Press Release 25/09/2023
MARRIAGE STATISTICS. I/2023
In the first quarter of 2023 there were 1,037 marriages in the Basque Country, 1% less than a year ago
In comparison with the 1,015 marriages celebrated in 2019, there was a rise of 2.2%
The number of marriages in the Basque Country during the first quarter of 2023 rose to 1,037, 1% down on those in the same quarter of the previous year (1,048), according to Eustat data. Of the total number of marriages, 997 were heterosexual marriages and 40 were between people of the same sex, 23 between women and 17 between men.
By months, in January and February the number of marriages fell by 4.9% and 21.3%, respectively. In contrast, in March weddings increased by 15.2% in respect of March 2022. If we compare data from this quarter with that from the same quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic, with 1,015 marriages, there was a rise of 2.2%.
During the first quarter of 2023, more than 96 out of 100 weddings were civil, 96.8%. This percentage was 95.5% in the same quarter of 2022.
In the 1,037 weddings in the first quarter of 2023, 977 men and 989 women resident in the Basque Country entered into marriage; the remainder of the spouses resided outside of the Basque Country. For 774 spouses (79.2%) this was their first marriage, whilst 189 divorced men and 14 widowers remarried. The percentage of women entering into their first marriage was similar to that of men, standing at 782 (79.1%); the number of divorcees rose to 194 and the number of widows stood at 13.
As regards the distribution of marriages according to the age of the couples, 89.8% of husbands were aged 30 or over, whilst this percentage decreased to 84.2% for wives. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this proportion rose for men (89.7% in 2022) and fell for women (86.4% in 2022).
The percentage of foreign nationals entering into marriage decreased
In the first quarter of 2023, 27.4% of recently married women and 20.2% of recently married men were foreign nationals. These percentages slightly increased in comparison with the same period in 2022, for both wives and husbands, when they were 27.9% and 20.3%, respectively.
Marriages of residents by territory of registration, type of marriage, form of celebration, previous marital status, age and month of marriage (1). 2023/I
| | I/2023 | IV/2022 | I/2022 |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | Increase % | NO. | % | Increase % |
| Marriages | 1.037 | 100,0 | 1.654 | 100,0 | -37,3 | 1.048 | 100,0 | -1,0 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Araba / Álava | 120 | 11,6 | 210 | 12,7 | -42,9 | 134 | 12,8 | -10,4 |
| Bizkaia | 531 | 51,2 | 784 | 47,4 | -32,3 | 533 | 50,9 | -0,4 |
| Gipuzkoa | 335 | 32,3 | 560 | 33,9 | -40,2 | 336 | 32,1 | -0,3 |
| Outside of the Basque Country | 51 | 4,9 | 100 | 6,0 | -49,0 | 45 | 4,3 | 13,3 |
| Between people of different sex | 997 | 96,1 | 1.596 | 96,5 | -37,5 | 1.011 | 96,5 | -1,4 |
| Canonic | 33 | 3,2 | 141 | 8,5 | -76,6 | 47 | 4,5 | -29,8 |
| Civilians | 964 | 93,0 | 1.455 | 88,0 | -33,7 | 964 | 92,0 | 0,0 |
| Between people of the same sex | 40 | 3,9 | 58 | 3,5 | -31,0 | 37 | 3,5 | 8,1 |
| Between men | 17 | 1,6 | 20 | 1,2 | -15,0 | 17 | 1,6 | 0,0 |
| Between women | 23 | 2,2 | 38 | 2,3 | -39,5 | 20 | 1,9 | 15,0 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses M | 977 | 100,0 | 1.525 | 100,0 | -35,9 | 1.000 | 100,0 | -2,3 |
| Single | 774 | 79,2 | 1.211 | 79,4 | -36,1 | 793 | 79,3 | -2,4 |
| Widowed | 14 | 1,4 | 10 | 0,7 | 40,0 | 10 | 1,0 | 40,0 |
| Divorced | 189 | 19,3 | 304 | 19,9 | -37,8 | 197 | 19,7 | -4,1 |
| < 30 years | 100 | 10,2 | 118 | 7,7 | -15,3 | 103 | 10,3 | -2,9 |
| 30 - 39 years | 380 | 38,9 | 634 | 41,6 | -40,1 | 354 | 35,4 | 7,3 |
| = 40 years | 497 | 50,9 | 773 | 50,7 | -35,7 | 543 | 54,3 | -8,5 |
| Spanish nationality | 780 | 79,8 | 1.279 | 83,9 | -39,0 | 797 | 79,7 | -2,1 |
| Foreign nationality | 197 | 20,2 | 246 | 16,1 | -19,9 | 203 | 20,3 | -3,0 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses F | 989 | 100,0 | 1.559 | 100,0 | -36,6 | 1.002 | 100,0 | -1,3 |
| Single | 782 | 79,1 | 1.270 | 81,5 | -38,4 | 803 | 80,1 | -2,6 |
| Widowed | 13 | 1,3 | 8 | 0,5 | 62,5 | 11 | 1,1 | 18,2 |
| Divorced | 194 | 19,6 | 281 | 18,0 | -31,0 | 188 | 18,8 | 3,2 |
| < 30 years | 156 | 15,8 | 239 | 15,3 | -34,7 | 136 | 13,6 | 14,7 |
| 30 - 39 years | 408 | 41,3 | 671 | 43,0 | -39,2 | 421 | 42,0 | -3,1 |
| = 40 years | 425 | 43,0 | 649 | 41,6 | -34,5 | 445 | 44,4 | -4,5 |
| Spanish nationality | 718 | 72,6 | 1.199 | 76,9 | -40,1 | 722 | 72,1 | -0,6 |
| Foreign nationality | 271 | 27,4 | 360 | 23,1 | -24,7 | 280 | 27,9 | -3,2 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Month of marriage | | | | | | | | |
| July | 271 | 26,1 | | | | 285 | 27,2 | -4,9 |
| August | 244 | 23,5 | | | | 310 | 29,6 | -21,3 |
| September | 522 | 50,3 | | | | 453 | 43,2 | 15,2 |
(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional. The variations are over the current quarter
Date September 25, 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