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Number of marriages entered into lowest in over 100 years

release | Changes in marital status 2021

According to Statistics Finland’s data on population changes, 19,579 marriages were entered into in 2021, the number was 22,082 in the year before. The number of marriages entered into decreased by 2,503 in one year. A total of 19,204 marriages between opposite-sex couples were entered into, which is 2,483 fewer than in the year before. Same-sex partners entered into 375 marriages, 20 fewer than in the previous year.

Line chart on the numbers of marriages entered into and divorces by opposite-sex spouses in 1990 to 2021. The number of marriages entered into was at its highest in 2008, after which it has fallen, apart from slowing down a few times. The annual number of divorces has varied without a clear direction over the past decades, but in 2021, the number of divorces decreased to the lowest level in the last 30 years.

Key points

  • In 2021, altogether 19,579 marriages were entered into, the number being lowest in over 100 years.
  • The number of divorces was lowest in over 30 years.
  • The age at the time of the first marriage fell for both men and women.
  • One in four of those entering into marriage in 2021 were getting remarried.


Database tables

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Updated database tables
121e
Classifications used:
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121f
    Classifications used:
    • Month of occurrence
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121m
    Classifications used:
    • Age
    • Previous marital status
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121i
    Classifications used:
    • Language of wife/younger spouse
    • Language of husband/older spouse
    • Type of marriage
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121h
    Classifications used:
    • Nationality of husband/older spouse
    • Nationality of wife/younger spouse
    • Type of marriage
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121g
    Classifications used:
    • Age of husband/older spouse
    • Type of marriage
    • Age of wife/younger spouse
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121l
    Classifications used:
    • Order number of marriage
    • Type of ceremony
    • Age
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121n
    Classifications used:
    • Age
    • Area
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121u
    Classifications used:
    • Age
    • Sex
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121q
    Classifications used:
    • Country of birth of wife/younger spouse
    • Type of marriage
    • Country of birth of husband/older spouse
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121p
    Classifications used:
    • Age of husband/older spouse
    • Type of marriage
    • Age of wife/younger spouse
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121s
    Classifications used:
    • Duration of marriage, years
    • Order number of marriage
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:
    121t
    Classifications used:
    • Age
    Period:
    annual
    Statistics:
    Updated:

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