MARRIAGE STATISTICS. IV/2020

In the fourth quarter of 2020 the number of marriages fell by 30.7%

Balance for 2020: The number of marriages was down by almost half

In the fourth quarter of 2020 the figure for marriages in the Basque Country stood at 1,167, which was a drop of 30.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data.

The number of marriages decreased in all three provinces, given that in Álava there were 154 weddings (-33.3%), Bizkaia 565 (-31.6%) and in Gipuzkoa 378 (-30.5%). On the other hand, 70 couples fixed their residency outside the Basque Country.

Of the total number of marriages, 46 were between people of the same sex (30 between women and 16 between men) and the remaining 1,121 were heterosexual marriages. During the fourth quarter of 2020, 9 out of 10 weddings were civil, 94%, 3.7 percentage points more than in the same period of the previous year.

Of the 1,167 marriages in the fourth quarter of 2020, 1,100 men and 1,130 women resident in the Basque Country got married. For 862 spouses (78.4%) this was their first marriage, whilst 17 widowers and 221 divorcees remarried. The percentage of first weddings for women was higher than that for men: the number of single women who married stood at 895 (79.2%), 10 widows and 225 divorcees.

With respect to the distribution according to the age of the couple, 90.2% of husbands and 85.7% of wives were older than 30. In the same period of 2019, this percentage was 90.8% for men and 85.7% for women, practically identical.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, 16.5% of recently married men and 22.5% of recently married women were foreign nationals, reflecting an increase among men of 3.4 percentage points and among women of 1.8 points, in respect of the same period in 2019.

BALANCE FOR 2020: The number of marriages stood at 4,041, 45.9% down on the previous year

In the provisional data for 2020, the number of marriages for individuals resident in the Basque Country stood at 4,041, 45.9% down on 2019.

The percentage of civil weddings was 93.8%, above the 87.5% in 2019. Also observed was an increase in the age of those entering into marriage, given that 91.4% of husbands and 84.8% of wives were aged 30 or over; these percentages were 90.2% and 82.7%, respectively, in 2019.

For 2020 as a whole, 15.2% of husbands and 21.5% of wives were foreign nationals, once again slightly above the 2019 figures, which were10.6% and 15.3%, respectively.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62

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