Divorces and annulments on the up, as marriage numbers fell in 2019
SINGAPORE — Marital dissolutions rose in 2019 while marriages declined in the same period, according to figures released by the Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) on Tuesday (28 July).
A total of 7,623 marriages ended in divorce or annulment last year, an increase of 3.8 per cent from the 7,344 marital dissolutions in 2018, according to DOS’ “Statistics on Marriages and Divorces, 2019” publication.
Between 2015 and 2019, the annual average number of marital dissolutions was 7,536. This is higher as compared to 7,402 in the preceding five-year period between 2010 and 2014.
Meanwhile, 25,434 marriages were registered last year, 5.8 per cent lower than the 27,007 marriages registered in 2018.
Despite the decline in 2019, the annual average number of marriages registered in the last five years (27,389) was higher than the annual average registered between 2010 and 2014 (26,844).
Average ages, duration of marriage on the up
The average age at first marriage for grooms rose from 29.8 years to 30.4 years between 2009 and 2019, while the average age of brides also rose from 27.5 years to 28.8 years in the same time period.
There is a larger proportion of brides who are older than grooms in first marriages, rising from 16 per cent in 2009 to 18.3 per cent in 2019.
For divorces, the average duration of marriage was 10.4 years in 2019, slightly longer than the 10.1 years in 2009. Of the divorce cases in 2019, couples who were married for five to nine years accounted for the largest share (29 per cent).
The average age at divorce also rose over the last decade, from 40.5 years in 2009 to 43.4 years in 2019 for male divorcees, and from 36.9 years to 39.3 years for female divorcees.
Both the general marriage and divorce rates declined over the past decade.
The general marriage rate for males was 40.7 marriages per thousand unmarried males aged 15 to 49 years in 2019, down from 43.4 in 2009. Similarly for females, the 2019 rate was 37.9 marriages per thousand unmarried females aged 15 to 49 years, down from 38.9 a decade ago.
For general divorce rates, there were 6.9 male divorcees for every thousand married males aged 20 years and over in 2019, down from 7.5 in 2009; for females, the rate was 6.5 female divorcees for every thousand married females aged 20 years and over in 2019, down from 7.1 in 2009.
Inter-ethnic marriages, same education qualifications
The share of inter-ethnic marriages has increased between 2009 (18.4 per cent) and 2019 (22.9 per cent).
Marriages between Chinese grooms and brides of “Others” ethnic group accounted for 45.8 per cent of the 3,782 inter-ethnic civil marriages in 2019. As for the 2,052 inter-ethnic Muslim marriages, those involving Malay grooms or brides with their spouses of “Others” ethnic group accounted for the largest shares at 29.6 per cent and 27.4 per cent respectively.
The proportion of marriages involving grooms and brides with the same educational qualification increased slightly to 67.5 per cent in 2019, from 64.9 per cent in 2009.
Those involving couples with both university qualifications rose from 29.5 per cent in 2009 to 40.4 per cent in 2019, the biggest rise in proportion among couples with same education qualifications.
Reasons for divorces
The majority of civil divorces in 2019 were initiated by wives (65.0 per cent), slightly higher than in 2009 (64.2 per cent).
Female plaintiffs attributed “unreasonable behaviour” of spouse as the top main reason for divorce in 2019 (58.5 per cent). In comparison, having “lived apart or separated for three years or more” was cited as the top main reason for male plaintiffs (51.9 per cent).
Similarly, the majority of Muslim divorces in 2019 were filed by wives (72.7 per cent). This was higher than the proportion in 2009 (69.8 per cent).
In 2019, “infidelity or extra-marital affair” was the top main cause of marriage breakdown cited by both husbands (23.1 per cent) and wives (21.7 per cent). This was followed by “desertion” for husbands (13.8 per cent) and “financial problems” for wives (13.7 per cent).
The report on “Statistics on Marriages and Divorces, 2019” and accompanying materials are available on the SingStat website.
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