Marriages decrease and divorces increase in Finland

Finland celebrates fewer and fewer weddings. In 2019, 22,296 marriages were registered throughout the country, which is 1,503 fewer than in the previous year. By contrast, there was an increase in the number of divorces. 21% of women who got married did it for the second time.

The figures come from Statistics Finland's data on population changes. They include all marriages and divorces where at least one of the spouses resides permanently in Finland.

The marriage rate of opposite-sex couples, has decreased nearly continuously since 2008. And it continued declining in 2019.

The decrease in the marriage rate was in relative terms slightly higher for women (9%) than in the year before. For men (7%) it was slightly lower than in the year before.

Average age for marriage

The average age of both women and men entering into their first marriage rose. For women it was 32.1 years (31.7 one year before) and for men it was 34.2 years (33.9 in the previous year).

The average age of women entering into their second marriage was 45.1 years and it also rose by four tenths from 2018. The corresponding average age of men was 48 years and it rose by five tenths in one year.

The average age in marriages between two women was 35.8 years, one year earlier it was 35.4. Correspondingly, the average age in marriages between two men was 41.7 years, having been one-tenth higher in 2018.

In 2019, same-sex partners entered into 376 marriages of which 113 were between two men and 263 between two women. The number decreased only slightly from the previous year when 387 marriages were contracted. Women entered into 21 marriages more than in the previous year, men into 32 fewer.

Divorce and remarriage

For women, the number of remarriages decreased in 2019, while for men it increased slightly from the previous year.

21% of all marriages contracted by women were second marriages, and 5% were third marriages. Correspondingly, 22% of all marriages contracted by men were second marriages and slightly under 5% were third marriages.

In 2019, a total of 13,365 marriages ended in divorce. Except for 54 of them, all were divorces where the spouses were of opposite sexes.

The number of divorces between spouses of opposite sexes increased by 195 from the previous year. The year 2019 ended a period of three consecutive years when the number of divorces had decreased.

The divorce rate grew for women in nearly all age groups. For men, the divorce rate decreased for those aged 30 and under but increased for those aged 35 to 59.

In first marriages between opposite-sex spouses, the average age for women at the time of divorce was 41.1 years. The corresponding average age of men was 43.4 years.

The most popular day for marriage

Summer is the favourite season of Finns to enter marriage. The most popular month to celebrate weddings in 2019 was August, when 3,728 couples entered into marriage. July was the second most popular with 3,281 couples.

The number of marriages entered into was highest on 10 August, when 524 couples were married. The second most marriages were entered into on 3 August, 501 couples, and the third most on 27 July, 491 couples.