Marriage and divorce rates are plummeting, but the reasons are far from simple
In short: Across OECD nations, marriage rates have shifted significantly since 1990, while the average age of first marriage has climbed by nearly a decade. As cohabitation becomes a standard alternative to legal unions, these metrics offer a complex, evolving picture of how modern societies structure their most intimate long-term partnerships.
In 2022, the average crude marriage rate across OECD countries sat at 4.3 per 1,000 people. This represents a notable decline from the 1990s, when most of these nations saw rates between 5 and 7 per 1,000. Only Hungary and Iceland have bucked this downward trend, recording increases over the same period. The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted these patterns; in 2020, marriage rates plummeted by an average of 25% due to lockdowns and social distancing, though they saw a 10% rebound in 2021.
Simultaneously, the age at which people enter their first marriage has risen sharply. In the early 1990s, the average age was 25 for women and 28 for men. By 2021, those figures had climbed to nearly 32 and 34, respectively. This delay is particularly pronounced in Mediterranean and Nordic countries, where cohabitation is increasingly replacing marriage as the primary form of long-term partnership. Conversely, in Israel and Türkiye, the average age remains lower, at roughly 25 for women and under 28 for men.
Divorce trends are equally varied. Between 1990 and 2022, crude divorce rates increased in 13 OECD countries but fell in 16 others. The United States saw the most significant decline, while Italy, Portugal, and Spain experienced the highest increases. These statistics are further complicated by the rise of same-sex marriage, which was legally recognized in 25 OECD countries by 2022. By the early 2020s, same-sex unions accounted for an average of 2.2% of all marriages, with women representing 56% of these couples.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Marriage and divorce: Society at a Glance 2024 | OECD
- Also: List of countries by marriage and divorce rates
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