The number of marriages registered in 2022 rose to a record high of 29,389, 3.7 per cent higher than the 28,329 marriages registered in 2021, according to the “Statistics on Marriages and Divorces, 2022” publication released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) on July 26.

However, in the last five years, the annual average number of marriages registered (26,562) was lower than the annual average registered in the preceding five years between 2013 and 2017 (27,833).

This was partly contributed by the lower number of marriages in 2020 when marriage plans for some were disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the DOS highlighted.

General marriage rates up, highest in last 2 decades

The general marriage rates for both males and females increased in 2022, the DOS figures showed.

There were 47.0 marriages per thousand unmarried males aged 15 to 49 years, up from 43.8 in 2012.

Similarly, there were 45.5 marriages per thousand unmarried females aged 15 to 49 years, up from 39.4 a decade ago.

The general marriage rates in 2022 for both males and females were among the highest in the recent two decades, second only to the highs of 47.5 for males and 45.8 for females recorded in 2002.

Getting married older

But the ages of both males and females getting married for the first time have gone up, depicting the trend towards later marriages.

The median age at first marriage for grooms and brides were 30.7 years and 29.3 years respectively in 2022, up from 30.1 years for grooms and 28.0 years for brides a decade ago.

Fewer divorces

A total of 7,107 marriages ended in a divorce or an annulment in 2022, a decrease of 9.9 per cent from the 7,890 marital dissolutions in the previous year.

Between 2018 and 2022, the annual average number of marital dissolutions was 7,385, lower than the annual average of 7,509 in the preceding five-year period.

In tandem with the decline in number of marital dissolutions, the general divorce rates fell for both males and females in 2022.

There were 6.2 marital dissolutions for every thousand married males aged 20 years and over, a decline from 7.1 in 2012.

Likewise, there were 5.9 marital dissolutions for every thousand married females aged 20 years and over, down from 6.7 a decade ago.

The median age at divorce also rose over the last 10 years, from 41.6 years in 2012 to 44.4 years in 2022 for male divorcees, and from 38.0 years to 40.5 years for female divorcees.

Fall in marriage dissolution rate before 10th anniversary

Marriage dissolution rates before the 10th anniversary also fell among resident marriage cohorts after 2005.

Resident marriage cohorts refer to marriages contracted in a particular year between people where either or both are Singapore citizens or permanent residents.

The cumulative proportion of marriages that dissolved before the 10th anniversary declined from 17 per cent for the 2005 marriage cohort to 14.5 per cent for the 2011 marriage cohort.

The DOS also noted that the proportion of resident marriages which dissolved was highest during the period beginning from the fifth to before the 10th anniversary, compared to other periods of five years.

From the 10th anniversary, the proportion of marriages that dissolved was smaller with each subsequent five-year milestone.

MSF response

In response to the DOS findings, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said it is is committed to building strong families and will continue to help couples strengthen their marriages in the first decade of marriage through pre- and post- marriage support programmes.

MSF noted that the marriage dissolution rates before the 10th anniversary fell among the more recent resident marriage cohorts, signifying greater marriage stability among recent cohorts of married couples, as compared to previous cohorts.

By marriage type, MSF also noted that the proportion of dissolved Muslim marriages before the 10th anniversary declined from 24.8 per cent for the 2005 marriage cohort to 17.6 per cent for the 2011 marriage cohort, and those for civil marriages decreased from 15.3 per cent to 13.8 per cent.

Support for marriages, particularly in the early years, is crucial, MSF said.

It cited figures that showed that most dissolutions occurred between the fifth and before the 10th anniversary, followed by before the fifth anniversary of marriage.

With each subsequent five-yearly milestone from the 10th anniversary, the increases in dissolution rates were smaller.

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