should be recorded as married.
A divorce does not have to have gone through the court or other formalities for it to be considered an actual divorce in census terms.
Please note that "never married" is not equivalent to "single" as the latter includes those who have never married and those who have been married but are currently divorced/separated or widowed. "Never married" strictly refers to those who have never entered any marital union. In the very few cases of not known, tick alternative "9".