SINGAPORE (Agencies): The number of couples that got married last year dipped by 3.7 per cent compared to 2022, while there was a slight increase in marriages that ended in divorce, the Singapore Department of Statistics said on Monday (Jul 15), reported CNA.
A total of 28,310 marriages were registered in 2023, marking a decline from the record high of 29,389 marriages the year before.
The number of marriages observed between 2014 and 2023 has remained relatively stable overall, except for between 2020 to 2022 when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted marriage plans.
The median age at first marriage in 2023 also went up compared to 2013 - from 30.2 years to 31 years for grooms and 28.1 years to 29.5 years for brides.
This continues the trend towards later marriages, said the department.
There were 7,118 marital dissolutions in 2023, a 0.2 per cent increase from 7,107 the previous year.
The general divorce rates, however, fell for both men and women in 2023 compared to 2013.
There were 6.0 marital dissolutions for every thousand married men aged 20 years and over, a decline from 7.3 in 2013.
Similarly, there were 5.5 marital dissolutions for every thousand married women aged 20 years and over, down from 6.9 a decade ago.
According to the department, the median age at divorce has risen over the last ten years, from 42.4 years in 2013 to 44.5 years in 2023 for male divorcees, and from 38.2 years to 40.8 years for female divorcees.
The median duration of marriage for divorces in 2023 has also grown - 11.1 years compared to 10.4 years in 2013.
Couples who stayed married for five to nine years before divorcing formed the largest share, at 28.7 per cent of divorces in 2023. - Agencies
