Few and fewer marriages are being concluded in Germany. In 2024, their number fell to the lowest level since 1950 - since the beginning of the marriage register. There were a total of 349,200 civil marriages in 2024 in Germany, with 3% of them - between same-sex partners.
Only half of Germans are married
The share of married people among the population is also decreasing. In 1994, nearly 60% of adults were married, while recently this percentage has dropped to 50%. According to psychologists, however, this decline is easily explained.
"The slight decline in marriages is a completely normal trend for the uncertain times we live in. In such times, people do not like to make long-term decisions," writer Wolfgang Krüger told ARD.
He points out that the high number of marriages in the 1950s was also related to the lack of emancipation of women, who were almost entirely financially dependent and were forced to marry in order not to live in poverty. Such coercion and pressure no longer exist today.
Few and fewer marriages in Bulgaria
Although the number of marriages in Germany is decreasing, it is still slightly above the average for the EU as a whole. The number of marriages per 1,000 inhabitants has fallen from 11 in 1950 to 4.2 in 2024. According to the EU statistical office "Eurostat", the EU average in 2023 was 4.0 per thousand. The fewest marriages were concluded in 2023 in Slovenia (3.0 per thousand), Italy (3.1 per thousand) and Bulgaria (3.4 per thousand). The most were concluded in Romania (5.8), Latvia (5.6) and Hungary (5.2).
Another trend in recent years is that marriage partners are getting older. In 2024, the average age of women for first marriage was 32.9 years, and for men – 35.3 years.
At the same time, it is striking that marriages have become significantly more durable compared to the 1990s. The duration of marriages now indicates that the family as a social structure enjoys higher approval than 10 or 20 years ago. Partners usually have a long life together before getting married, so they can test the strength of their marital relationship.
Church marriages are also declining
The number of church marriages is also decreasing - and more sharply than among civil marriages, notes the ARD. Statistical data from Germany show that in 2024, 22,513 marriages were registered between Catholic partners. Their number in previous decades was almost five times higher. In 2023, there were 28,089 marriages in Protestant churches, while in 2000 there were still over 70,000. This also corresponds to another trend in society: the number of registered members of the two main religious denominations in Germany - Catholic and Protestant - is decreasing. Between 2000 and 2023, their number decreased by almost 30%.