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 23-24 for more information.
1.13 Number of marriages, States and Territories(a) - Selected years - 1991-2011 |
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| NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas.(b) | NT | ACT | Aust. |
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1991 | 39 594 | 28 535 | 19 844 | 9 392 | 10 659 | 3 069 | 890 | 1 886 | 113 869 |
2001 | 36 109 | 24 953 | 20 314 | 7 434 | 9 785 | 2 182 | 781 | 1 572 | 103 130 |
2007 | 37 982 | 26 967 | 25 808 | 8 095 | 12 290 | 2 791 | 779 | 1 610 | 116 322 |
2008 | 39 137 | 27 089 | 26 803 | 8 046 | 12 367 | 2 685 | 955 | 1 674 | 118 756 |
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 |
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(a) Care should be taken in interpreting these figures as marriage data is by State or Territory of registration rather than usual residence. See Explanatory Notes 23-24 for further information. |
(b) Care should be taken in interpreting Tasmanian figures for 2011. See Explanatory Note 24 for further information. |
New South Wales (up by 1,349 or 3.3% from 2010) and Victoria (up by 802 or 2.8% from 2010) were the only jurisdictions to report an increase in the number of registered marriages from 2010 to 2011. Decreases were reported across all other States and Territories, the largest of these being in Queensland which decreased by 970 or 3.3% in comparison to 2010.
New South Wales recorded the highest crude marriage rate in 2011 (5.7 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population), whilst the Northern Territory had the lowest crude marriage rate, with 3.9 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population.
Marriages performed by ministers of religion as a proportion of all marriages in 2011 were highest in New South Wales (34.0%) and lowest in the Northern Territory (21.1%).
In 2011, the proportion of marriages where couples lived together prior to marriage was lowest in New South Wales (71.8%) and highest in Tasmania (87.5%).
1.14 Selected marriage indicators(a), States and Territories of registration(b) - 2011 |
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| | | | NSW | Vic. | Qld | SA | WA | Tas.(c) | NT | ACT | Aust. |
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Marriages registered | no. | 41 720 | 28 944 | 25 560 | 8 115 | 12 665 | 2 329 | 908 | 1 511 | 121 752 |
Crude marriage rate(d) | | 5.7 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 5.4 |
Median age at first marriage | | | | | | | | | | |
| Males | no. | 31.1 | 31.2 | 31.6 | 31.6 | 31.9 | 32.5 | 33.6 | 31.2 | 31.4 |
| Females | no. | 29.1 | 29.3 | 29.4 | 29.3 | 29.5 | 30.0 | 30.2 | 29.1 | 29.3 |
Previous marital status | | | | | | | | | | |
| First marriage both partners | no. | 30 214 | 21 212 | 17 631 | 5 685 | 8 833 | 1 600 | 595 | 1 092 | 86 862 |
| First marriage one partner | no. | 6 950 | 4 600 | 4 515 | 1 374 | 2 165 | 360 | 197 | 255 | 20 416 |
| Remarriage both partners | no. | 4 556 | 3 132 | 3 414 | 1 056 | 1 667 | 369 | 116 | 164 | 14 474 |
Marriage celebrants(e) | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ministers of religion | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Number of marriages | no. | 14 186 | 8 787 | 6 312 | 2 499 | 3 295 | 594 | 192 | 507 | 36 372 |
| | Proportion of marriages | % | 34.0 | 30.4 | 24.7 | 30.8 | 26.0 | 25.5 | 21.1 | 33.6 | 29.9 |
| Civil celebrants | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Number of marriages | no. | 27 529 | 20 109 | 19 240 | 5 616 | 9 369 | 1 735 | 716 | 997 | 85 311 |
| | Proportion of marriages | % | 66.0 | 69.5 | 75.3 | 69.2 | 74.0 | 74.5 | 78.9 | 66.0 | 70.1 |
Relative birthplace of male and female(f) | | | | | | | | | | |
| Both born in Australia | no. | 21 913 | 15 567 | 15 716 | 5 317 | 6 140 | 1 827 | 517 | 885 | 67 882 |
| Both born in the same overseas country | no. | 6 427 | 4 567 | 2 034 | 651 | 1 375 | 49 | 77 | 141 | 15 321 |
| Born in different countries | no. | 13 357 | 8 805 | 7 808 | 2 147 | 5 118 | 453 | 314 | 485 | 38 487 |
Cohabitation prior to marriage | | | | | | | | | | |
| Number of marriages | no. | 29 954 | 22 221 | 21 833 | 6 633 | 10 529 | 2 038 | 745 | 1 275 | 95 228 |
| Proportion of marriages | % | 71.8 | 76.8 | 85.4 | 81.7 | 83.1 | 87.5 | 82.0 | 84.4 | 78.2 |
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(a) See Glossary for definitions of terms used. |
(b) Care should be taken in interpreting these figures as marriage data is by State or Territory of registration rather than usual residence. See Explanatory Notes 23-24 for further information. |
(c) Care should be taken in interpreting Tasmanian figures for 2011. See Explanatory Note 24 for further information. |
(d) Marriages per 1,000 of estimated resident population at 30 June 2011. See Glossary and Explanatory Notes 32 and 38-40 for further information. |
(e) Excludes marriages where the rite is not stated or not defined. 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, 2011 (ASCRG, cat 1266.0). |
(f) Excludes marriages where country of birth of one or both partners is not stated. |