Trends in Latvia: men get married at the age of 32, women at the age of 30
At the beginning of 2021, 49% of adult men and 41% of adult women in Latvia were married, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB). Trends show that people now decide to marry around the age of 30, and the average age of marriage is increasing every year. In addition, many plans to tie the knot last year and in the first half of this year were disrupted by the pandemic and the related restrictions on gatherings and other aspects - the number of registered marriages decreased by 17% last year compared to 2019.
In 2020, 10,702 marriages were registered in Latvia, which is 2,159 marriages less than in 2019.
During the state of emergency, from March 12 to June 9, 2020, only both spouses and two adult witnesses were allowed to attend the marriage ceremony. The number of marriages decreased sharply in these three months and was 36% lower than in the corresponding period of 2019. The largest decrease in the number of marriages compared to 2019 was in May and June, when about 500 fewer marriages were registered each month than in the previous year.
The second state of emergency with significant restrictions was declared on November 9, 2020, and was in force for five months until April 6 this year. According to preliminary data on registered marriages, when the restrictions were eased, more marriages were registered in April and May 2021 than in the corresponding months last year.
The number of first marriages in 2020 compared to 2019 decreased by 15%, but remarriages - by 21%. There were fewer marriages of Latvian nationals (citizens and non-citizens) with citizens of other countries - in 2019 the share of such marriages was 4.8%, but in 2020 - 3.5%.
Statistics show that it is mostly people between the ages of 25 and 34 who decide to tie the knot. But seniors are also pretty enthusiastic about getting married. For example, last year 1,542 seniors over the age of 60 got married, which is still 30% less than in 2019, when 2,217 seniors got married. In previous years (2018, 2019), there was a sharp increase in the number of senior marriages, which was facilitated by amendments to the Law on State Pensions, which stipulates that the surviving spouse will receive a benefit of 50% of the departed spouse's pension for a year.
In turn, 35% of men are still unmarried, while for women the share is 25%. 12% of men and 18% of women are divorced. 16% of women are widows, four times more often than men (3.4%), due to the predominance of women in the older age category and their longer life expectancy.
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