Press Release 27/11/2023
MARRIAGE STATISTICS. II/2023
There were 2,179 marriages in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2023, down 6.4% on the previous year
There was an increase of 0.3% in respect of the second quarter of 2019
There were a total of 2,179 marriages in the Basque Country during the second quarter of 2023, down 6.4% on the same quarter of the previous year (2,329), according to Eustat data. Of the total number of marriages, 2,101 were between different-sex couples and the other 78 were between same-sex couples, 47 between women and 31 between men.
As usual, in the second quarter, the number of unions rose considerably in respect of the first quarter, above all in the month of June, which saw 45.5% of the weddings celebrated in the quarter. If we compare data from this quarter with that from the same quarter of 2019, prior to the pandemic, they are very similar with an increase of only 0.3%.
Taking into account the province where the marriage was registered, all three provinces saw a decrease in the number of marriages: there were 1,042 weddings in Bizkaia (22 fewer than the previous year); 235 in Álava (43 fewer); and 759 in Gipuzkoa (65 fewer). Meanwhile, 143 couples registered their marriage outside the Basque Country.
During the spring months in 2023, the percentage of civil weddings was 91.7%, 88.1% corresponded to different-sex couples and 3.6% of the total number of marriages were between same-sex couples, all of which were civil. This percentage was 1.3 points higher than that observed in the same quarter of 2022.
Of the 2,179 weddings in the second quarter of 2022, 2,008 men and 2,038 women resident in the Basque Country married. For 1,728 husbands (86.1%) this was their first marriage, whilst 17 widowers and 263 divorcees remarried. As regards women, there were 1734 single women who married (85.1%), 5 widows and 299 divorcees.
92% of husbands and 87% of wives were aged 30 or over
As regards the distribution according to the age of the couple, 91.5% of husbands and 86.6% of wives were over 30. In the same period of 2022, this proportion was 93% for men and 86.6% for women.
In the months of April, May and June 2023, 11.9% of recently married men and 15.3% of recently married women were foreign nationals. In respect of the same quarter of the previous year, this percentage rose by 0.4 percentage points among men and fell by 0.9 points among women.
Marriages of residents by territory of registration, type of marriage, form of celebration, previous marital status, age and month of marriage (1). 2023/II
| | II/2023 | I/2023 | II/2022 |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | Increase % | NO. | % | Increase % |
| Marriages | 2.179 | 100,0 | 1.082 | 100,0 | 101,4 | 2.329 | 100,0 | -6,4 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Araba / Álava | 235 | 10,8 | 149 | 13,8 | 57,7 | 278 | 11,9 | -15,5 |
| Bizkaia | 1.042 | 47,8 | 532 | 49,2 | 95,9 | 1.064 | 45,7 | -2,1 |
| Gipuzkoa | 759 | 34,8 | 342 | 31,6 | 121,9 | 824 | 35,4 | -7,9 |
| Outside of the Basque Country | 143 | 6,6 | 59 | 5,5 | 142,4 | 163 | 7,0 | -12,3 |
| Between people of different sex | 2.101 | 96,4 | 1.039 | 96,0 | 102,2 | 2.268 | 97,4 | -7,4 |
| Canonic | 181 | 8,3 | 39 | 3,6 | 364,1 | 222 | 9,5 | -18,5 |
| Civilians | 1.920 | 88,1 | 1.000 | 92,4 | 92,0 | 2.046 | 87,8 | -6,2 |
| Between people of the same sex | 78 | 3,6 | 43 | 4,0 | 81,4 | 61 | 2,6 | 27,9 |
| Between men | 31 | 1,4 | 20 | 1,8 | 55,0 | 23 | 1,0 | 34,8 |
| Between women | 47 | 2,2 | 23 | 2,1 | 104,3 | 38 | 1,6 | 23,7 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses M | 2.008 | 100,0 | 1.016 | 100,0 | 97,6 | 2.141 | 100,0 | -6,2 |
| Single | 1.728 | 86,1 | 806 | 79,3 | 114,4 | 1.775 | 82,9 | -2,6 |
| Widowed | 17 | 0,8 | 15 | 1,5 | 13,3 | 28 | 1,3 | -39,3 |
| Divorced | 263 | 13,1 | 195 | 19,2 | 34,9 | 338 | 15,8 | -22,2 |
| < 30 years | 170 | 8,5 | 106 | 10,4 | 60,4 | 151 | 7,1 | 12,6 |
| 30 - 39 years | 856 | 42,6 | 393 | 38,7 | 117,8 | 886 | 41,4 | -3,4 |
| => 40 years | 982 | 48,9 | 517 | 50,9 | 89,9 | 1.104 | 51,6 | -11,1 |
| Spanish nationality | 1.769 | 88,1 | 808 | 79,5 | 118,9 | 1.895 | 88,5 | -6,6 |
| Foreign nationality | 239 | 11,9 | 208 | 20,5 | 14,9 | 246 | 11,5 | -2,8 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Spouses F | 2.038 | 100,0 | 1.024 | 100,0 | 99,0 | 2.167 | 100,0 | -6,0 |
| Single | 1.734 | 85,1 | 809 | 79,0 | 114,3 | 1.826 | 84,3 | -5,0 |
| Widowed | 5 | 0,2 | 13 | 1,3 | -61,5 | 14 | 0,6 | -64,3 |
| Divorced | 299 | 14,7 | 202 | 19,7 | 48,0 | 327 | 15,1 | -8,6 |
| < 30 years | 273 | 13,4 | 164 | 16,0 | 66,5 | 290 | 13,4 | -5,9 |
| 30 - 39 years | 929 | 45,6 | 417 | 40,7 | 122,8 | 977 | 45,1 | -4,9 |
| => 40 years | 836 | 41,0 | 443 | 43,3 | 88,7 | 900 | 41,5 | -7,1 |
| Spanish nationality | 1.726 | 84,7 | 741 | 72,4 | 132,9 | 1.817 | 83,8 | -5,0 |
| Foreign nationality | 312 | 15,3 | 283 | 27,6 | 10,2 | 350 | 16,2 | -10,9 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Month of marriage | | | | | | | | |
| April | 444 | 20,4 | | | | 502 | 21,6 | -11,6 |
| May | 743 | 34,1 | | | | 774 | 33,2 | -4,0 |
| June | 992 | 45,5 | | | | 1.053 | 45,2 | -5,8 |
(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional. The variations are over the current quarter
Date November 27, 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