Marriage Statistics

More Marriages in 2008: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Over 118,000 marriages were registered  in Australia during 2008, according to figures released  by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is an increase of 2.1% in registered marriages compared to 2007.

Registered marriages are now at a 20 year high but the crude marriage rate (marriages per 1000 people) has fallen from 7 in 1989 to 5.5 in 2008.

The past 20 years has also seen a trend in couples delaying the age that they marry. In 2008, the median age for first-time marriage was 29.6 years for men and 27.7 years for women, compared to 26.3 years and 24.2 years respectively in 1989.

There was a 44% increase in marriages in August due to a large increase in the number of marriages performed on 8 August (08/08/08).

Other findings for marriages include:

• The proportion of couples choosing a Civil Celebrant to officiate their marriage grew to 65.0%.
• The proportion of couples who chose to live together prior to marriage grew to 77.7%.
• November was the most popular month to marry, with over 15,000 marriages. This was followed by March and October.

NUMBER OF MARRIAGES

In 2008, there were 118,756 registered marriages in Australia, representing an increase of 2,434 (2.1%) from 2007. This is the highest number of marriages registered in a single year since 1989 when 117,176 marriages were registered and continues the relatively steady increase in marriages since 2001.

Total marriages, 1998-2008