Marriages, registered partnerships, divorces

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Marriage and marriage rate

The periods with a high marriage rate between 1871-1879, 1918-1925 and from 1940 to the 1960s were followed by episodes of high birth rates, the last of which included the two baby boom waves. The marriage rate indicators, however, show a fall in the number of marriages in the population.

Divorce and divorce rate

Since 1876 a record has been kept of the number of divorces granted each year by the Swiss courts. The number of divorces rose in line with the increase in the population until the mid-1960s after which time their number grew more rapidly, indicating a change in the population's behaviour with regard to this subject.

At a glance

Key figures
	2019	2020	2021
Marriages	38 974	35 160	36 410
Crude marriage rate	4.5	4.1	4.2
Short-term "first-time marriage" indicator
Men	50.3	45.5	46.9
Women	55.4	49.9	52.2
Average age at first-time marriage
Men	32.3	32.2	32.2
Women	30.1	30.2	30.3
Registered partnerships	674	651	582
Male couples	419	386	361
Female couples	255	265	221
Divorces	16 885	16 210	17 159
Crude divorce rate	2.0	1.9	2.0
Short-term divorce rate indicator	41.1	39.5	41.9
Average length of marriage at time of divorce	15.4	15.6	15.7

Sources: FSO – BEVNAT, STATPOP

Further information

Data

On this topic

Marriages, nuptiality

Divorces, divortiality

Registered partnerships, dissolved partnerships

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Federal Statistical Office Section Demography and Migration
Espace de l'Europe 10
CH-2010 Neuchâtel
Switzerland

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