Highlights
- From 1972, marriage rates in the US have continued to decline and are currently at the lowest point recorded in history.
- About 34% of adults aged 15 and over in the US in 2023 had never been married.
- Of all same-sex marriages in the UK in 2022, there were more female same-sex couples marrying (62.8%) than male.
- Developed countries tend to have higher median marriage ages, often in the late twenties to early thirties whereas developing countries have lower median marriage ages, often in the late teens to early twenties.
Introduction
Marriage is defined as the legal union of individuals. For a marriage to happen the parties must have legal ability to marry each other, there must be mutual consent of the parties and there must be a marriage contract as required by law.
As a social institution, marriage has existed for thousands of years. It is an important event that shapes many areas of people’s lives including their health, happiness and economic resources. Marriage statistics provide a reflection of changing social norms, cultural attitudes and economic conditions prevalent in a region or country.
In many countries in the world, it has been observed that marriage is becoming less common and people are marrying later and choosing to live together as unmarried couples. This explains the global gradual decline in marriage rates — the ratio of marriages to the population of a particular area or during a particular period of time, usually calculated as the number of marriages per one thousand people per year.
Marriage Trends in United States
- The US has data on marriage rates as far back as the 20th century providing a clear picture of when the decline started and the effect of both economic and social changes
- In 1920, shortly after the First World War, 12 marriages for every 1,000 people were recorded annually. This was followed by a sharp fall in rates in the 1930s,
- By 1946 marriages were becoming more common again and the rate had reached a peak of 16.4 marriages per 1,000 people.
- Between the 1950s and 1960s, marriage rates fell and bounced back again
- From 1972, marriage rates have continued to decline and are currently at the lowest point recorded in history
- Between 1956 and 2022, the median age for first marriage for men has increased from 22.5 to 30 and for women it has increased from 20 to 28.
Marriage Trends in Europe
- Data on marriage rates in Europe are available from 1964 with a crude marriage rate of 8 per 1000 persons annually which reduced to 4.2 in 2022
- This downward trend was interrupted by some intermediate peaks in 1989 (6.4), 2000 (5.2), 2007 (5.0) and 2018 (4.5).
- Between 2019 and 2020 a substantial decrease in marriage rates was observed from 4.3 per 1 000 persons to 3.2 an almost 25% fall which has been interpreted as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- From 2021 onwards, there has been a significant uptick in the crude marriage rate reaching 4.2 in 2022.
- An increase in the median age at first marriage for both men and women has also been observed in Europe and it reflects broader social changes, including the trend of individuals prioritizing education and career before marriage.
Marriage Trends in Other Regions
- Despite sparse data, available estimates from Latin America, Africa, and Asia suggest that the decline of marriages in these regions.
Marriage Statistics in United States
- In 2023, among adults aged 15 and over in the US 48.1% were married while 34.4% had never married.
- In 2022, the US had a total of 2,065,905 marriages, equivalent to 6.2 marriages per 1,000 total population
- The median age at first marriage was 30.2 years for men and 28.6 years for women.
- The typical age gap between husbands and wives narrowed to 2.2 years in 2022, down from 2.4 years in 2000 and 4.9 years in 1880.
- Marriage rates per 1,000 population across states in the US in 2022 showed that the top 5 states were Nevada- 25.9, Hawaii-14.4, Montana- 9.9, Utah-9.9 and District of Columbia-8.3.
- The states with the least marriage rates were Louisiana-3.7, New Mexico- 4.2, Illinois 4.9, Maryland- 5 and Delaware, Massachusetts and New Jersey- 5.
- The number of opposite-sex married couples in 2022 were approximately 680,000, with 32% of men and 36% of women in opposite-sex marriages found to be younger than 45 years old.
- Same-sex married couples in 2022 were about 741,000 and about 41% of men and 51% of women in same-sex marriages were younger than 45 years old.
- Nearly 47% of same-sex married couples were men, and 53% women.
- Out of a total of about 63 million married couples living in the US in 2022, the racial distribution was as follows: 40.5 million- White Alone, 7.8 million- Hispanic, 5.2 million- Black Alone and other races accounted for 2.4 million married couples
- Based on race and gender, the median age at first marriage was found to be 30.2 years for White men, 28.6 years for White women, 29.5 years for Black men, 27.8 years for Black women, 28.9 years for Hispanic men and 27.3 years for Hispanic women
- Marriage rates per 1,000 Population across racial distribution was 6.0 – White Alone, 5.5 – Black Alone, 6.3- Hispanic and 5.8 for other races
Marriage Statistics in The United States: 2023
| Married (%) | Never Married (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population 15 years and Over | |||
| Sex | Men | 49.9 | 37.2 |
| Women | 46.5 | 31.6 | |
| Race | White | 52.2 | 29.1 |
| Black/African American | 30.5 | 49.9 | |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 37.7 | 45.5 | |
| Asian | 58.6 | 30.7 | |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 44.4 | 40.9 | |
| Hispanic/Latino origin | 42.7 | 43.2 | |
| Two or more races | 42.5 | 42.5 |
Marriage Trends in United Kingdom
- The total number of marriages in England and Wales in 2022 was 246,897; a 12.3% increase when compared with 2019 (219,850).
- There were 239,097 opposite-sex marriages, 12.2% more compared with 2019 (213,122) and 7,800 same-sex marriages; 15.9% more compared with 2019 (6,728).
- These increases were believed to be as a result of delayed marriages due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The total number of marriages of opposite-sex couples in the UK in 2019 was 245,472, the lowest recorded since 1888 and a 6.4% drop from the previous year
- In the 30 years from 1992 to 2022, a 20.8% decrease in the overall numbers of marriages was observed in the UK
- Despite the decline in marriage rates, in 2022 marriages accounted for most (97.3%) legal partnership formations (a civil partnership or a marriage).
- In 2022, there were a total of 6,879 civil partnerships making up 2.7% of all legal partnership formations. The majority of these were opposite-sex civil partnership formations (2.3%), while 0.4% were same-sex civil partnerships
- Overall marriage rates in the UK returned to being higher than divorce rates in 2021 and 2022, following the drop in marriage rates during the COVID-19 pandemic (6.7 men and 6.6 women divorced per 1,000 married men and women in 2022)
- In 2019, there was a 2.8% drop in same-sex marriages in England and Wales, leading to the lowest figure since 2015.
- In 2021, same-sex civil partnerships in the UK increased by 30.0% from 2020.
- There were 6,131 opposite-sex civil partnerships formed in 2021; this is the first year full UK figures have been produced.
- Of all same-sex marriages in 2022, there were more female same-sex couples marrying (62.8%) than male. This was the highest proportion of same-sex marriages between female couples compared with male couples since same-sex marriage was introduced in 2014.
Age Distribution of Civil Partnerships in England and Wales: 2022
| Age (years) | Same-sex (%) | Opposite-sex (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| 25-34 | 1.0 | 17.4 |
| 35-44 | 18.32 | 14.0 |
| 45-54 | 17.2 | 16.6 |
| 55-64 | 20.0 | 25.1 |
| 65 and above | 19.0 | 24.2 |
Marriage Trends in Canada
- From 1991 to 2019, marriage rates in Canada maintained a similar trend to those of countries like the UK, Australia and New Zealand. While marriage rates were higher in the US, the relative decline during this period was also of a similar magnitude to that seen in Canada.
- In 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the crude marriage rate in Canada was close to the average among G7 countries.
- Canada experienced a large (33%) drop in marriages from 2019 to 2020 and it was found to be comparable to that observed in France (-34%), smaller than in Italy (-47%) but greater than in Germany (-10%), Japan (-12%) and the United States (-17%).
Marriage Trends in Other Regions
- Marriage rates in Africa vary significantly across different countries and regions due to diverse cultural practices and socioeconomic conditions
- Compared to other regions, Northern African countries tend to have higher marriage rates as seen in Egypt -9.6, Algeria – 7.8, Morocco- 7.5, Tunisia- 6.9 and Libya- 6.5
- In Sub-saharan Africa, marriage rates vary widely, with some countries like Mozambique and Namibia having higher rates (8.5 and 7.9 respectively), while others like South Africa have lower rates (6.8)
- Asia presents a diverse landscape regarding marriage rates with some countries having higher rates due to cultural norms favoring early marriage
- Southeast Asia has higher marriage rates as seen in countries like Philippines- 6, Thailand- 6.3, and Vietnam – 6.1
- South Asian countries like India and Indonesia have moderate marriage rates (6.8 and 5.5 respectively)
- East Asian countries have relatively lower marriage rates in Asia, as low as 3.7 in South Korea, 4.1 in Japan and 4.8 in China
- In Europe, the highest marriage rates can be found in countries like Hungary (6.6) and Latvia (6.3)
- Slovenia and Italy (both 3.2 marriages per 1,000 persons) and Portugal (3.5) account for the lowest marriage rates in Europe.
- Marriage rates in Europe have also experienced a decline, with a notable drop during the COVID-19 pandemic and a slight increase in 2021
- Marriage rates in Oceania are generally lower compared to other regions, with cohabitation being more common in this region
- Fiji (9.8) and Australia (5.5) account for the highest marriage rates while New Zealand (3.6) has the lowest marriage rate.
- Marriage is a central aspect of adult life in the Middle East, which is why this region has been known to have high marriage rates
- However some countries in the Middle East have started to witness some decline in their marriage rates due to factors such as female labor participation and higher education levels among women
- Highest marriage rates can be found in countries like Palestine (10.0) and Iran (7.2), while Lebanon (5.9) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (4.9) account for some of the lowest marriage rates
- Spain has one of the highest median ages at first marriage – 39.8 years for men and 40.8 years for women.
- The youngest age at first marriage has been recorded to come from Chad in Central Africa with couples marrying around the age of 19.
- However in countries where child marriage exists the age at first marriage for women may be lower than 19.
- In general, developed countries tend to have higher median marriage ages, often in the late twenties to early thirties, while developing countries have lower median marriage ages, often in the late teens to early twenties.
- The widest age gap between men and their wives/partners is found in Sub-Saharan African countries like Gambia (14.5), Guinea (13.5) and Mali (12.9)
- Countries in Europe have smaller gaps- 1 year in Ireland and an average of 2.2 years in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Estonia
- And in North America the age gap is 2.2 on average
- Religion is believed to play a role in the age gap between grooms and brides as the widest spousal age gap is among muslims (6.6), followed by Hindus (5.6 years), Christians (3.8), Buddhists (2.9), the religiously unaffiliated (2.3) and Jews (2.1)
- Worldwide, the countries with the highest annual rates of marriage are West Bank & Gaza (10) , Fiji (9.8), Egypt (9.6), the Bahamas (9.5), and Uzbekistan (9.0).
- In contrast, the lowest annual marriage rates are found in Qatar (1.4), French Guiana (2.4), and Peru (2.5). Not only do these countries have the lowest marriage rates, but also have some of the world’s lowest divorce rates.
Conclusion
Across the world, fewer people are choosing to marry, and those who do marry are, on average, doing so later in life. The underlying drivers of these trends include the rise of contraceptives, the increase of female participation in labor markets and educational pursuits, and the transformation of institutional and legal environments, such as new legislation allowing unmarried couples more rights.
References
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/marriage
https://ourworldindata.org/marriages-and-divorces
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Marriage_and_divorce_statistics
https://www.statista.com/topics/797/weddings-and-marriage
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221114/dq221114b-eng.htm
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/10/marriage-and-divorce.html
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/marriage-rate-by-state
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/families-and-living-arrangements.html
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/10/marriage-and-divorce.html
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage-divorce.htm
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/07/interracial-marriages.html
https://healthymarriageinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/MarriageTrendsinAfrica.pdf
https://www.statista.com/topics/797/weddings-and-marriage/#topicOverview
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/age-at-first-marriage-by-country
