Marriages declining, divorces on the rise - Stats Dept

PUTRAJAYA - The number of marriages in Malaysia saw a slight decrease to 0.5 per cent which is 214,824 in 2022 compared to 215,973 last year.

A report released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) also revealed that the number of divorces had increased to 43.1 per cent.

The number of divorces in 2022 was 62,890, compared to 43,936 in 2021.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the number of Muslim marriages in 2022 decreased from 168,726 to 176,002 in 2021, which accounted for 4.1 per cent.

The three states that show the highest decrease in Muslim marriages are Putrajaya, which is 19.6 per cent followed by Perak (12.8 per cent) and Terengganu (11.3 per cent).

"The median age of the groom remains at 28 years, while the median age of the bride has increased to 27 years compared to 26 years in 2021," he said.

He said the Petaling district in Selangor recorded the highest number of marriages at 8,602.

"It was followed by Johor Bahru, Johor (7,770), and Hulu Langat, Selangor (6,347)," he said.

He said statistics show that 2.9 per cent of grooms aged 65 and above have married younger brides in the age group of 24 years and below.

"Some 3.5 per cent of brides aged 65 and over have married grooms in the age group of 24 years and below," he said.

Statistics also showed that the oldest groom was 92 years old, while the oldest bride was 86 years old.

Mohd Uzir further said the 45.8 per cent increase in Muslim divorces was due to cases brought forward from the previous year.

"The three states that recorded the highest increase in the number of Muslim divorces were Kedah by 113.6 per cent, Sabah (94.5 per cent) and Perlis (83.5 per cent)," he said.

He explained that the age group of 35 to 39 recorded the highest divorce rate for men, while women were aged 30 to 34.

"The general divorce rate increased for Muslim men from 7.1 per cent in 2021 to 10.4 per cent 1,000 Muslim men aged 18 and over who were married in 2022.

"The general divorce rate for Muslim women also recorded an increase to 10.6 compared to 7.3 for the same period for every 1,000 Muslim women aged 16 and over," he said.

Meanwhile, he said the marriage of non-Muslims recorded a 15.3 percent increase from 39,971 the previous year to 46,098 in 2022.

"The three states that show the highest increase in non-Muslim marriages are Terengganu by 40.2 per cent, followed by Johor (26.6) and Negeri Sembilan (21.1)," he said.

According to him, the divorce segment of non-Muslims also increased 36.4 percent from 12,286 (2021) to 16,752 (2022).

"The three states that recorded the highest increase in the number of divorces were Putrajaya by 500 percent, followed by Johor (61.5) and Melaka (59.0)," he said.

In line with the increase in the number of divorces, Mohd Uzir said, the general divorce rate shows an increase for men from 6.1 (2021) to 8.7 (2022) for every 1,000 males aged 18 and over who are married.

"The same trend was also recorded for females, increasing from 6.2 (2021) to 8.9 (2022) for every 1,000 females aged 16 and above," he said.