A total of 99 289 civil marriages, 3 537 customary marriages and 2 297 civil unions were registered in 2023. A comparison with the 2022 data show that registration of all marriages and unions decreased. Registered civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions decreased by 11,2%; 19,2% and 6,7% respectively. The median ages of bridegrooms and brides on civil marriages were 38 years and 34 years respectively. The 2023 registered civil marriages shows that 80,3% of bridegrooms and 85,2% of brides married for the first time. Over a quarter (26,2%) of civil marriages were registered in Gauteng.

The median age of bridegrooms for customary marriages was 35 years and that of brides was 29 years. Over a quarter, 942 (26,6%) of the registered customary marriages were from Limpopo followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 789 (22,3%). Regarding civil unions, the median age for spouses-1 and spouses-2 were 35 years and 33 years respectively. Civil unions registered in 2023 indicates that Gauteng had the highest proportion with 41,8%.

There were 22 230 completed divorce forms processed in 2023, indicating an increase of 10,1% from the 20 196 divorces processed in 2022. There were more women 12 563 (56,5%) than men 7 348 (33,1%) divorcees who filed the divorce in 2023. The median age at the time of divorce in 2023 were 46 years for males and 42 years for females. Results showed that four in ten divorces 9 326 (42,0%) of the 22 230 in 2023 were from marriages that lasted for less than 10 years. About 20 687 children less than 18 years were affected by the divorces that took place in 2023.