More Singaporeans married later to partners of the same age or one year apart in 2021

Singaporeans are getting married later, with the age gap between first time brides and grooms narrowing, according to 2021 statistics published by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Wednesday (Jul 6).

The median age for first time brides and grooms has increased over the previous decade. The median age for the brides increased from 28.0 years in 2011 to 29.1 years in 2021, while the median age for grooms increased from 30.1 years to 30.5 years. 

The age gap between couples in their first marriage has also narrowed. The percentage of couples in their first marriage that were of the same age or one year apart increased from 35.9 per cent in 2011 to 43.2 per cent in 2021. 

The number of both marriages and divorces in Singapore also increased in 2021.

This increase is largely due to marriage plans and divorce proceedings being delayed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation.

The number of civil and Muslim marriages that were registered last year was 25.1 per cent higher than the year before. It increased from 22,651 marriages in 2020 to 28,329 in 2021. 

The general marriage rates for both men and women have also increased over the last decade. 

For every thousand unmarried men between the ages 15 to 49, 45.3 of them got married in 2021. This is an increase from 43.5 in 2011. 

Similarly, women in the same age range also have rates as the number of marriages per thousand unmarried women increased from 39.2 in 2011 to 44.2 in 2021. 

Within the same decade, the proportion of grooms who were at least two years older decreased from 54.5 per cent to 46.9 per cent in 2021. The proportion of brides who were at least two years older was 9.4 per cent in 2021, similar to 2011.

Marital dissolutions increased by 13.4 per cent from 6,959 granted in 2020 to 7,890 in 2021. Despite that, the general divorce rates are still lower as compared to a decade ago. 

There were 7.2 male divorcees for every thousand married males aged 20 years and over in 2021 as compared to 7.6 in 2011. 

Rates for females also decreased from 7.2 female divorcees for every thousand married females in 2011 to 6.9 last year. 

The median age at divorce rose over the last decade as well. For male divorcees, it rose from 41.3 years in 2011 to 43.9 years in 2021 while female divorcees went from 37.7 to 40.0 years. 

The median duration of marriage for divorcees in 2021 was 10.7 years in 2021, which was slightly longer than the 10.5 years in 2011. 

Those who were married for five to nine years before divorcing makes up the largest proportion at 29.8 per cent of all divorcees in 2021.