Last year, 5,206 divorces were divorced, which is the lowest number of divorces in Latvia in the last five years. Nevertheless, in Latvia, as in Lithuania, the number of divorces is the highest in the European Union – 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitants.
CSB data show that 13.3 years is the average duration of a marriage at the time of its divorce. It has been declining slightly in recent years, but in 50 years, compared with 1971, the length of divorces has increased by almost 40%, with an increase in the proportion of divorces lasting 20 years or more.
Independence freed from broken marital ties
The number of marriages increased shortly before the economic crisis in 2006 and 2007, as the country’s economic situation improved, followed by a sharp decline. Fewer marriages were also concluded in 2020, when the wedding ceremony was postponed due to restrictions on gatherings during the pandemic, the CSB concludes.
The number of divorces increased significantly in 1992 with the restoration of Latvia’s independence, reaching the highest level in the last 50 years – 5.6 divorces per 1,000 inhabitants. The increase is related to the replacement of the old USSR passports with the passports of the Republic of Latvia, at the same time officially divorcing marriages that have actually broken up in previous years. In 2011, when a law was passed that allows divorce not only in court but also with a sworn notary, a sharp increase in the number of divorces followed.
The number of marriages per 1,000 inhabitants in Latvia is relatively high compared to other European Union (EU) countries – in 2019, 6.7 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants were concluded in Latvia, which together with Romania ranks 3rd behind Cyprus (8.9 per capita). 1000 inhabitants) and Lithuania (7.0). Least marriages are in Portugal and Slovenia (3.2). The number of divorces per 1,000 inhabitants among the EU countries in 2019 in Latvia and Lithuania was the highest – 3.1, the lowest – in Malta (0.7).
Almost every fourth divorce lasts no longer than 4 years.
Half of divorces – minor children
In 2020, 5,206 marriages were divorced. Almost one in four (23%) divorces lasted 0-4 years or lasted 5-9 years (24.8%). A relatively large proportion of marriages are officially divorced after a longer period of time – 24.3% of divorces were longer than 20 years.
Of all marriages divorced in 2020, 53.7% (the highest rate in the last 5 years) were families with minor children and 4,331 children lived there.
There is no hurry to get married in the port
At the beginning of 2021, 41% of adult women (18 years and older) and 49% of men were married. Of all unmarried adults of the respective sex, 62% of men and 57% of women were under 35 years of age. Marriage statistics for 2020 show that men registered their marriage for the first time at an average age of 32, and women at the age of 30.
The number of marriages in younger age groups is decreasing every year. In 1970, almost half of women (49.1%) and one in four men (26.1%) aged 20-24 were married. In 2021, the situation has changed, with 8.7% of women and 3.4% of men married between the ages of 20 and 24 alone. In 1970, marriages were more common at the age of 20-24 (41.8% of men and 42.2% of women), but in 2020, men were more likely to marry at the age of 30-34 (23.3%) and women at the age of 25-29. (24.7%).
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