Press release 16.03.12

MARRIAGE STATISTICS (EMAT) in the Basque Country 3RD QUARTER 2011

In the months of July, August and September 2011 there were 2739 registered marriages, 4.7% down on the previous year

The number of civil marriages continued to rise in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of the previous year

In July, August and September 2011 there were 2739 marriages registered in the Basque Country, a drop of 4.7% with respect to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Of these, 382 couples fixed their residence in Álava, 824 in Gipuzkoa and 1469 in Bizkaia. The number of those couples who fixed their residency outside the Basque Country stood at 64.

During the third quarter of 2011, 58.4% of marriages were civil, 3.5 percentage points up on the same quarter of 2010. This proportion is also less than that obtained in the second quarter of 2011, when 67.3% of marriages were civil.

July is still the preferred month for getting married

July was the month that saw the most weddings (1257), followed by September with 1115. On the other hand, August remained the summer month which saw the least weddings (367), with the number for this month having dropped 6.6% with respect to the same period of the previous year.

Of the 2739 marriages in the third quarter of 2011, 2646 men and 2690 women resident in the Basque Country entered into marriage. For 2426 husbands (91.7%) this was their first marriage, whilst 9 widowers and 211 divorcees remarried. The percentage of first marriages for women was slightly lower than that for men: there were 2455 single women (91.3%), 4 widows and 231 divorcees.

As regards the distribution of marriages according to the age of the couples, 80.8% of grooms were above the age of 30, whilst this percentage stood at 67.4% amongst brides. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this proportion rose in both sexes, but with greater intensity in the case of women, given that in 2010 65.3% were over the age of 30 compared to 79.8% of men.

8% of new wives were foreign

In relation to the nationality of the couples in the weddings held during the summer months in 2011, 5.6% of men and 8% of women were not Spanish nationals.



For further information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística C/ Donostia-San Sebastian, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-maileustat@eustat.es Contact: Martín González Hernández Tel:+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