Marriage statistics

In 2023, 44,190 couples got married in Sweden. Over the years, the figures have fluctuated. Throughout the 2000s, the figure rose with each passing year, before a noticeable change occurred at the turn of the millennium in 2000, when a full 4,213 more couples got married compared with the previous year. However, in both 2019 and 2020, the number of marriages was below 50,000. The last time this happened was in 2005. In 2020, the year of the pandemic, many couples postponed their weddings so they could have a bigger celebration once the pandemic had passed.

Ups and downs

The possible reasons for these ups and downs in marriage statistics are quite clear: in 1999, there was an increase compared with previous years, and this may well be because it was the last year of that decade. Similarly, the number of marriages increased in 1990 and 2000. So it tends to be popular to get married in the first and last years of a decade.

Age

In Sweden, the average age was between 30 and 34. Historically, the age at marriage was around 25–29 during the second half of the 19th century. During the war years of the 1940s, the average age fell further, particularly amongst women. Since the 1960s, the average age at first marriage has risen steadily. 

History of cohabitation

Over the years, when the number of marriages has been lower, statistics on cohabitation have sometimes risen instead; one such instance was in 1986. In many cases, people live together for a long time before getting married. Living together is very similar to marriage, but couples do not have the same legal protection as those who are married.