The pent-up passions of COVID-induced isolation has subsided with marriage numbers dropping last year.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed there were 118,439 marriages registered and 48,700 divorces granted in Australia in 2023.
ABS Head of Marriages Data James Eynstone-Hinkins said marriage numbers had dropped 6.9 percent from the record high of 127,161 in 2022, after two years when nuptial plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s clear many couples needed to postpone their plans to get married during the pandemic, and this is seen not only in numbers, but in higher median ages at marriage,” Mr Eynstone-Hinkins said.
He said median ages had historically been very stable, but when compared with 2019, they were up 0.6 years to 32.9 for men, and 0.7 years to 31.2 for women.
“The most popular day to marry in 2023 was once again in spring. The day to ‘remember’ was 11 November, with 1799 couples marrying on this date.”
Mr Eynstone-Hinkins said there were 48,700 divorces granted in Australia last year, down 1.1 percent.
“This represented a small drop in the crude divorce rate from 2.4 divorces per 1000 people aged 16 years and over in 2022 to 2.3 in 2023.
“The median age at divorce was also higher in 2023 than 2019, up by 1.2 years to 47.1 for men and up by one year to 44.1 for women.”
Mr Eynstone-Hinkins said this was driven by a fall in divorces among younger people.
