IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH DATA ECOSYSTEMS

A total of 111 784 civil marriages, 4 376 customary marriages and 2 461 civil unions were registered in 2022. A comparison with the 2021 data show that registration of all marriages and unions increased. Registered civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions increased by 5,0%; 63,5% and 9,9% respectively. The median ages of bridegrooms and brides on civil marriages were 38 years and 34 years respectively. The 2022 registered civil marriages shows that 80,2% of bridegrooms and 85,4% of brides married for the first time. Over a quarter (26,0%) 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, 1 252 (28,6%) of the registered customary marriages were from Limpopo followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 881 (20,1%). Regarding civil unions, the median age for spouses-1 and spouses-2 were 35 years and 33 years respectively. Civil unions registered in 2022 indicates that Gauteng had the highest proportion with 41,9%.

There were 20 196 completed divorce forms processed in 2022, indicating an increase of 10,9% from the 18 208 divorces processed in 2021. There were more women 11 277 (55,8%) than men 6 700 (33,2%) divorcees who filed the divorce in 2022. The median age at the time of divorce in 2022 were 46 years for males and 42 years for females. Results showed that four in ten divorces 8 528 (42,2%) of the 20 196 in 2022 were from marriages that lasted for less than 10 years.