Divorces up by 12%, marriages down by 1.2% in 2019

 

A small number of women, aged over 65, who got married last year, took grooms who were aged 24 or below.

PETALING JAYA: The number of divorces in the country increased by 12% last year while the number of marriages dropped by 1.2%, the Statistics Department said today.

Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said there were 56,975 divorces last year compared with 50,862 in 2018, while marriages decreased to 203,821 in 2019 compared with 206,352 the year before.

“The general divorce rate for males increased from 6.5% to 7.2% per thousand population of married males aged above 18.

“A similar trend was also reported for females, increasing from 7.0% to 7.7% per thousand population of married females aged above 16,” he said in a statement.

Muslim divorces increased by 13% from 40,269 to 45,502, while non-Muslim divorces went up by 8.3% from 10,593 to 11,473.

Meanwhile, there was a 1.5% decline in Muslim marriages and 0.5% for non-Muslims, with the Petaling district in Selangor recording the highest number of weddings.

Uzir said 11% of marriages last year were between couples of different ethnic groups, an increase from 9% in the year before.

“On the other hand, 0.3% were grooms aged above 65 who married younger brides aged below 24. Meanwhile, 0.2% were brides aged over 65 who married grooms aged 24 or below.”

He said the median age of grooms remained at 28 while for brides it increased from 26 to 27, adding that the tendency for late marriages was more prevalent among the educated group and those seeking to strengthen their individual economic stability, particularly those living in urban areas. - FMT