SA men prefer tying the knot to women who’ve never married before – report
About 93.9% of South African men generally married women who had never been married, according Stats SA.
The Stats SA’s 2019 marriages and divorces report shows the median ages of bridegrooms and brides in civil marriages were 37 years and 33 years, respectively. Picture: iStock
They say marriage is no walk in the park and if you’re looking to find the right person to spend the rest of your life with, marriage is not about age.
But this doesn’t seem to be the case for South African men.
A recent study conducted by Stats SA has shown that South African men prefer getting hitched to women who have never been married before.
Stats SA’s 2019 marriages and divorces report, released on Thursday, shows that irrespective of their marital status, 93.9% of men generally married women who had never been married.
“Thus 98 779 (93.9%) of never-married men wedded never-married women, 1 225 (1.2%) married divorcees and 435 (0.4%) married widows. In addition, irrespective of the fact that more male divorcees and widowers wedded never-married women, the proportion of male divorcees who married female divorcees, 800 (16.5%) was higher than the proportion that married widows, 47 (1.0%).
“Similarly, the proportion of widowers who married widows, 118 (12.9%) was higher than the proportion that married female divorcees, 30 (3.3%),” the report stated.
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And if you are wondering why your man (or woman) has not proposed yet, perhaps he is waiting to turn 37 first?
The report shows that the median ages of bridegrooms and brides in civil marriages were 37 years and 33 years, respectively.
Stats SA’s director for documented international human movement, Tshwaro Gae, unpacked the report in a short video compiled by the agency. He said in 2019, a total of 129 597 civil marriages, 2 789 customary marriages and 1 771 civil unions were registered in the country.
A comparison with the 2018 data showed that registration of civil marriages and customary marriages decreased by 1.3% and 11.7% respectively, whereas civil unions increased by 7.3%.
The 2019 registered civil marriages showed that 81.1% of bridegrooms and 86.0% of brides married for the first time. And about a quarter (25.0%) of civil marriages were registered in Gauteng.
Watch the video below for a summary of Stats SA’s 2019 marriages and divorces report:
[WATCH] If you’re wondering why your man hasn’t proposed yet, perhaps he’s waiting to turn 37? Director: Documented International Human Movement Tshwaro Gae, unpacks the Marriages and Divorces, 2019 report.
Download the report here: https://t.co/TKotxw8uvq#StatsSA #marriage pic.twitter.com/7z7KmS3Smq
— Stats SA (@StatsSA) March 18, 2021
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