West Bank and Gaza had the highest marriage rate in the world as of 2018, with 10 marriages per every 1,000 population. Fiji followed directly with 9.8 marriages. Thereafter, Egypt and Bahamas counted 9.6 and 9.5 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants, ranking third and fourth, respectively. By contrast, Qatar, French Guiana, and Peru had the lowest marriage rates worldwide in that same year.

Romania had the highest marriage rate among member states of the European Union, at *** marriages per 1,000 people. By contrast, Slovenia and Italy had the lowest marriage rate, * marriages per 1,000 population.

Qatar had the lowest marriage rate in the world as of 2018, with 1.4 marriages per every 1,000 population. French Guiana followed with one marriage more than Qatar (2.4). Thereafter, Peru and Venezuela counted 2.5 and 2.6 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants, ranking third and fourth, respectively. By contrast, West Bank and Gaza, Fiji, and Egypt had the highest marriage rates worldwide in that same year.

Niger has the highest child marriage rate in the world among girls. According to the most recent data, in this West African country, more than three-fourths of girls aged under 18 were married, with nearly 30 percent of them being younger than 15 years old. The Central African Republic, Chad, and Mali followed behind with rates ranging from 61 to 54 percent. This issue is globally spread, particularly in African countries. In many of these countries, the legal age to get married is lower for females than for males. In Niger and Chad, for instance, the legal age is 15 years for females and 18 for males. In Guinea, instead, the legal age for marriage is 17 for females and 18 for males. Child marriage is often related to poverty, with poor families choosing to marry away their girls, both to earn money as a wedding gift and as this means fewer mouths to feed.

According to the 2020 UNIDOMO questionnaire, Portugal clearly led the list of European countries with the highest divorce rate per 100 marriages. With 91.5 divorces the Portuguese Republic led the list, followed by Spain and Luxembourg. All three countries boast a significantly higher share than the other European countries, each reporting a divorce rate over 80 divorces.

A different way to look at Portugal

While Portugal clearly has the most divorces per 100 marriages, looking at divorce rates per 1.000 inhabitants in other European countries alters the picture of the country as one unsettled by significant numbers of divorces. With nearly 1.7 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants Portugal has roughly the same divorce rate as Germany and the Netherlands. Interesting is furthermore that although marriages in Portugal tend to result in divorce lightly more often as in Luxembourg (80.3%), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg experienced a 0.6 point higher divorce rate.

What about the rest of the World?

While compared with Latin American countries like Guatemala or Peru, ranked among the countries with the lowest divorce rates in the world, Luxembourg’s divorce rate seems excessive. However, when compared with divorce rates (per 1.000 inhabitants) of countries like the United States (2.7) or China (3.5) divorce rates from Luxembourg and Europe are not out of the ordinary.

In 2022, the marriage rate in the United States stood at *** per 1,000 people of the population. This is a decrease from 1990 levels, when the marriage rate was *** marriages per 1,000 people. Marriage Marriage is a union that can legally, culturally, and financially bind two people. Marriage occurs between all genders, races, and cultures, and is often drastically different all around the world, due to the diversity of cultures and religions. Marriage can be recognized by a state, religious authority, or an organization. Typically viewed as a contract, it brings people together through a multitude of avenues. A part of marriage is the wedding, for which couples can decide to partake in or not. Weddings are also incredibly diverse and vary in time, money, and customs. Marriage in the United States Marriage in the United States is viewed differently across all 50 states. The number of married couples in the United States has been steadily increasing since 1960. On the other hand, the divorce rate in the United States has decreased since 1990. Nevada was the state in 2021 that had the highest marriage rate in the United States, due to easy accessibility to get married there. In 2021, Nevada was also the state with the highest divorce rate in the country.

As of 2025, Sri Lanka had the lowest divorce rate in the world, with 0.15 divorces per 1,000 population. Vietnam and Guatemala followed with 0.2 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants.

China Population: Divorce Rate data was reported at 0.256 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.204 % for 2022. China Population: Divorce Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 0.097 % from Dec 1978 (Median) to 2023, with 46 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.336 % in 2019 and a record low of 0.018 % in 1978. China Population: Divorce Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

Content

World Marriage Data 2012 provides a comparable and up-to-date set of data on the marital status of the population for all countries and areas of the world. Data are presented for the closest date available around five reference dates: the years closest to 1970, 1985, 1995, 2005 and the most recent data available.

Acknowledgements

I have pulled this data from the United Nations Data portal, did some simple post-processing to make it more user-friendly.

Inspiration

I primarily feel this data will be useful in conjunction with other datasets related to different disciplines wherein understanding the marriage trends will add value to the analysis.

Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Marriage Rate data was reported at 4.900 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.000 % for 2016. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Marriage Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 6.600 % from Dec 1947 (Median) to 2017, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.000 % in 1947 and a record low of 4.900 % in 2017. Vital Statistics: Japanese Only: Per 1000: Marriage Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.G005: Vital Statistics.

In 2016, crude marriage rates were highest in Kazakhstan which was estimated at around *** marriages per thousand people. Crude marriage rates were highest in Vietnam in year 2000, amounting to around 12.7 marriages per thousand people.

Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data was reported at 15.800 % in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 24.400 % for 2020. Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data is updated yearly, averaging 13.972 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2021, with 32 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.100 % in 2019 and a record low of 5.900 % in 1997. Albania Vital Statistics: Divorces: per 100 Marriages data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Institute of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Albania – Table AL.G003: Vital Statistics.

Since the mid-2000s, the average age at first wedding in France has increased gradually, for both men and women. It seems to be common for the first marriage to be celebrated later and later in Western countries. For example, the median age at first marriage in the United States went from **** years old for males and ** years old for females in 1998, up to **** years old for males and **** for females in 2022. The same thing occurred in Europe, where Spain was the country where the median age at first wedding was the oldest in 2022. French people wait longer to marry According to the source, in 2004, the average age at first wedding for French men was **** compared to **** for women. If men still tend to be older than women at first marriage, the average age at marriage for both males and females increased from 2004 to 2024. In 2024, men were on average **** at their first wedding, compared to **** for women. Most marriages in France happened between men and women, despite the implementation of same-sex marriage in 2013. The mean age at gay marriages appears to be even older than in different-sex weddings. Marriage and divorce in France Thus, the percentage of married persons in France has decreased since 2006, while the share of single and divorced people rose. However, in 2016, France was the second European country with the highest number of marriages behind Germany. On the other hand, like most other Western nations, France also has a high divorce rate. In 2016, the number of French divorces was ** per 100 marriages.

BackgroundAdolescent girls aged 15–19 bear a disproportionate burden of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Research from several high-income countries suggests that early age at menarche is an important determinant of sexual and reproductive health. We conducted this systematic review to better understand whether and how early menarche is associated with various negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries and the implications of such associations.MethodsWe systematically searched eight health and social sciences databases for peer-reviewed literature on menarche and sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries. Two reviewers independently assessed all studies for inclusion, overall quality and risk of bias, and performed data extraction on all included studies.ResultsTwenty-four articles met all inclusion criteria–nine of moderate quality and fifteen with several methodological weaknesses. Our review of the minimal existing literature showed that early menarche is associated with early sexual initiation, early pregnancy and some sexually transmitted infections in low- and middle-income countries, similar to what has been observed in high-income countries. Early menarche is also associated with early marriage–an association that may have particularly important implications for countries with high child marriage rates.ConclusionsEarly age at menarche may be an important factor affecting the sexual and reproductive health of adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries. More research is needed to confirm the existence of the identified associations across different settings and to better understand the process through which early menarche and other markers of early pubertal development may contribute to the increased vulnerability of girls to negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Given the association of early menarche with early marriage, ongoing efforts to reduce child marriage may benefit from targeting efforts to early maturing girls.

Singapore Male Marriage Rate: Per 1,000 Unmarried Resident Males: 30 - 34 data was reported at 130.100 NA in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 131.200 NA for 2016. Singapore Male Marriage Rate: Per 1,000 Unmarried Resident Males: 30 - 34 data is updated yearly, averaging 110.050 NA from Dec 1980 (Median) to 2017, with 38 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 143.800 NA in 1981 and a record low of 92.500 NA in 1986. Singapore Male Marriage Rate: Per 1,000 Unmarried Resident Males: 30 - 34 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Singapore – Table SG.G007: Vital Statistics: Marriages & Divorces.

There were approximately ******* marriages taking place in Germany in 2023, the most in the European Union in that year. France had the second-highest number of marriages, at *******, followed by Italy at ******* marriages.

In 2022, Nevada had the highest marriage rate in the United States, with **** marriages per 1,000 residents. Hawaii had the second-highest marriage rate, at **** marriages per 1,000 residents. The falling marriage rate Perhaps unsurprisingly, the marriage rate in the United States has fallen since 1990, although it has leveled off in the past decade. This means that fewer and fewer people are getting married than in years past, particularly as views about marriage have changed in the U.S. However, despite changing perceptions about marriage and a falling marriage rate, there were more married couples in the United States in 2021 than there were in 1960. First comes love, then comes marriage Weddings and marriage have changed in the United States recently as people have been staying single longer, and especially as gay marriage and interracial marriage have become more socially acceptable. The changing face of America means that love and relationships are changing as well, and what is socially acceptable within a relationship will continue to change with it.

Between 2021 and 2023, support for same-sex marriage declined in ** out of 23 surveyed countries worldwide. The major drops were seen in Canada and Germany, where the share of respondents agreeing with same-sex marriage went down *** percentage points. Still, over ** percent of respondents in those two countries supported it.

The way to legalization

As of 2021, ** countries have legalized same-sex marriages, most of them located in Western Europe. Switzerland was the latest to do so after a referendum, while the second to last was Costa Rica, as the only Central American country. While most countries have legalized same-sex marriage through legislation, in South Africa and Taiwan, this was enacted via courts' mandates. Taiwan and South Africa are the first and so far only countries in their continent to have legalized same-sex marriage.

Hostility and criminalization

The support and legalization of same-sex marriages is growing, and the acceptance of homosexuality is slowly but steadily increasing in more hostile countries. In Nigeria, for instance, homosexuality is a crime punishable with the death penalty. Despite a small increase, only ***** percent of people believe that homosexuality should be accepted by society. Africa, Asia, and the Middle East are still the most dangerous world regions for homosexuals. In fact, ** countries still criminalize homosexuality, and most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

China Population: Number of Marriages: Marriage with Foreigner, Citizen of HK, Macao & Taiwan data was reported at 40,524.000 Case in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 42,166.000 Case for 2016. China Population: Number of Marriages: Marriage with Foreigner, Citizen of HK, Macao & Taiwan data is updated yearly, averaging 44,000.000 Case from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2017, with 39 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79,000.000 Case in 2001 and a record low of 8,000.000 Case in 1979. China Population: Number of Marriages: Marriage with Foreigner, Citizen of HK, Macao & Taiwan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: No of Marriage and Divorce.

In 2022, the divorce rate in the United States stood at *** per 1,000 of the population. Divorce in the U.S. Divorce is the termination of a marital union. In the United States, as in most other countries, it is a legal process in which a judge or another legal authority dissolves the bonds of matrimony existing between two persons. The process of divorce also normally involves issues surrounding distribution of property, financial support of the former spouse, child custody and child support. A divorce also allows a person to marry again.In the United States, divorce is, like marriage, a matter for state governments, not the federal government. Although divorce laws vary from state to state, for example on which terms a divorce can be arranged, a divorce must be certified by a court of law to become effective. A declining divorce rate Over the last couple of years, both the marriage rate and the divorce rate have been declining in the United States. As of 2009, the average length of a first marriage in the U.S. was ***** years, while the average length of a second marriage was about ** years.