Title: Marriages and Divorces - Our World in Data
Headings: Marriages and Divorces
Marriages and Divorces
by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser
Summary
Marriages
In this section
Marriages are becoming less common
In many countries marriage rates are declining
Marriage rates in the US over the last century
How did marriage rates change around the world?
In many countries there has been a large decline in marriages across cohorts
Average age at marriage
People are marrying later
Share of women married by age and year of birth
There has been a ‘decoupling’ of parenthood and marriage
The share of children born outside of marriage has increased substantially in almost all OECD countries
Globally, the percentage of women in either marriage or cohabitation is decreasing, but only slightly
Single parenting is common, and in many countries it has increased in recent decades
Same-sex marriage has become possible in many countries
Where are same-sex marriages legal?
Are same-sex marriages increasing in countries where they are legal?
How common is marriage among LGBT couples?
Some perspective on the progress made regarding marriage equality
Marriage trends show that social institutions can, and often do change quickly
Divorces
Divorce rates increased after 1970 – in recent decades the trends very much differ between countries
Trends in the rate of divorces relative to the size of the population
The share of marriages ending in divorce
Divorces by age and cohort
Marriages in many countries are getting longer
Data sources
UN World Marriage Data
UN Population Division
OECD Family Database
Eurostat
Pew Research Center
National Statistical Agencies

Content: an increasing share of people in younger cohorts are not getting married; and younger cohorts are increasingly choosing to marry later in life. We explore this second point below. Share of men in England and Wales who were married by a certain age 2
Download the underlying data for this chart (.csv)
Average age at marriage
People are marrying later
In many countries, declining marriage rates have been accompanied by an increase in the age at which people are getting married. This is shown in the chart here, where we plot the average age of women at first marriage. 3
The increase in the age at which people are getting married is stronger in richer countries, particularly in North America and Europe. In Sweden, for example, the average age of marriage for women went up from 28 in 1990 to 34 years in 2017. In Bangladesh and several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the average age at marriage is low and has remained unchanged for several years. In Niger, where child marriage is common, the average age at marriage for women has remained constant, at 17 years, since the early 1990s. ( NB.