Press release 11/06/2010

MARRIAGE STATISTICS (EMAT) of the Basque Country, 4th QUARTER 2009

The percentage of civil weddings stood at 70% in the four quarter of 2009

The total number of weddings fell, while the age when marrying rose

The percentage of civil weddings increased in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the same period of the previous year, as it went from 64.6% in 2008 to 69.2% in 2009, according to Eustat data. On the other hand, there has traditionally been a higher percentage of civil weddings in the last quarter of the year than in the summer, when they accounted for 51.8%.

In October, November and December, there were 1,637 weddings in the Basque Country, which was 12.1% down on the same quarter of 2008. By provinces, there were 833 weddings in Bizkaia, followed by 609 in Gipuzkoa and 148 in Álava. The number of weddings of people residing outside the Basque Country came to 47.

1,574 men and 1,595 women who were resident in the Basque Country were married. This was the first marriage for 1.399 men (88.9%), while 11 widowers and 164 divorcés remarried. The percentage of women who married for the first time was slightly higher than that for men, as 1,405 single women (88.1%), 12 widows and 178 divorcées married.

With regard to the distribution of marriages according to the age of spouses, 83.5% of grooms were over 30 in the fourth quarter of 2009, while this percentage stood at 73.9% in the case of the brides. These figures were higher than those for the same quarter of the year before, which were 82.7% and 70.2%, respectively.

In 2009 overall, the general trend to marry later continued, as 81.2% of the grooms and 67.2% of the brides married at aged 30 or over. These percentages were higher than in 2008 (78.1% and 62.3%, respectively).

The provisional figures for 2009 show that the number of marriages of residents in the Basque Country fell by 8.1% on the previous year. On the other hand, the percentage of civil weddings was nearly 4 points higher than the figure for 2008, as they accounted for 60.4% of the total in 2009.



For further information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Martín González Hernández Tlf:+34-945-01 75 49 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 More press releases on MARRIAGE STATISTICS of the Basque Country Databank on MARRIAGE STATISTICS of the Basque Country