Marriage, Part Two (By the Numbers)
 
Estimated Number of Printed Pages: 16
 
TOPICS COVERED: Everyone seems to be able to rattle off the probability of someone getting divorced. But how many can give you the likelihood of a someone getting married in the first place? Or how many of those divorced get remarried? The answers to those questions will probably give you even more hope than those divorce numbers give you concern.
 
MEMOS ON RELATED INFORMATION: Marriage Part One (Societal and Historical),What Makes You a Grown-up? (for how marriage relates to the process of becoming an adult), Households, Delaying Marriage (for timing of marriage), Family Dissolution, Divorce, Unmarried Partners / Families (for demographic information and information relating to unmarried couples' transition into marriage).
 
Links to Sources for this material are available below. Please also see The Factbook Sources page for further information regarding Factbook sources and their availability.
 
 

PAGE INDEX:

 

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S.

How Many Get Married? What's the Probability of Getting Married?

MARRIAGES INTERNATIONALLY

REMARRIAGES (U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL)

 
 
 

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S.
How Many Get Married? What's the Probability of Getting Married?

 
 
 

How Many Are Getting Married?

 
 
 
120.2 million
Number of U.S. married men and women in 2000. 1.
 
 
 
2,327,000
Number of marriages in the U.S. in 2001. 62 percent of these marriages were first marriages for both the husband and wife. 2.
 
 
 
70 percent
of all U.S. current marriages are a first marriage. 3.
 
 
 
56 percent
of U.S. adults were ever-married – currently married, divorced, separated and widowed – in the late 1990s – a fall from the early 1970s, when three quarters of adults were ever-married. 4.
 
 
 
54 percent
of American women are 15 and over and currently married. 5.
 
 
 
57 percent
of American men are 15 and over and currently married. 6.
 
 
 
100 million
Number of unmarried and single Americans. That is 44 percent of all U.S. residents age 15 and over. 7.
 
 
 
53 percent
of unmarried and single Americans are women. 8.
 
 
 
64 percent
of unmarried and single Americans have never been married. 9.
 
 
 
22 percent
of unmarried and single Americans are divorced. 10.
 
 
 
14 percent
of unmarried and single Americans are widowed. 11.
 
 
 
14.9 million
Number of unmarried and single Americans who are age 65 and over. That's 15 percent of all unmarried and single people. 12.
 
 
 
87
Number of unmarried men age 15 and over for every 100 unmarried women in the United States. 13.
 
 
 
25 percent
of U.S. women 15 and older have never been married. 14.
 
 
 
31 percent
of U.S. men 15 and older have never been married. 15.
 
 
 
About 4
out of every 10 U.S. black men and black women had never been married in 2000. That is the highest proportion for any racial category. 16.
 
 
 
42 percent
of U.S. black men are married. 17.
 
 
 
31 percent
of U.S. Black women are married. That 10 percent difference between the marriage rates of black men and women is the largest difference between any of the U.S. ethnic or racial groups. Possible explanations for this are black males' higher mortality rate and their higher rate of intermarriage with other race or origin groups. 18.
 
 
 
60.2 percent
of Asians in the U.S. are married, higher than the national rate of 54.4 percent. 19.
 
 
 
51.3 percent
of Hispanics in the U.S. who are married, slightly less than the national rate. 20.
 
 
 
51 percent
Pacific Islanders in the U.S. are married. 21.
 
 
 
In 1948, Parents' Magazine reported that “The first fact is that the rate of marriage in this country has been higher than in virtually any other in the world. In 1947 there were 14 marriages for every 1000 population in the United States. The nearest to this record were New Zealand and Czechoslovakia, each of which had a marriage rate of almost 11 per 1000 population. Last year at least 2,000,000 couples in this country were married. In 1946, an all-time peak of 2,-250,000 marriages took place – 60 percent more than in prewar 1939.” 22
 
 
 

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S.
How Many Get Married? What's the Probability of Getting Married?

 
 
 

What's the Probability of Getting Married?

 
These are estimates for the probability of men and women getting married, on a general basis. For information relating to the likelihood of unmarried cohabiting partners getting married, see our memo on Unmarried Partners.
 
 
 
"Nearly everyone marries."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau. 23.
 
 
 
Over 65 percent
of the U.S. men age 40 in 2006 had already been married by the time they were 30. 24.
 
 
 
About 90 percent
of the U.S. men age 40 in 2006 are projected to have been married some point in their lifetimes. 25.
 
 
 
Over 71 percent
of the U.S. women age 40 in 2006 were married by the time they were 30. 26.
 
 
 
Almost 92 percent
of the U.S. women age 40 in 2006 are projected to have been married some point in their lifetimes. 27
 
 
 
Over 95 percent
of men and women age 60 in 1996 were projected to marry at some point in their lives. 28.
 
 
 
However, American blacks "are increasingly less likely to ever marry. . . . Among the most recent cohort, women born in the 1950s, these estimates suggest that 91 percent of whites, but only 75 percent of the blacks, will ever marry. Another recent study estimates that only 70 percent of black women will every marry.” 29.
 
 
 
72 percent
of Australian men will marry in their lifetimes, down from 79 percent 12 years ago. 30.
 
 
 
77 percent
of Australian women will marry in their lifetimes, down from 86 percent 12 years ago. 31.
 
 
 

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S.
How Many Get Married? What's the Probability of Getting Married?
REMARRIAGES (U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL)

 
 
 

MARRIAGES INTERNATIONALLY

 
 
 
Less than three percent
of Jewish Israelis have never been married by the age of 50. 32.
 
 
 
About 75 percent
of Jewish Israelis remain married for their entire lives. 33.
 
 
 
In Australia, there's been an eight percent decline in the number of people who are married in the past 20 years. Half of that is due to people living with each other, instead of getting married. But the other half just don't have partners at all. 34.
 
 
 
306,200
marriages in the U.K. in 2003. 35.
 
 
 
106,400
marriages in Australia, in 2003 – "an increase of 960 when compared with 2002, and continuing the increase in the number of marriages since the low of 103,130 in 2001." 36.
 
 
 
"Virtually all couples are married in the southern European member nations but marriage is less likely in many others." 37.
 
 
 
91 percent
of ever-married women in reproductive ages are currently married in Kuwait. 38.
 
 
 
Three percent
of households in Ireland contain unmarried, cohabiting couples. 39.
 
 
 

MARRIAGES IN THE U.S.
How Many Get Married? What's the Probability of Getting Married?
MARRIAGES INTERNATIONALLY

 
 
 

REMARRIAGES (U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL)

 
 
 
 
About seven to eight percent
of all U.S. current marriages are a second marriage for one of the spouses. 40.
 
 
 
3.6 percent
of all U.S. current marriages are third or subsequent marriage. 41.
 
 
 
About eight to ten percent
of U.S. brides and grooms married in 2001 had been married before. 42.
 
 
 
21.1 percent
of U.S. brides and 20.5 percent of grooms married in 1949 had been previously married. 43.
 
 
 
75 percent
of U.S. women form a new union – either cohabitation or a remarriage – after breaking up a union. 44.
 
 
 
80 percent
of U.S. men form a new union – either cohabitation or a remarriage – after breaking up a union. 45.
 
 
 
In 34 percent
of Australian marriages in 2000, at least one of the spouses had been married previously. 46.
 
 
 
58.2 percent
of Australian divorced men will remarry. 47.
 
 
 
48.7 percent
of Australian divorced women will remarry. 48.
 
 
 
19 percent
of those Year 2000 marriages in England and Wales were remarriages – for both parties. 49.
 
 
 
One-fifth
of all marriages in the U.K. – 109,090 – in 2003 were remarriages for one or both parties. 50.
 
 
 
13 percent
of Israeli marriages in 1999 were a remarriage for at least one – a divorced – spouses – an increase from eight percent in the 1970s. 51.
 
 
 
"Not very common"
remarriage, in Kuwait. Which means that the number of divorced and widowed women is therefore increasing. 52.
 
____________________________________________________
 
1. Over the age of 15 years old. As of 2000. Rose M. Kreider, Marital Status: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-30. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003). Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
2. ________, "Marriage and Divorce," National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. Accessed at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/marriage.htm on 8/26/2005. See also, Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 12. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
3. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 12. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
4. Tom W. Smith, "The Emerging 21st Century American Family," National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago (October 2001). A 1999 edition of the report is archived at: http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/online/emerge.pdf
5. ________, "Facts for Features: Valentine's Day," U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 10, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/003950.html
6. ________, "Facts for Features: Valentine's Day," U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 10, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/003950.html
7. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
8. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
9. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
10. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
11. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
12. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
13. ________, "Facts for Features: Unmarried and Single Americans Week," Special Edition Press Release, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (September 20, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/005384.html
14. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 6. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
15. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 6. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
16. Rose M. Kreider, Marital Status: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-30. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 4 (citation omitted). Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
17. As of 2000. Jesse D. McKinnon and Claudette E. Bennett, We the People: Blacks in the United States, U.S. Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-25. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (August 2005), p. 5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/censr-25.pdf See also Rose M. Kreider, Marital Status: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-30. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 4. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
18. As of 2000. Jesse D. McKinnon and Claudette E. Bennett, We the People: Blacks in the United States, U.S. Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-25. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (August 2005), p. 5. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/censr-25.pdf See also Rose M. Kreider, Marital Status: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-30. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 4. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
19. Terrance J. Reeves and Claudette E. Bennett, We the People: Asians in the United States, Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-17. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2004), p. 7 (citation omitted). Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-17.pdf See also Rose M. Kreider, Marital Status: 2000, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR-30. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2003), p. 4 (citation omitted). Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-30.pdf
20. Roberto R. Ramirez, We the People: Hispanics in the United States, Census 2000 Special Reports, CENSR-18. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (2004), p. 6. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-18.pdf
21. Philip M. Harris and Nicholas A. Jones, "We the People: Pacific Islanders in the United States," Census 2000 Special Report, CENSR-26. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (August 2005), p. 7. Archived at: http://www.census.gov./prod/2005pubs/censr-26.pdf
22. Louis I. Dublin, “Look at the Bright Side of Marriage: Some Facts and Figures Concerning American Family Life,” Parents' Magazine, Vol. 23, pp. 11, 68-70 (December 1948), p. 22.
23. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (February 2002), pp. 1, 16. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
24. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 2002). p. 16. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
25. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 2002). p. 16. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
26. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 2002). pp. 16-17. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
27. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 2002). p. 16. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
28. Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 1996, Current Population Reports, P70-80. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC (February 2002). p. 16. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p70-80.pdf
29. Andrew J. Cherlin, Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage, Revised and Enlarged Ed., Harvard University Press, USA (1992), pp. 94-94 (citations omitted). Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/067455082X/ref=sib_rdr_dp/104-0887680-4192712?%5Fencoding=UTF8&no=283155&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER&st=books
30. According to 1997-1999 trends. David De Vaus, "Australian Families," Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost (eds). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 67-98 (2005), p. 79. Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761927638/qid=1123855404/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0887680-4192712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
31. According to 1997-1999 trends. According to 1997-1999 trends. David De Vaus, "Australian Families," Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost (eds). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 67-98 (2005), p. 79. Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761927638/qid=1123855404/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0887680-4192712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
32. Ruth Katz and Yoav Lavee, "Families in Israel," Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost (eds). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 486-506 (2005), p. 489 (citation omitted). Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761927638/qid=1123855404/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0887680-4192712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
33. Ruth Katz and Yoav Lavee, "Families in Israel," Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost (eds). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 486-506 (2005), p. 487. Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761927638/qid=1123855404/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0887680-4192712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
34. David De Vaus, "Australian Families," Handbook of World Families, Bert N. Adams and Jan Trost (eds). Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 67-98 (2005), p. 70 (citation omitted). Available through: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761927638/qid=1123855404/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/104-0887680-4192712?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
35. ________, "Society: Divorces," National Statistics Online, National Statistics, United Kingdom (August 31, 2004). Accessed at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget_print.asp?ID=170 on August 26, 2005.
36. ________, "3306.0.55.001 Marriages, Australia," Australian Bureau of Statistics (March 18, 2005). Accessed at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/5087e58f30c6bb25ca2568b60010b303/9025e35e5d062131ca256f6300711118!OpenDocument on August 13, 2005.
37. ________, "Fewer Marriages, More Divorces," The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth, and Family Policies at Columbia University, New York, NY (January 2004). Archived at: http://www.childpolicyintl.org/contexttabledemography/table216.pdf
38. Nasra M. Shah, "Women's Socioeconomic Characteristics and Marital Patterns in a Rapidly Developing Muslim Society, Kuwait," Journal of Comparative Family Studies (March 22, 2004). Archived at: http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?docid=1G1:115499525
39. As of 1996. Gabriel Kiely, The Situation of Families in Ireland, 1996-2001, European Observatory on Family Matters (2001), p. 1. Archived at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/eoss/downloads/gm_01_ireland_kiely_en.pdf
40. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 12. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
41. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 12. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
42. As of 2001. Rose M. Kreider, Number, Timing, and Duration of Marriages and Divorces: 2001, Current Population Reports, P70-97. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC. (2005), p. 12. Archived at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p70-97.pdf
43. Samuel H. Preston and John McDonald, "The Incidence of Divorce Within Cohorts of American Marriages Contracted Since the Civil War," Demography, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1-25 (February 1979), p. 5. Archived at: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0070-3370%28197902%2916%3A1%3C1%3ATIODWC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T