IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

In 2010, 170 826, civil marriages, 9 996 customary marriages and 888 civil unions were recorded in the marriage registration systems of the Department of Home Affairs. Median ages for men and women marrying for the first time were 33 years and 29 years respectively for civil marriages. The median age for men in customary marriage was 32 years and that of women was 26 years. The median ages for the spouses in civil union were 37 years for spouses-1 and 34 years for spouses-2.

In 2010, 22 936 divorces were granted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. More women (49,3%) than men (34,0%) filed for divorce. The median age for divorced men was 41 years and that of women was 38 years. Black African men had the highest (44 years) age at divorce and Indian/Asian women had the lowest (35 years). Most divorces occurred between five and nine years of marriage. Almost half (47,7%) of the 2010 divorces were marriages that ended before their tenth anniversary. In addition, 54,4% of the 2010 divorces had children younger than 18 years.