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Marriages registered in 2020 dropped 10.9 per cent from a year earlier, the Department of Statistics said on Wednesday (July 7).

Such numbers were attributed to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, including Circuit Breaker restrictions and safe management measures applied to wedding solemnisations and receptions from March 2020.

Marriages

A higher median age of marriage and a narrowing age gap between couples in their first marriages were also reported.

The median age at first marriage for grooms and brides rose from 30.0 years to 30.4 years and from 27.7 years to 28.8 years respectively between 2010 and 2020.

In 2020, 42.1 per cent of couples in their first marriage were either of the same age or aged one year apart, an increase from 35.4 per cent in 2010.

A further 18.1 per cent were aged two years apart, up from 15.5 per cent over the same period.

Divorces and annulments

In 2020, 6,959 marriages ended in a divorce or annulment, a decline of 8.7 per cent as compared to the 7,623 marital dissolutions in the previous year.

This was the lowest number of marital dissolutions since 2006.

The Department of Statistics said that the Covid-19 pandemic, including measures taken during the Circuit Breaker period, may have contributed to this decline.

The median duration of marriage for divorces in 2020 was 10.4 years, comparable to the 10.6 years in 2010. Couples who were married for five to nine years continued to account for the largest share (29.4 per cent) of all divorces in 2020.

Last year's statistics:

Top photo via Sandy Millar/Unsplash.