MARRIAGE STATISTICS. IV/2021

In the fourth quarter of 2021 marriages in the Basque Country increased by 33%

In 2021 as a whole marriages were up 57.5%

In the fourth quarter of 2021 the figure for marriages in the Basque Country stood at 1,565, which was an increase of 33.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Compared with the same quarter of 2019, before the pandemic, there were only 73 fewer marriages, which indicates that to a certain extent weddings have seen a recovery.

The number of marriages increased in all three provinces, given that in Álava there were 229 weddings (47.7% more than 1 year ago), Bizkaia 781 (+34.9%) and in Gipuzkoa 491 (+27.9%). On the other hand, 64 couples fixed their residency outside the Basque Country.

Of the total number of marriages, 1,506 were heterosexual marriages and 59 were between people of the same sex, 34 between women and 25 between men.

During the fourth quarter of 2021, 9 out of 10 weddings were civil, 91.6%. The percentage of civil weddings was 2.4 percentage points lower than in the same period of 2020.

Of the 1,565 marriages in the fourth quarter of 2021, 1,484 men and 1,518 women resident in the Basque Country got married. For 1,218 spouses (82.1%) this was their first marriage, whilst 19 widowers and 247 divorcees remarried. The percentage of first weddings for women was slightly lower than that for men, the number of single women who married stood at 1,231 (81.1%), 7 widows and 280 divorcees.

With respect to the distribution according to the age of the couple, 91.3% of husbands and 84.8% of wives were over 30. In the same period of 2020, this percentage was 90.3% for men and 85.8% for women.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, 15.8% of recently married men and 21.6% of recently married women were foreign nationals. In respect of the same quarter of the previous year, the percentage of men decreased by 0.6 percentage points and that of women by 0.8.

BALANCE FOR 2021

In the provisional data for 2021, the number of marriages for individuals resident in the Basque Country stood at 6,389, which represented a rise of 57.5% in respect of the previous year. Compared to 2019 this figure fell by 14.5%, which indicates that a large number of the weddings not held in 2020 due to the pandemic have yet to take place.

The percentage of civil weddings was 90.7%, lower than the 93.8% in 2020.

For 2021 as a whole, 12.9% of husbands and 18.2% of wives were foreign nationals, both percentages lower than the 2020 figures, which were15.2% and 21.5%, respectively.

Marriages in the Basque Country by territory of residence, sex, previous marital status, form of celebration and age (1). 2021/IV

	Current quarter		Previous quarter		Same quarter of the previous year
	NO.	%	NO.	%	NO.	%
MARRIAGES	1.565	100,0	2.154	100,0	1.174	100,0

Araba / Álava	229	14,6	326	15,1	155	13,2
Bizkaia	781	49,9	931	43,2	579	49,3
Gipuzkoa	491	31,4	775	36,0	384	32,7
Outside of the Basque Country	64	4,1	122	5,7	56	4,8
Homosexuals	59	3,8	82	3,8	46	3,9
Between men	25	1,6	39	1,8	16	1,4
Between women	34	2,2	43	2,0	30	2,6
Hetrosexuals	1.506	96,2	2.072	96,2	1.128	96,1
Canonic	132	8,4	304	14,1	70	6,0
Civilians	1.374	87,8	1.768	82,1	1.058	90,1

Spouses M	1.484	100,0	2.035	100,0	1.104	100,0
Single	1.218	82,1	1.759	86,4	864	78,3
Widowed	19	1,3	15	0,7	17	1,5
Divorced	247	16,6	261	12,8	223	20,2
< 30 years	129	8,7	176	8,6	107	9,7
30 - 39 years	652	43,9	979	48,1	404	36,6
= 40 years	703	47,4	880	43,2	593	53,7
Spanish nationality	1.249	84,2	1.832	90,0	923	83,6
Foreign nationality	235	15,8	203	10,0	181	16,4
Spouses F	1.518	100,0	2.049	100,0	1.134	100,0
Single	1.231	81,1	1.742	85,0	897	79,1
Widowed	7	0,5	11	0,5	10	0,9
Divorced	280	18,4	296	14,4	227	20,0
< 30 years	231	15,2	348	17,0	161	14,2
30 - 39 years	702	46,2	993	48,5	461	40,7
= 40 years	585	38,5	708	34,6	512	45,1
Spanish nationality	1.190	78,4	1.774	86,6	880	77,6
Foreign nationality	328	21,6	275	13,4	254	22,4

(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional

Date May 23, 2022

Source: Eustat Marriage statistics

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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