More and more couples are choosing instead to live as non-married partners (der Partner; die Partnerin) in a so-called Lebenspartnerschaft (partnership for life), a relationship that is now recognised and protected by civil law. Between 1972 and 1990, the number of such households increased sevenfold, to 963,000, or 2.7 percent of all households. And by 1999 there were 2.1 million unmarried (unverheiratet) German couples living together which meant that one couple in ten did not have a marriage certificate. In the new German states and in the eastern part of Berlin, living together outside of marriage is very common: one couple in eight have no marriage certificate. Many of these are young couples who are choosing to live together before getting married. In 1992 the average age at first marriage had risen to 29.0 for men and 26.5 for women in the old Länder, compared with 27.1 for men and 25.1 for women in the new Länder.