IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

A total of 106 499 civil marriages, 2 676 customary marriages and 2 240 civil unions were registered in 2021. A comparison with the 2020 data show that registration of all marriages and unions increased. Registered civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions increased by 19,2%; 68,8% and 52,3% respectively. The median ages of bridegrooms and brides on civil marriages were 35 years and 32 years respectively. The 2020 registered civil marriages shows that 81,0% of bridegrooms and 86,2% of brides married for the first time. Almost quarter (24,9%) of civil marriages were registered in Gauteng.

The median age of bridegrooms for customary marriages was 36 years and that of brides was 29 years. More than half, 1 463 (54,7%) of the registered customary marriages were from KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. Regarding civil unions, the median age for spouses-1 and spouses-2 were 35 years and 33 years respectively. Civil unions registered in 2021 indicates that Gauteng had the highest proportion with 53,3%.

There were 18 208 completed divorce forms processed in 2021, indicating an increase of 13,1% from the 16 097 divorces processed in 2020. There were more women 9 981 (54,8%) than men 6 142 (33,7%) divorcees who filed the divorce in 2021. The median ages at divorce in 2021 were 45 years for men and 41 years for women. The results show that four in ten divorces 7 745 (42,5%) of the 18 208 in 2021 came from marriages that did not spend their tenth wedding anniversary. In 2021, there were 10 308 (56,6%)  divorces with children aged less than 18 years affected.