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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2021-017

Explanatory Note

Data on marriages presented here were obtained from the Certificates of Marriage (Municipal Form No. 97) that were registered at the Office of the City/Municipal Civil Registrars throughout the country and forwarded to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Information presented includes registered marriages which occurred from January to December 2019. Figures presented are not adjusted for under registration. Marriages of Filipinos abroad which were reported to the Philippine Foreign Service Posts are presented in a separate report.

Lower marriages registered in 2019 than the previous year

The number of registered marriages in 2019 reached 431,972, lower than the total registered marriages of 449,169 in 2018. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

 

Figure 1. Number and Percent Change of Registered Marriages, Philippines: 2010- 2019

Figure 1aFigure 1b

 

Top three regions with the highest number of recorded marriages: CALABARZON, NCR, and Central Luzon

In 2019, CALABARZON recorded the highest number of registered marriages which accounted for 13.9 percent of the total. It was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) (12.4%) and Central Luzon (11.8%). These regions were consistently held the same positions since 2016. (Figure 2 and Table 2)

Figure 2

Among all regions, only two (2) regions recorded an increase in registered marriages: Cagayan Valley (1.3%) and Ilocos Region (1.0%).

Meanwhile, declines in the registered marriages during the period were noted in 15 regions, wherein the highest decrease of -17.0 percent was observed in ARMM, followed by SOCCSKSARGEN (-13.7%), and NCR (-7.6%). (Table 2)

Most couples married in December

Almost half or 44.9 percent of the total number of marriages in 2019 occurred in December (12.0%), February (11.5%), May (11.1%), and April (10.3%). Meanwhile, other months contributed less than 10.0 percent each to the total registered marriages, with November having the least contribution of only 5.0 percent of the total. (Figure 3 and Table 3)

Figure 3

Women married younger than men

In 2019, the median age of marriage, or the age at which half of the population were younger/older upon marriage, was 27 years old for women and 29 years old for men. Moreover, median age of marriage for both sexes were the same since 2017. 

Most men and women in the Philippines married between ages 25-29 years old

In 2019, about one in every three married between ages 25-29 years old, in which men and women comprise of 36.5 percent and 36.2 percent, respectively, of the total number of recorded marriages. (Figure 4 and Table 4)

Figure 4

Filipino men and women marry other nationalities

There were 416,542 marriages (96.4%) between Filipino men and women. On the other hand, 15,047 marriages (3.5%) were Filipino nationals married to foreign nationals composed of 89.3 percent men and 10.7 percent foreign women. (Figure 5 and Table 5)

Figure 5

Among foreign nationals, the highest number of intermarriages that involved Filipino men were marriages with American women (16.6%), followed by Australian (14.0%), Canadian (12.3%), Chinese (7.2%) and Japanese(7.1%). (Figure 6 and Table 5)

Figure 6

On the other hand, the highest number of intermarriages with Filipino women were marriages with American men (26.8%), followed by Japanese (10.6%), British (6.6%), Korean (6.3%), and Canadian (5.7%) men. (Figure 7 and Table 5)

Figure 7

Four out of ten marriages contracted through civil ceremony

There were 1,183 marriages solemnized daily through different types of ceremony in 2019. Of the total marriages in 2019, 38.6 percent were contracted through civil ceremonies. Others were either officiated in Roman Catholic Church (36.2%), performed in other religious rites (22.9%), Muslim tradition (1.4%), or Tribal ceremony (0.9%). (Figure 8)

Figure 8

Moreover, more males and females aged 25-34 years old who got married were solemnized in the Roman Catholic Church compared to any other types of marriage ceremony. (Table 6)

 

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

Table 6

Attachment Size
PDF Special Release 311.09 KB
Excel spreadsheet Statistical Tables 445.06 KB

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