More Australians marry

Press, 13 September 1983, Page 17

More Australians marry

NZPA Canberra The number of marriages in Australia increased during 1982 but the rate of increase was less than previous years, reflecting greater age at marriage and a slowing in the number of divorced people remarrying.

The number of religious marriage ceremonies has continued to decline.

The Bureau of Statistics has released figures showing there were 117,275 marriages in 1982, a 3 per cent increase on 1981 compared with a 4.3 per cent increase between 1980 and 1981.

In terms of total population the crude marriage rate, expressed as the number of marriages per 1000 of population, rose to 7.7, from 7.6 in 1981, after having been as low as 7.2 in 1978 and 1979.

■The “most in 1982 was South Australia, where the

crude rate rose from 7.8 (1981) to 8.2.

The number of marriages in which both parties had not previously been married increased 2.6 per cent in 1982 to 79,633. The number of remarriages involving at least one partner previously married rose 3.8 per cent to 37,642.

Both these increases are lower than those recorded in 1981 at 3.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively. The Official Statistician said the trend towards an increasing median age at marriage, evident for more than a decade, had continued in 1982. For males it has increased from 23.9 years in the years 1966-70 and 1971-75 to 26.1 in 1982. For females -it has increased from 21.5 yeamjn 1966-70 to 23.6 years in 1982. ’*

In 1976, 71.1 per cent of marriages were performed by a minister of religion but by 1980 the number had fallen to 63.7 per cent and in 1982 only 61.3 per cent were religious ceremonies.

The bureau said the proportion of remarriages has been rising gradually since 1978, after a very large increase between 1975 and 1978, probably because of an increase in the number of divorced people in the population. In terms of the proportion of all marriages, 32.1 per cent involved at least one partner who had been previously married (1981: 31.8 per cent).

Of the 47,281 divorced people remarrying in 1982, 51.6 per cent (12,208) married another person who had also been, previously divorced.