One in Five Newlywed Couples Has an Older Bride... Women's First Marriage Age Hits Record High

19.9% of Newlywed Couples Have Older Wives... Highest on Record
Rise in Women's Economic Activity, Economic Conditions Now Outweigh Age

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Among newlywed couples who married for the first time last year, cases where the wife was older than the husband accounted for nearly 20%. This is the highest figure since related statistics began being compiled in 1990. The increase is attributed to the rise in highly educated women with economic power and the younger generation prioritizing economic conditions over the spouse's age, leading to more 'older wife and younger husband' couples.

According to the '2024 Marriage and Divorce Statistics' released by Statistics Korea on the 20th, the number of marriages last year was 222,000, an increase of 14.8% (29,000 cases) compared to the previous year. The number of marriages surpassing 200,000 occurred for the first time in four years since 2020, and the growth rate was the largest since the statistics began in 1970. Among these, the number of first marriages where both the wife and husband were marrying for the first time was 178,700 (80.4%), exceeding the 80% mark for the first time in 24 years since 2000 (81.9%).

In particular, among newlyweds both marrying for the first time, cases where the wife was older numbered 35,600, accounting for 19.9% of all first marriages. This is the highest since the statistics began in 1990, and is 2.3 times higher than the 8.8% recorded in 1990. Conversely, cases where the husband was older were 113,400 (63.5%), the lowest ratio since 1990. Among newlyweds where the wife was older and the husband younger, there were also 400 cases where the wife was more than 10 years older than the husband. The number of first marriages where the wife and husband were the same age was 29,800 (16.7%).

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The age gap between men and women marrying for the first time is also narrowing. Last year, the average age at first marriage was 33.9 years for men and 31.6 years for women. The average age for men decreased by 0.1 years compared to the previous year, marking the first decline in four years since 2020. For women, the average age increased by only 0.1 years during the same period, the smallest increase since 2006.

The crude marriage rate, indicating the number of marriages per 1,000 people, was 4.4, up 0.6 from the previous year. By region, Daejeon had the highest crude marriage rate at 5.6. Sejong ranked second with 4.8, followed by Gyeonggi with 4.6. The regions with the lowest crude marriage rates were Busan and Gyeongnam, both at 3.5.

The total number of marriages increased in all regions compared to the previous year. Marriages involving foreigners numbered 21,000, up 5.3% (1,000 cases) from the previous year. The proportion of marriages involving foreigners among all marriages was 9.3%, down 0.8 percentage points (p) from the previous year. Among foreign spouses, the most common nationality for wives was Vietnam (32.1%), followed by China (16.7%) and Thailand (13.7%). For husbands, the most common nationalities were the United States (28.8%), China (17.6%), and Vietnam (15.0%).