Press Release 20/02/2023
MARRIAGE STATISTICS. III/2022
There were 2,683 marriages in the third quarter of 2022, 23.9% more than in the previous year
There was an increase of 3.2% compared to 2019
The number of marriages in the Basque Country during the third quarter of 2022 rose to 2,683, which was 23.9% more than in the same quarter of the previous year (2,165), according to Eustat data. Comparing data from this quarter with that from the same quarter of 2019 reveals a 3.2% rise in the number of marriages. This data indicates that marriages postponed in the last two years are now taking place.
Of the total number of marriages, 2,586 were different-sex marriages and the other 97 were between people of the same sex, 50 between women and 47 between men.
Taking into account the province where the marriage was registered, all three provinces saw an increase in the number of marriages: there were 1,154 weddings in Bizkaia, 373 in Álava and 896 in Gipuzkoa. Meanwhile, 260 couples registered their marriage outside the Basque Country. July stands out in terms of months, with 44.1% of this quarter’s weddings.
During the summer months of 2022, the percentage of civil weddings was 87.3%: 83.7% corresponded to different-sex couples and 3.6% of the total number of marriages were between same-sex couples, all of which were civil. In 2022 this percentage was 1.5 points higher than that observed in the same quarter of 2021.
Of the 2,683 marriages in the third quarter of 2022, 2,394 men and 2,404 women resident in the Basque Country got married. For 2,069 husbands (86.4%) this was their first marriage, whilst 19 widowers and 306 divorcees remarried. The percentage of first weddings for women was higher than that for men: the number of single women who married stood at 2,093 (87.1%), 4 widows and 307 divorcees.
91.7% of husbands and 84.7% of wives were aged 30 or over
With respect to the distribution according to the age of the couple, 91.7% of husbands and 84.7% of wives were over 30. In the same period of 2021, this proportion was 91.2% for men and 83.1% for women.
In the months of July, August and September 2022, 10% of recently married men and 15.4% of recently married women were foreign nationals. In respect of the same quarter of the previous year, this percentage fell by 1.3 percentage points among men and increased by 0.9 among women.
Marriages of residents by territory of registration, type of marriage, form of celebration, previous marital status, age and month of marriage (1). 2022/III
| | III/2022 | II/2022 | III/2021 |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | Increase % | NO. | % | Increase % |
| Marriages | 2.683 | 100,0 | 2.297 | 100,0 | 16,8 | 2.165 | 100,0 | 23,9 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Araba / Álava | 373 | 13,9 | 272 | 11,8 | 37,1 | 297 | 13,7 | 25,6 |
| Bizkaia | 1.154 | 43,0 | 1.049 | 45,7 | 10,0 | 881 | 40,7 | 31,0 |
| Gipuzkoa | 896 | 33,4 | 820 | 35,7 | 9,3 | 738 | 34,1 | 21,4 |
| Outside of the Basque Country | 260 | 9,7 | 156 | 6,8 | 66,7 | 249 | 11,5 | 4,4 |
| Between people of different sex | 2.586 | 96,4 | 2.237 | 97,4 | 15,6 | 2.083 | 96,2 | 24,1 |
| Canonic | 341 | 12,7 | 212 | 9,2 | 60,8 | 308 | 14,2 | 10,7 |
| Civilians | 2.245 | 83,7 | 2.025 | 88,2 | 10,9 | 1.775 | 82,0 | 26,5 |
| Between people of the same sex | 97 | 3,6 | 60 | 2,6 | 61,7 | 82 | 3,8 | 18,3 |
| Between men | 47 | 1,8 | 23 | 1,0 | 104,3 | 39 | 1,8 | 20,5 |
| Between women | 50 | 1,9 | 37 | 1,6 | 35,1 | 43 | 2,0 | 16,3 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses M | 2.394 | 100,0 | 2.120 | 100,0 | 12,9 | 1.892 | 100,0 | 26,5 |
| Single | 2.069 | 86,4 | 1.755 | 82,8 | 17,9 | 1.626 | 85,9 | 27,2 |
| Widowed | 19 | 0,8 | 28 | 1,3 | -32,1 | 13 | 0,7 | 46,2 |
| Divorced | 306 | 12,8 | 337 | 15,9 | -9,2 | 253 | 13,4 | 20,9 |
| < 30 years | 199 | 8,3 | 147 | 6,9 | 35,4 | 167 | 8,8 | 19,2 |
| 30 - 39 years | 1.152 | 48,1 | 877 | 41,4 | 31,4 | 897 | 47,4 | 28,4 |
| = 40 years | 1.043 | 43,6 | 1.096 | 51,7 | -4,8 | 828 | 43,8 | 26,0 |
| Spanish nationality | 2.154 | 90,0 | 1.877 | 88,5 | 14,8 | 1.679 | 88,7 | 28,3 |
| Foreign nationality | 240 | 10,0 | 243 | 11,5 | -1,2 | 213 | 11,3 | 12,7 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses F | 2.404 | 100,0 | 2.146 | 100,0 | 12,0 | 1.900 | 100,0 | 26,5 |
| Single | 2.093 | 87,1 | 1.807 | 84,2 | 15,8 | 1.610 | 84,7 | 30,0 |
| Widowed | 4 | 0,2 | 14 | 0,7 | -71,4 | 11 | 0,6 | -63,6 |
| Divorced | 307 | 12,8 | 325 | 15,1 | -5,5 | 279 | 14,7 | 10,0 |
| < 30 years | 368 | 15,3 | 283 | 13,2 | 30,0 | 321 | 16,9 | 14,6 |
| 30 - 39 years | 1.184 | 49,3 | 970 | 45,2 | 22,1 | 911 | 47,9 | 30,0 |
| = 40 years | 852 | 35,4 | 893 | 41,6 | -4,6 | 668 | 35,2 | 27,5 |
| Spanish nationality | 2.033 | 84,6 | 1.801 | 83,9 | 12,9 | 1.624 | 85,5 | 25,2 |
| Foreign nationality | 371 | 15,4 | 345 | 16,1 | 7,5 | 276 | 14,5 | 34,4 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Month of marriage | | | | | | | | |
| July | 1.184 | 44,1 | | | | 961 | 44,4 | 23,2 |
| August | 455 | 17,0 | | | | 342 | 15,8 | 33,0 |
| September | 1.044 | 38,9 | | | | 862 | 39,8 | 21,1 |
(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional. The variations are over the current quarter
Date Februay 20, 2023
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.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62