3310.0 - Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2009 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/12/2010   
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Contents >> Marriages >> Age-specific marriage rates

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 married in a given year. Further information on calculating age-specific marriage rates is provided in the Glossary and Explanatory Notes 34-36 and 45.

For both males and females, the highest age-specific marriage rates were in the 25-29 year age group, with 44.0 marriages per 1,000 males in this age group and 50.8 marriages per 1,000 females in 2009. Both of these rates were lower in 2009 than they were in 2008.

Overall, marriage rates declined for bridegrooms aged between 20 and 39 years and brides between 20 and 29 years. The only group to record small increases in marriage rates were 16-19 year old brides and grooms, and grooms aged between 40 and 44 years.

Since 1989, the 25-29 year age group has recorded the highest age-specific marriage rate for males, although this has declined from 53.3 per 1,000 in 1989 to 44.0 per 1,000 in 2009. The 20-24 year age group has recorded a much sharper decline over this period from 46.8 per 1,000 in 1989 to 17.0 per 1,000 in 2009.

The male age groups recording the largest increases in marriage rates over this period are the 30-34 year age group, which increased from 27.9 per 1,000 in 1989 to 35.8 per 1,000 in 2009 and the 35-39 year age group, which increased from 14.8 per 1,000 in 1989 to 19.9 per 1,000 in 2009.

Since 1989, the 20-24 year age group has declined from having the highest age-specific marriage rate for females at 68.4 per 1,000 to the third highest age-specific marriage rate in 2009 at 29.8 per 1,000. The female age groups recording the largest increases in marriage rates over this time period are the 30-34 year age group, which increased from 20.7 per 1,000 in 1989 to 30.9 per 1,000 in 2009, and the 25-29 year age group, which increased from 44.1 per 1,000 in 1989 to 50.8 per 1,000 in 2009.

1.5 Age-specific marriage rates, Selected years - 1989-2009
Age Group (Years)(a)
1989
1999
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Male
16-19
2.7
1.4
0.9
0.7
0.9
0.8
0.9
20-24
46.8
27.2
18.4
18.3
17.8
17.3
17.0
25-29
53.3
52.2
45.5
46.3
46.0
45.0
44.0
30-34
27.9
33.1
35.2
36.7
36.5
36.6
35.8
35-39
14.8
17.5
18.4
19.5
19.7
20.1
19.9
40-44
10.1
10.1
10.6
11.1
11.3
11.4
11.5
45-49
7.8
7.7
7.7
8.1
8.1
8.1
7.9
50 and over
3.6
3.6
3.4
3.6
3.7
3.7
3.6
Female
16-19
14.4
6.5
4.0
3.7
3.7
3.5
3.6
20-24
68.4
45.6
32.1
32.2
31.6
30.5
29.8
25-29
44.1
52.4
50.3
51.7
51.6
52.1
50.8
30-34
20.7
26.1
29.5
31.3
31.1
30.9
30.9
35-39
11.2
12.9
14.2
14.9
15.4
15.3
15.2
40-44
7.9
8.0
7.9
8.4
8.5
8.6
8.6
45-49
6.1
6.1
6.0
6.2
6.5
6.6
6.4
50 and over
1.9
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.1
2.1
2.0
(a) Marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population of males or females, respectively, at 30 June.








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