MARRIAGES


NUMBER OF MARRIAGES

The 118,962 marriages registered in 2013 represent a decrease of 4,282 (3.5%) from the 123,244 marriages registered in Australia in 2012. Last year represented the highest number of marriages registered in a single year after a relatively steady increase in the number of marriages since 2001.

CRUDE MARRIAGE RATE

The crude marriage rate represents the number of marriages registered during a calendar year per 1,000 estimated resident population at 30 June of the same year. For more information on the calculation of the crude marriage rate refer to Glossary and Explanatory Notes 36–40.




Australia's population has increased substantially over time. The number of marriages decreased in 2013, while the estimated resident population increased by 407,027 from 2012 to 2013. As a result, the crude marriage rate decreased from 5.4 to 5.1 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population.


MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE

The median age at marriage for males in 2013 was 31.5 years, a slight increase from 31.4 in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The median age at marriage for females in 2013 was 29.5 years, an increase of 0.1 years since 2012.




The median age at first marriage in 2013 was 29.9 years for males and 28.3 years for females. Median age at first marriage for males has changed little since 2009, increasing by 0.3 years over this time. The median age at first marriage for females has increased by 0.6 years over the same period.




AGE-SPECIFIC MARRIAGE RATES

Age-specific marriage rates provide a more detailed picture of the age at which people marry. These rates give an indication of the proportion of all males or females in a particular age group who marry in a given year. Further information on calculating age-specific marriage rates is provided in the Glossary and Explanatory Notes 38–42.

For both males and females in 2013, the highest age–specific marriage rates were for people between 25–29 years of age, with 42.1 marriages per 1,000 males and 48.3 marriages per 1,000 females.

The age-specific marriage rate for males between 25–29 years of age has declined from 53.2 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 42.1 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013. Age-specific marriage rates also declined for males between 20–24 years of age over this period, from 36.3 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 15.4 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013.

While the age-specific marriage rate for males between 20–29 years of age has decreased since 1993, it has increased for males between 30–39 years of age. The age-specific marriage rate for males between 30–34 years of age has increased from 28.9 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 35.5 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013. Further, the age-specific marriage rate for males between 35–39 years of age have increased from 15.0 per 1,000 estimated resident population to 18.8 per 1,000 estimated resident population over the same period.

A similar change has occurred in age-specific marriage rates for females. Age-specific marriage rates for females between 20–24 years of age have decreased from 57.8 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 24.7 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013. In contrast to males, the age-specific marriage rate for females between 25–29 years of age has increased from 46.4 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 48.3 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013. For females between 30–34 years of age the age-specific marriage rates have increased from 21.5 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1993 to 31.4 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2013.


Table 1.5 Age specific marriage rates(a)(b), Australia, Selected years, 1993–2013

Age group (years)	1993	2002	2009	2010	2011	2012(c)	2013(c)
MALES
16–19	1.4	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.6
20–24	36.3	19.2	17.0	16.1	15.9	16.0	15.4
25–29	53.2	46.4	44.0	43.7	43.2	44.2	42.1
30–34	28.9	33.5	35.8	35.7	35.8	36.5	35.5
35–39	15.0	17.5	19.9	19.9	19.3	19.4	18.8
40–44	9.7	10.3	11.5	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.1
45–49	7.4	7.4	7.9	8.1	8.1	8.0	7.6
50 and over	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.4
FEMALES
16–19	7.3	3.8	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.3	3.1
20–24	57.8	34.0	29.8	28.4	27.6	27.1	24.7
25–29	46.4	49.2	50.8	50.4	50.5	51.3	48.3
30–34	21.5	28.0	30.9	31.4	31.0	32.0	31.4
35–39	11.3	13.5	15.2	15.0	14.8	15.0	14.3
40–44	7.4	7.9	8.6	8.5	8.7	8.8	8.7
45–49	5.7	5.9	6.4	6.3	6.3	6.6	6.3
50 and over	1.9	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.9
(a) See Glossary for definitions of terms used.
(b) Marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population of males or females, at 30 June for each reference year respectively. Only those people aged 16 years and over, and therefore eligible to marry according to the Marriages Act 1961, are included. See Explanatory Notes 3 and 36–42 for more information.
(c) Care should be taken in interpreting Victorian data from 2012 as the category values are calculated from a weighted sample. Please see Explanatory Notes 27–29 for further information.

PREVIOUS MARITAL STATUS

In 2013, 96,693 brides (81.3% of all brides) and 94,795 grooms (79.7% of all grooms) had not married previously. The number of brides and grooms marrying for the first time has increased by 19.3% and 18.6% respectively over the past decade.




Of the 118,962 marriages registered in 2013, 72.4% were between a bride and groom never previously married. A further 16.3% were first marriages for one partner, while 11.4% were remarriages for both partners.

In 2013, 17.4% of brides (20,652) and 19.0% of grooms (22,614), had been previously divorced. The proportion of brides and grooms who had previously been divorced decreased by 0.4 percentage points since 2012.





In 2013, 1,617 brides (1.4% of all brides) and 1,553 grooms (1.3% of all grooms) who registered for marriage, were widowed. The past 20 years has seen a decrease in brides and grooms who were previously widowed.




MARRIAGE CELEBRANTS

The proportion of marriages performed by civil celebrants has increased over the past 20 years. In 2013, 72.5% of all marriages were performed by civil celebrants. Civil marriages have outnumbered religious ceremonies since 1999. In 2013, of the 32,600 marriages performed by ministers of religion, the most common rites used were Catholic (32.3%) followed by Anglican (15.7%).




COUNTRY OF BIRTH

The proportion of marriages between two Australian born people has been gradually decreasing since 1993. Over this time, the proportion of marriages between two people born in Australia has decreased from 64.0% in 1993, to 55.1% of all marriages in 2013. Conversely, the proportion of marriages between two people born in the same overseas country has increased over the same period, from 8.0% in 1993 to 13.2% in 2013. Marriages of people born in different countries accounted for 31.6% of all marriages in 2013 compared with 28.0% in 1993.


In 2013, the median age of grooms and brides born in Australia was 31.4 years and 29.3 years respectively. Among the countries analysed, the youngest median age was for brides born in Lebanon (25.6 years) and grooms born in India (27.6 years). Brides with the oldest median age were born in the UK, where the median age of brides is 34.9 years and grooms with the oldest median age were born in Greece (40.0 years).


COHABITATION PRIOR TO MARRIAGE

The majority of couples registering their marriage in 2013 cohabited prior marriage (76.6%). However, the number and proportion of couples cohabiting prior to marriage decreased from 2012 to 2013. In 2013, there were 91,123 couples cohabiting prior to marriage, a decrease from 95,673 (77.6%) in 2012.


Couples who cohabited prior to marriage tended to be slightly older than those who had not lived together prior to marriage. In 2013, the median age of males who lived with their wife before marriage was 31.8 years, compared with 31.5 years for all males who married in 2013. Similarly, the median age of females who lived with their husbands before marriage was 29.8 years, compared with 29.5 years for all females who married in 2013.


MONTH OF MARRIAGE

Of the 118,962 marriages registered in 2013, the most popular month of celebration for marriages was November with 14,592 (12.3%) marriages, followed by March with 14,584 (12.3%) marriages. The month of July was the least popular month for marriages with only 5,395 (4.5%) marriages taking place in that month. The number of weekends in a month influences the number of weddings in that month, so this should be taken into consideration when interpreting these data.


STATE AND TERRITORY DATA

Marriage statistics in this publication are presented by the state or territory where the marriage was registered, rather than the state or territory of usual residence of the couple. For this reason, the ABS advises caution in the interpretation of data at a state or territory level as couples may choose to marry outside their state or territory of usual residence. Refer to Explanatory Notes 27–29 for more information.


1.13 NUMBER OF MARRIAGES(a), States and territories(b), Selected years, 1993–2013

	NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
1993	39,993	27,418	20,704	9,114	10,382	3,055	806	1,783	113,255
2003	36,872	25,211	22,273	7,609	9,549	2,599	723	1,558	106,394
2009	40,516	27,750	26,342	8,208	12,184	2,637	919	1,562	120,118
2010	40,371	28,142	26,530	8,323	12,684	2,577	954	1,595	121,176
2011	41,720	28,944	25,560	8,115	12,665	2,329	908	1,511	121,752
2012	40,981	29,901	26,276	7,697	12,968	2,913	906	1,602	123,244
2013	40,373	27,584	25,015	8,353	12,886	2,400	891	1,460	118,962
(a) Care should be taken in interpreting this table as marriage data are by state or territory of registration rather than usual residence. See Explanatory Notes 27–28 for further information.
(b) Care should be taken in interpreting Victorian data from 2012 as the category values are calculated from a weighted sample. Please see Explanatory Note 27-29 for further information.

South Australia was the only jurisdiction to report an increase in the number of registered marriages in 2013 (up by 656 or 8.5% from 2012). Decreases were reported across all other states and territories. The largest of these was Victoria which decreased by 2,317 or 7.7% from 2012, followed by Queensland, down by 1,261 or 4.8% from 2012.

New South Wales recorded the highest crude marriage rate in 2013 (5.5 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population), while the Northern Territory had the lowest crude marriage rate, with 3.7 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population.

Marriages performed by ministers of religion as a proportion of all marriages in 2013 were highest in Australian Capital Territory (32.7%) and lowest in the Northern Territory (18.9%).

In 2013, the proportion of marriages where couples lived together prior to marriage was lowest in Victoria (67.6%) and highest in Tasmania (87.8%).


Table 1.14 Selected marriage indicators(a), States and territories of registration(b), 2013

				NSW	Vic.(c)	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
Marriages registered			no.	40,373	27,584	25,015	8,353	12,886	2,400	891	1,460	118,962
Crude marriage rate(d)			rate	5.5	4.8	5.4	5.0	5.1	4.7	3.7	3.8	5.1
Median age at marriage
	Males		years	31.2	31.2	31.6	31.6	31.9	32.4	33.4	31.1	31.4
	Females		years	29.2	29.4	29.5	29.5	29.6	30.0	30.2	28.9	29.4
Previous marital status
	First marriage both partners		no.	29,331	20,861	17,392	5,987	9,170	1,644	610	1,080	86,075
	First marriage one partner		no.	6,612	4,170	4,288	1,351	2,139	399	167	212	19,338
	Remarriage both partners		no.	4,430	2,553	3,335	1,015	1,577	357	114	168	13,549
Marriage celebrant
	Ministers of religion(e)
		Number of marriages	no.	12,771	7,627	5,516	2,464	2,978	598	168	478	32,600
		Proportion or marriages	%	31.6	27.7	22.1	29.5	23.1	24.9	18.9	32.7	27.4
	Civil Celebrants
		Number of marriages	no.	27,589	19,923	19,489	5,889	9,908	1,802	723	981	86,304
		Proportion of marriages	%	68.3	72.2	77.9	70.5	76.9	75.1	81.1	67.2	72.5
Relative birthplace of couple(f)
	Both born in Australia		no.	21,327	14,565	15,067	5,526	5,949	1,856	463	850	65,603
	Both born in the same overseas country		no.	6,400	4,560	2,164	708	1,604	62	85	144	15,727
	Born in different countries		no.	12,629	8,426	7,780	2,117	5,309	482	343	466	37,552
Cohabitation prior to marriage
	Number of marriages		no.	29,215	18,642	21,659	6,785	10,747	2,108	753	1,214	91,123
	Proportion of marriages		%	72.4	67.6	86.6	81.2	83.4	87.8	84.5	83.2	76.6
(a) See Glossary for definitions of terms used.
(b) Care should be taken in interpreting this table as marriage data are by state or territory of registration rather than usual residence. See Explanatory Notes 27–28 for further information.
(c) Care should be taken in interpreting Victorian data from 2012 as the category values are calculated from a weighted sample. Please see Explanatory Note 29 for further information.
(d) Marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population at 30 June for each reference year respectively. Care should be taken in interpreting this table as marriage data are by state of registration rather than usual residence. See Explanatory Notes 36–42 for further information.
(e) Registers of ministers of religion are maintained by states and territories under the authority of the Marriage Act 1961. Data on religious marriage rites are classified to the Australian Standard Classification of Religious Groups (ASCRG), 2011 (cat. no. 1266.0).
(f) Excludes marriages where country of birth of one or both partners is not stated.