Recent marriage statistics haven’t exactly been positive. Even prior to 2021, the number of marriages was decreasing in length, with more and more people getting divorced. Research indicates that we will face all the consequences of last year’s COVID-19 situation in this year.
What percentage of marriages end up in divorce, and how come some manage to endure the obstacles that wreck others? We took a closer look into different statistics and facts on this matter to find the answers to these (and many more) questions.
Top 10 Heartwarming Marriage Statistics for 2021
- Being a good financial provider was an important asset of a good (potential) husband or partner.
- The US marriage statistics reveal that 48% of men get married after falling in love at first sight.
- Ireland has the world’s oldest brides with a median age of 32.4 years.
- Average marriage length statistics indicate that childless married couples are happier.
- 2.3 years is the average age gap between men and women in married couples, with men usually being older.
- Sexless marriage statistics show that sexual abstinence is more common than you might think.
- Apart from health and economic activity, marital status is among the top three factors that make people happy.
- Marriage statistics by age show that, on average, women get married at 28, while men do so at 30.
- 80–90% of people claimed they were happier after they made their marriage more “open,” according to the open marriage statistics.
- The happiest marriages are between the oldest child and the youngest child.
General Marriage Statistics to Get You Started
Whether you’re getting ready to say ‘Yes’ for the first time, or you’re already married but interested in how you compare to others — you’ve come to the right place.
Here we will discuss some universal stats and facts on marriage like the reason behind getting married, how long do marriages last, and if love at first sight is really that important.
1. Marriage statistics by age show that, on average, women get married at 28, while men do so at 30.
(Better Help)
Back in the ‘90s, women used to be much younger when they got married for the first time. Although it’s apparent that the first marriage timing has indeed changed, marriage rates themselves remain the same, with a negligible decline of around 8%.
2. Love is still the number one reason for getting married in the US for 88% of Americans, marriage statistics reveal.
(Pew Research)
Nine out of ten Americans state love is an essential reason to get married (88%), making a lifelong commitment is a close second (81%), and intimacy ranks third (76%), stats reveal.
Only a small minority stated that religious beliefs (30%), finances (28%), and legal benefits (23%) were the main reasons to get married.
3. The US marriage statistics reveal that 48% of men get married after falling in love at first sight.
(RD)
Surprisingly, women do so in only 28% of cases. Moreover, 33% of men admit that they would like their significant other to be more romantic as well.
4. Being a good financial provider was an important asset of a good (potential) husband or partner.
(Pew Research)
Approximately 71% of adults (both male and female) agreed that it was vital for a man to be able to provide for his family (financially) to be considered a good husband or partner. Interestingly, only 32% of examinees said the same for women.
5. Couples living together before marriage, as statistics show, are less likely to divorce.
(The Atlantic)
Back in the day (mainly the 1950s–1970s), living together before getting married was considered a revolt against social norms and couples who dared break them were also expected to do the same when it came to separation.
However, since the 2000s, the percentage of premarital cohabitation has climbed to 70% and its association with divorce likelihood vanished. In fact, since 2000, premarital co-residence could even be associated with a lower rate of divorce.
6. Older-woman-younger-man marriage statistics reveal 34% of women in the 40–69 age group date younger men.
(Consumer Health Day)
Older men dating younger women has been commonplace for a long time, but the most recent statistics show that nowadays the number of older women dating younger men is on the rise as well.
Due to markedly high divorce rates, 40% of Americans over 45 are single, and according to a survey concerning their dating habits (including 3,500 examinees), 34% of women aged 40–69 are currently dating younger men, while 14% of women 50–59 years old admit they prefer dating younger men.
Global Marriage Statistics to Know at All Times
We are prone to seeing marriage as a universal thing. The truth is, there are cultural nuances that still persist even in 2021. These vary from tradition to a country’s development and have a significant effect on marriages as such. Here we will cover some of them.
7. The average marriage age tends to be higher in more developed countries.
(Statista)
Additionally, the age gap between men and women is usually smaller in developed countries. On the other hand, in African countries, people usually get married at a much younger age than in most Western countries, with somewhat bigger age gaps as well.
The country with the lowest marriage age, according to marriage statistics, is Malawi, where women get married at the age of 19.9 years; still, Malawi men tend to marry at a slightly older age of 23.7.
8. Italian statistics on divorces show that Italian couples stay together for longer with a national divorce rate of 18.2%
(Hopes and Fears)
According to the research conducted by the Economist, Italian married couples stay together for longer than in any other country. An average Italian marriage lasts between 15–18 years.
9. Divorce statistics also show that Russia has the highest national divorce rate — a whopping 60%!
(World Population Review)
Russia has an exceptionally high divorce rate, sitting at about 60%; roughly 4 out of 6 marriages get officially dissolved in this country.
10. Ireland has the world’s oldest brides with a median age of 32.4 years.
(Statista)
Interestingly, according to recent marriage statistics by age, women in Ireland rarely marry in their early 20s — the median age of an Irish bride is 32.4.
Moreover, Ireland is a country with the most negligible age gap between women and men; on average, men are only one year older than their spouses.
This still reflects the global tendency of men being mostly at least a bit older than the women they marry.
11. The average length of marriage statistics (2016) reveal that 44% of divorces in South Africa were of marriages that lasted for less than 10 years.
(Stats SA)
In South Africa, the percentage of marriages whose “happily ever after” lasted less than 10 years was significantly higher than in other parts of the world.
Additionally, the results showed that 31,7% of black African couples, 25% of white couples, and 22,4% of Asian couples had marriages that lasted 5–9 years.
Generally, over the course of a 13-year period (2003–2016), the divorce rate of black Africans increased, whereas the white population’s divorce rate saw a decline.
12. According to statistics about marriage, 80% of Norwegians born to immigrant parents married someone who had an immigrant background as well.
(SSB)
The same applies vice versa — 90% of those without an immigrant background have also married someone without one. Furthermore, couples of the same background tend to marry at a younger age than those of different immigrant backgrounds. Hence, in the case of Norway, birds of a feather do, in fact, stick together.
13. 2.3 years is the average age gap between men and women in married couples, with men usually being older.
(Zoosk)
Still, recent statistics about marriage indicate that as our ideas on human relationships and marriage change, so do our views on (acceptable) partner age gaps.
The dating site, Zoosk, found out that those who dated online were 9% more attracted to liking, messaging, and having a long conversation with someone significantly older or younger than them. M
ore specifically, they are most likely to opt for people either 10 years older or younger than them, which is not a negligible age difference.
14. Remarriage — the latest trend according to US marriage statistics.
(Pew Research)
The percentage of people that remarried in the US increased from 13% (back in 1960) to 23% (as of today). Also, in general, men remarry more often than women (64% compared to just 52%); supposedly, women were less interested in remarrying than men overall.
15. Since 2016, both the marriage and the divorce rates in the US have diminished.
(WF Lawyers)
How many marriages end in divorce? Recent studies indicate that the current marriage rate in the US is 6.8 per 1,000 total population, whereas the divorce rate is reported to be at 3.2 per 1,000 population, according to CDC research, encompassing 44 states.
However, this is a “crude divorce rate,” serving to indicate rate changes over time and is not indicative of the percentage of first marriages ending in divorce.
Healthy Marriage Statistics to Make You Say Yes to Marriage
Most of us grow up with a romanticized idea of how a marriage should look like. (Cliche alert!) Especially girls. These next couple of stats will reveal what healthy marriages look like in reality.
16. Apart from health and economic activity, marital status is among the top three factors that make people happy.
(Market Watch)
Based on data obtained from 286,059 examinees between October 2017 and September 2018, marital status, economic activity, and health ranked as the top three things that contribute to the feeling of happiness. 9.9% was what couples rated their life satisfaction, which is higher than that of widows and widowers.
In addition, love and marriage statistics show that couples that were married were overall happier (8.8%) than divorced or separated couples. On the other hand, singles were reportedly only 0.2% happier than divorcees.
17. Even happy couples fight sometimes, but they do it differently.
(Facts and Trends)
Contrary to popular belief, happy couples do argue as well. Yet, they handle their hurt feelings in different ways — namely, 7 out of 10 happy couples admit they have some kind of internal “everything’s fine” signal after the fight. When it comes to less happy couples, only 22% of them report having this kind of signal.
18. Average marriage length statistics indicate that childless married couples are happier.
(INC)
Voluntary childlessness is a phenomenon that keeps rising discussions worldwide. Although having children may be fulfilling for some, studies show that it might negatively impact marital relationships. According to 5,000 participants of the latest survey, childless couples are the happiest.
The probable explanation is that couples with children are pressured into feeling perfectly complete since they have everything there is to have in life, but the truth is that having kids is stressful as well, and while not regretting having them, some couples probably miss their marriage as it used to be, according to unhappy marriage statistics.
19. The happiest marriages are between the oldest child and the youngest child.
(INC)
Did you know that your birth order might determine both your marital and professional success? According to marriage statistics, first-borns and last-borns make the happiest couples.
The reason being, one person in this relationship is used to being taken care of, whereas the other enjoys (or is at least used to) taking care of the others.
Marriage and Divorce Statistics Trivia
Let’s end this article with some stats we believe you may find interesting. They mostly shed more light on queer and interracial marriages, as well as marriages of partners with different sexual needs.
20. Same-sex marriage statistics show that 61% of Americans support same-sex marriages.
(Pew Forum)
Although a somewhat controversial topic in the past, over the past 15 years, the number of US citizens that support same-sex marriage has increased considerably, reaching new highs.
21. Lesbian divorce statistics show that lesbian marriages are about twice as likely to end in divorce than gay marriages.
(Independent)
The report shows that 112 same-sex couples divorced — which is 5 times more than the previous year when there were only 22 divorces reported.
In England and Wales, over ¾ of all split-ups (78%) were between lesbian couples, out of which 87 ended their marital relationships.
On the other hand, there were only 25 divorces among gay men. The rationale behind this phenomenon is that women tend to rush into commitment and set somewhat higher expectations than men.
22. Interracial marriage statistics show that since 1967 the percentage of interracial marriages in America has multiplied fivefold, making up 17% of all US marriages.
(The Guardian)
It’s been over five decades since the US supreme court legalized interracial marriage when interracial marriages made up only 3% of all US marriages. What’s more, it’s more common in metropolitan areas than in rural areas (18% compared to 11%).
There are variations within metropolitan areas as well — for instance, in Honolulu, Hawaii, 42% of weddings are interracial, while in Jackson, Mississippi, they make up merely 3%.
23. 80–90% of people claimed they were happier after they made their marriage more “open,” according to the open marriage statistics.
(Sex Coaching)
Another study also showed that 76% of partners in open marriages felt that their marriage was better than average to outstanding.
Nevertheless, some studies show mixed results and do not indicate any notable difference in marital satisfaction between monogamous and open marriages.
24. Sexless marriage statistics show that sexual abstinence is more common than you might think.
(Very Well Mind)
The latest research has found out that sexless marriages are far more common than many would assume. Namely, research from 2017 showed that over 15% of married men and approximately 27% of married women had not engaged in any sexual intercourse at all during the previous year.
FAQ
In the US, what percentage of marriages end up in divorce?
(WF Lawyers)
It has been estimated that nearly 50% of all marriages in the US end up in either divorce or separation. Furthermore, roughly 41% of all first marriages end up in divorce.
What percentage of the population is married?
(Observer)
As per the reports, the number of single adults in the US has increased and it is larger than ever before. 2017 statistics show that there were 110.6 million unmarried people aged over 18, which is 45.25% of the overall adult US population.
What percentage of people marry their first love?
(Bustle)
There haven’t been too many surveys examining this, but according to one from 2014, conducted by YouGov UK, out of 46% of married British adults, 27% are married to their first love. Despite these kinds of marriages being fairly uncommon, partners report high satisfaction, claiming they “are definitely still in love” and “have never thought about leaving their partner.”
How long is the average marriage?
(The Balance)
Well, if we look at the numbers, the average US marriage lasts for about seven years (before ending in divorce). As for the global figures, the average length of a marriage union varies from country to country.
For instance, in Italy, married couples stay married for an average of 18 years before separating; the divorce rate is approximately 31%. In Russia, on the other hand, the divorce rate is closer to 60%.
What percent of married couples are happy?
(PR News Wire)
According to a recent report (“The Happiness Index: Love and Relationships in America”) obtained by Harris Interactive, up to 64% of Americans claim they are “very happy” with their spouses, and approximately 50% report being satisfied with their sex lives.
Conclusion
A lifelong commitment to another person brings inevitable challenges, and there is no universal recipe for keeping your marriage happy and fulfilling all of the time. Still, some couples seem to have it all figured out; quality communication is the essence of a successful marriage they say.
We hope that our marriage statistics painted a clearer picture of today’s perception of marriage and its values both in the US and across the globe.
