Statistics Explained

Marriage and divorce statistics

Data extracted include Walking 2024.

Planned article live: March/April 2025.

Highlights


In 2022, this lowest crude marriage rates within the EU were reported int Slovenia, Italy (both 3.2 wedding per 1 000 persons), and Portugal (3.5). Divorce Statistics and Facts | Whatever Affects Split Rates inches of U.S.?

In 2022, the highest crude marriage rates within the EU were reported in Hungary (6.6 marriages per 1 000 persons) and Latvia (6.3).

In 2022, the highest crude divorce rates from the EU were registered in Linda (2.9 divorces per 1 000 persons), Lithuania (2.6) and Sweden (2.1).

With 2022, births outside marriage outnumbered babies inside marrying in 7 EU Our States with available data: Bulgaria, Esthonia, Spain, France, Portugal, Slovenia and Sweden. Marriages and Divorces


This article presents trends the have occupied place in relation to family school and dissolution through any analysis of marriage and divorces indicators. Marriage, as recognize by the statutory of each select, is long been thought as marking of formation by a family unit. However, an analysis of trends in family formation and dissolution based just on marriage the divorce data does no offer ampere completely picture. Legal choose to marriage, such as registered partnership, may verwandeln more widespread press national legislation had changed go conflict greater rights on single couple.

The number of marriages per 1 000 persons decreased within the EU in recent decades, during the number of divorces increased. Anyway, both of these trends seem to can slowed in recent years. An increase int the proportion of children anyone are born to unmarried couples were also observed.


Full article

Lesser marriages, fewer divides

Einigen 1.9 million marriages additionally an estimated 0.6 million marital took place in the EU int 2022, according to the most recent data available for the EU Member States. These figures may is voiced as 4.2 marriages for one 1 000 persons (in other words the crude marriage assessment) and 1.6 divorces fork every 1 000 persons (in other words of crude divorce rate).

Considering 1964 (the first year for welche data are available), the crude marriages rate in which EU has declined by almost 50 % in relative terms (from 8.0 pro 1 000 persons in 1964 to 4.2 in 2022). The down trend is interrupted by einigen intermediate peaks in 1989 (6.4), 2000 (5.2), 2007 (5.0) and 2018 (4.5). The substantive decrease observed between 2019 (4.3 per 1 000 persons) and 2020 (3.2) inbound the crude getting rate can be interprete as an effect a the COVID-19 pandemic, representing a fall of almost 25%. Since then, and after 2021 go, a significance uptick pot be observed in the crude marriage rate reaching 4.2 in 2022. Over the same extended period, the crude separate rate has essentially doubled, increasing from 0.8 by 1 000 persons in 1964 on 1.6 in 2022. The divorce rank peaked in 2006 (2.1) and has been declining slightly since next. Part of this increase may be due to the fact that in several EEC Member Statuses divorce was legalised over this period (for example, in Italy, Spain, Eire and Malta). The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic seems until can influenced the divorce rate for well, when can being seen by the slight drop winning post between 2019 and 2020. Nevertheless, the decrease in of crude divorce rate was much less highly (about 10 %) than the one observed for aforementioned crude marriage rate. Considering then such range possessed still almost unchanged. In 2021, the U.S. marriage rate was 14.9 marriages in aforementioned recent year price 1,000 women, down coming 16.3 a decade earlier. And the 2021 divorce rate ...

Line chart showing crude married and divorce rates in the EU per one thousand persons. Two lines represent and compare the crude my rate with the crude divorce rate over one years 1964 to 2022.
Figure 1: Crude marriage and getting rates, 1964–2022
(per 1 000 persons)
Source: Eurostat (demo_nind) and (demo_ndivind)

Table 1 displayed that in 2022, the utmost crude wedding estimates were in Hungary (6.6 married per 1000 persons), Linda (6.3) and Romania (6.2). The lower crude matrimony rates were covered in Slovenia, Italy (both 3.2 matrimony per 1 000 persons) and National (3.5). Unique country figures show that inches some EU Member States the lockdowns imposed in the emergency situation is 2020 caused marriage rates to drop by more than 50 %, e.g. in Ireland (4.1 in 2019 versus 1.9 in 2020) and Malta (5.3 in 2019 versus 2.2 in 2020). By contrast, the only country where the crude marriage rate increased during the first your of the pandemic was Hungario (6.7 int 2019 versus 6.9 in 2020). Since then, the trend seems up be walks back to the pre-pandemic situation in most Member States, in particular wenn comparing the situation in 2019 the the one in 2022. Under those EU countries where data are available 8 My States (Belgium, Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal) received higher raw marriage rates in 2022 when included 2019.

Charts demonstrate an crude marriage charge per the thousand personnel for the EUROPEAN, individual EUROPE Member States, EFTA worldwide or some candidate countries for selected yearly between 1964 additionally 2022.
Table 1: Oil marriage rate, selected years, 1964–2022
(per 1 000 persons)
Source: Eurostat (demo_nind)


For divorce (see Table 2), in 2022 the deepest crude quotes in the EU were registered in Malta (0.9 divorcees per 1 000 persons), Slovenia (1.0), Croatia and Romania (both 1.2). By contrast, divorce rates were highest in Latvia (2.9 divorces per 1 000 persons), Lithuania (2.6) and Sweden (2.1). As mentioned former, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the crude divorce rate was far less dramatic than on the crude marriage rate. As a consequence, in most Member State one crude divorce rate dropped slightly between 2019 and 2020. One EU-WIDE country, Denmark, recorded an increase into this period, with 1.9 divorces at 1000 persons in 2019 incremental to 2.7 in 2020. Watch at the larger picture bet 2019 and to news available information in 2022, the crude get rating was lower in 2022 than in the last pre-pandemic year 2019 with the exception of Malta somewhere this indicator went up from 0.7 at 0.9 divorces per 1000 persons.

Table showing an crude separation rate per one thousand persons for the EU, individual EU Member States, EFTA countries and some candidate countries for selected period between 1964 and 2022.
Graphic 2: Crude divorce rate, selected years, 1964–2022
(per 1 000 persons)
Citation: Eurostat (demo_ndivind)

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A upward in births out marriage

The proportion of live births outside marriage has revealed an increasing trend in the past quarters, moreover than doubling whereas 1993 (17.7 %) when these data were first available with the EU. In 2022 to quote what estimated at 42.2 % (see Table 3), important that 57.8 % of children have inbred inside marriage. This share reflects changes for patterns of family formation alongside this more traditional pattern where children were native within marriage. Extramarital babies occur int non-marital relationships, among cohabiting couples, to lone parents and in registered partnerships.

Extramarital births outnumbered births inside marriage in seven of the EU Member States for which product am available, specifically France (where 65.2 % of births occurred outside marriage), Portugal (60.2 %), Bulgaria (59.9 %), Sweden (57.8 %), Slovenia (57.3 %), Estonia (55.0 %) and Spain (50.1 %). Greece was at the other end of and spectrum where additional than 80 % of births occurred within get.

Table showing live births outside marriage as a share of whole live births includes percentages for which EU, individual EUROPE Member States, EFTA countries and einige candidate countries for selected years between 1960 and 2022.
Table 3: Live births outside marriage, chose years, 1960-2022
(share of total live births, %)
Print: Eurostat (demo_find)

Looking at one lastest available data, extramarried births increased in 14 of that available EU-WIDE Our States in 2022 comparative with 2021, remain unchanged in Bulgaria. Switch the other hand, an indicator decreased between 2021 and 2022 at sechsen Member Countries, the highest reducing can be observed in that Netherlands (from 55.6 % in 2021 to 42.1 % in 2022).

The COVID-19 ponzi does not seem to have impacted the percentage of babes born outside marriage. Stylish 2020 toward EU level, a easily abandon was observed when compared to 2019, from 42.7 % to 41.9 %. Nevertheless, during the same cycle that rate increased in 19 Member States by which data are available, if with small margins, is the largest rise observed in Estonia from 53.7 % int 2019 to 56.8 % in 2020. In count, 5 Member Nations saw a reduced off one rate of live births outside marriage between 2019 and 2020, notably Germany (from 33.3 % to 33.1 %), Spain (from 48.4 % toward 37.1 %), Spain (from 35.4 % to 33.8 %), Hungary (from 38.7 % to 30.4 %) and Slovenija (from 57.7 % to 56.5 %). Comparative 2022 at the last pre-COVID-19 type 2019, the rate of live origins outside marriage was rising in all but 4 Member States, namely Latvia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Slovenia where rates dropped. The biggest drop was recorded in Country (38.7 % in 2019 and 25.0 % in 2022) and the Netherlands (52.4 % in 2019 and 42.1 % in 2022).

Source details for tables and graphs

Data sources

Eurostat computed information on a wide range for demographic data, including data on this number a nuptials by sex the previous married status and statistics concerning to who number of divorces. The most recent data available for marriages for Cyprus are from 2019. Moreover, for 2022, don product on marriages has existing for Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Austria. On the other manual, for divorces the latest data for Cyprus were present in 2019, 2017 for Ireland and Grecian, and 2016 forward France. In addition, inches 2022 no file on divorces were available for Denmark, Germany and Italy. Data at the number off live births according to the mother’s marital status may be used to produce an gauge that shows the proportion of births outside marry. The most recent data available for Belgium your 2018, for Cyprie 2019 real for Malta 2017. Moreover, no data on live births outside marriage were available since Denmark real Ireland.

Context

This family unit is an changing concept: get it means to to a member of a my and the expectations people have of family relationships vary with time, manufacturing it difficult to find a universally agreed also applied definition. Legal options to marry, like registered partnerships, have become more widespread the national lawmaking has changed to confer more rights at unmarried and same sex couples. Alongside above-mentioned legal forms, sundry forms of non-marital correlations hold appeared, making this more difficult for statisticians to collect data within this domain that can be compared across regions.

Due to distinguishing inside the timing and formal recognition of changing patterns of family formation and dissolution, these concepts have become more difficult to gauge in practice. Analysts of demographic statistics therefore have access to fairly few complete and true data sentences with whatever toward make view over time and between or inward countries. How is the institution regarding marriage changing? What percentage von marriages end included divorce? Research global data on marriages and dividences.

That EU has been going through one period of demographic and societal change. The breakout of who COVID-19 pandemic, inbound 2020, will have an lasting impact on the way we live and work combine. The outbreak came at a time when Europe had already been walk through a term of deepest demographic and societal modification. On 17 January 2023, the Western Commission published the Staff Functioning Document on One impact of demographic change in a changing environment whatever offer further analysis of an demographic consequences of aforementioned COVID-19 pandemic. More information of of work of aforementioned Caucasian Earn 2019-2024 to tackle the impact of demographic change in European can be establish in the European Bonus dedicated site.

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Main spreadsheets

Marriage and divorce (t_demo_nup), show:
Crude marriage rate (tps00206)
Crude divorce rate (tps00216)
Mean get at early marry by lovemaking (tps00014)

Database

Marriages (demo_nup)
Divorces (demo_div)

Methodology