3,035 marriages took place in the A.C. of the Basque Country during the second quarter of 2003, representing a 2.9% fall in relation to the same period last year. By provinces, 1,510 weddings involved residents of Bizkaia followed by 988 from Gipuzkoa and 385 from Álava. In the case of residents from outside of the A.C. of the Basque Country, the number of weddings came to 152.

Increase in the number of civil marriages

The increase in the number of weddings during this quarter was due to the proliferation of marriage ceremonies held in May and June. Additionally, 35.2% of weddings held during this period were civil ones, a higher percentage than in the same quarter of 2002. However, this proportion is much smaller than the one recorded during the first three months of 2003, when almost 60% of weddings were civil ones.

Of the 3,035 weddings held in the second quarter of 2003, 2,919 of the men who married and 2,987 of the women were residents of the A.C. of the Basque Country. For 2,738 bridegrooms (93.8%) this was their first marriage, while there were 19 widowers and 162 divorced men who remarried. The percentage of women for whom this was their first marriage was slightly higher than for men, coming to 2,826 (94.6%), while there were 13 widows and 148 divorcees.

The age of married couples increases

As regards distribution of marriages according to the age of the bride and groom 65.9% of men were over 30, while among women, this percentage came to 45.1%. Both proportions were greater than those recorded during the same quarter of 2002, which were 61.6% and 43.6% respectively.