3310.0 - Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2012
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 27/11/2013
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1.1 Total marriages, Australia, 1992–2012 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 the Glossary and Explanatory Notes 38–42. 1.2 Crude marriage rates, Australia, 1992–2012 Although the number of marriages is now the highest recorded, the population has also increased substantially over time. As a result, the crude marriage rate is now lower than it was 20 years ago. In 2012, the crude marriage rate was 5.4 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population, compared with 6.6 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992. Between 1992 and 2002, the crude marriage rate declined from 6.6 to 5.3. Since 2002, the crude marriage rate has remained relatively steady. MEDIAN AGE AT MARRIAGE The median age at marriage for males in 2012 was 31.4 years, the same as that reported in 2011. The median age at marriage for females in 2012 was 29.4 years, an increase of 0.1 years since 2011. Median age at marriage has remained stable for both males and females in recent years. 1.3 Median age at marriage, Australia, 1992–2012 The median age at first marriage in 2012 was 29.8 years for males and 28.1 years for females. Median age at first marriage for males has changed little since 2008, increasing by 0.2 years over this time. The median age at first marriage for females has increased by 0.4 years over the same period. 1.4 Median age at first marriage, Australia, 1992–2012 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 2012, the highest age–specific marriage rates were for people between 25–29 years of age, with 44.2 marriages per 1,000 males and 51.3 marriages per 1,000 females. The age-specific marriage rate for males between 25–29 years of age has declined from 53.8 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 44.2 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. Age-specific marriage rates also declined for males between 20–24 years of age over this period, from 38.3 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 16.0 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. While the age-specific marriage rate for males between 20–29 years of age has decreased since 1992, 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 28.8 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 36.5 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. 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 19.4 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 60.0 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 27.1 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. In contrast to males, the age-specific marriage rate for females between 25–29 years of age has increased from 46.5 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 51.3 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. For females between 30–34 years of age the age-specific marriage rates have increased from 21.1 marriages per 1,000 estimated resident population in 1992 to 32.0 per 1,000 estimated resident population in 2012. Table 1.5 Age specific marriage rates(a)(b), Australia, Selected years, 1992–2012
PREVIOUS MARITAL STATUS In 2012, 99,557 brides (80.8% of all brides) and 97,622 grooms (79.2% of all grooms) had not married previously. The number of brides and grooms marrying for the first time has increased by 19.1% and 20.7% respectively over the past decade. 1.6 Previously never married, Australia, 1992–2012 Of the 123,244 marriages registered in 2012, 71.8% were between a bride and groom never previously married. A further 16.4% were first marriages for one partner, while 11.8% were remarriages for both partners. In 2012, 17.7% of brides (21,865) and 19.4% of grooms (23,954), had been previously divorced. The proportion of brides and grooms who had previously been divorced decreased by 0.3 percentage points since 2011. 1.7 Previously divorced, Australia, 1992–2012 In 2012, 1,816 brides (1.5% of all brides) and 1,666 grooms (1.4% of all grooms) who registered for marriage, were widowed. This represents an decrease of 0.2 percentage points for brides and no change in percentage points for grooms since 2011. The number and proportion of widowed males and females marrying has decreased over the past 20 years. 1.8 Previously widowed, Australia, 1992–2012 MARRIAGE CELEBRANTS The proportion of marriages performed by civil celebrants has increased over the past 20 years. In 2012, 71.9% of all marriages were performed by civil celebrants. Civil marriages have outnumbered religious ceremonies since 1999. In 2012, of the 34,613 marriages performed by ministers of religion, the most common rites used were Catholic (31.8%) followed by Anglican (16.2%). 1.9 Type of celebrant, Australia, Selected years, 1992–2012 In 2012, couples who cohabited before marrying were more likely to marry in a civil ceremony than those who lived apart, with 78.2% of couples cohabiting married in a civil ceremony, compared with 21.8% of those who lived apart. COUNTRY OF BIRTH The proportion of marriages between two Australian born people has been gradually decreasing since 1992. Over this time, the proportion of marriages between two people born in Australia has decreased from 64.0% in 1992, to 56.0% of all marriages in 2012. Conversely, the proportion of marriages between two people born in the same overseas country has increased over the same period, from 7.8% in 1992 to 12.5% in 2012. Marriages of people born in different countries comprised 31.3% of all marriages in 2012 compared with 28.0% in 1992. 1.10 Median age, males and females, by Country of birth, 2012 In 2012, the median age of grooms and brides born in Australia was 31.3 years and 29.1 years respectively. Among the countries analysed, the youngest median age was for brides born in Lebanon (26.7 years) and grooms born in India (27.3 years). Brides and grooms with the oldest median age were born in Italy, where the median age of brides is 37.0 years and the median age of grooms is 43.9 years. COHABITATION PRIOR TO MARRIAGE The majority of couples registering their marriage in 2012 cohabited prior marriage (77.6%). While the proportion of couples cohabiting prior to marriage decreased from 2011 to 2012, the number of couples cohabiting prior to marriage increased by 445. 1.11 Proportion of cohabitation prior to marriage, Australia, 2007–2012 Couples who cohabited prior to marriage tended to be slightly younger than those who had not lived together prior to marriage. In 2012, the median age of males who lived with their wife before marriage was 31.7 years, compared with 31.4 years for all males who married in 2012. Similarly, the median age of females who lived with their husbands before marriage was 29.7 years, compared with 29.4 years for all females who married in 2012. MONTH OF MARRIAGE Of the 123,244 marriages registered in 2012, the most popular month of celebration for marriages was March with 15,193 (12.3%) marriages, followed by November with 14,666 (11.9%) marriages. The month of July was the least popular month for marriages with only 5,582 (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 the data. 1.12 Months of marriage, Australia, 2012 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, 1992–2012
New South Wales (down by 739 or 1.8% from 2011), South Australia (down by 418 or 5.4% from 2011) and Northern Territory (down by 2 or 0.2% from 2011) were the only jurisdictions to report a decrease in the number of registered marriages from 2011 to 2012. Increases were reported across all other States and Territories, the largest of these being in Victoria which increased by 957 or 3.2% in comparison to 2011. Queensland recorded the highest crude marriage rate in 2012 (5.8 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 2012 were highest in Australian Capital Territory (34.8%) and lowest in the Northern Territory (18.0%). In 2012, the proportion of marriages where couples lived together prior to marriage was lowest in Victoria (71.7%) and highest in Tasmania (87.8%). Table 1.14 Selected marriage indicators(a), States and Territories of registration(b), 2012
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