Filipino couples tying the knot fall to a 3-year low in 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino couples who got married fell to a three-year low in 2019, a drop that would have likely persisted last year when lockdowns prompted partners to delay marriages.

There were 431,972 registered marriages in 2019, down 3.8% year-on-year, state statisticians reported on Monday. The number was the lowest since 2016 when there was 419,600 weddings held.

The data reflected marriage certificates registered with local governments nationwide and were forwarded to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Marriages of Filipinos abroad are not included in the report.

Of the total figure, 96.4% were marriage between Filipino men and women while the balance of 3.5% accounted for Filipino nationals who married foreigners. By location, 15 of 17 regions recorded lower number of marriages in 2019. 

Of those regions, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which had been expanded to a new Bangsamoro autonomous region in 2018, posted the steepest decline of -17% followed by SOCCSKSARGEN at -13.7% and Metro Manila at -7.6%. 

The remaining two regions that bucked the downtrend were Cagayan Valley (1.3%) and Ilocos (1.0%), data showed. In terms of share, the highest number of registered marriages was seen in CALABARZON, which cornered 13% of the total. This was followed by NCR (12.4%) and Central Luzon (11.8%).

For the past decade, the number of marriages had been fluctuating with year-on-year drops in 2011 (-1.3%) and during election years of 2013 (-8.2%), 2016 (-4.5%) and 2019 (-3.8%). PSA data showed that after December, couples typically select February and May as their wedding dates.

Meanwhile, government statisticians reported that the average age of women who got married in 2019 was 27-years-old, younger than 29-years-old median age of married men. Overall, most men and women in the Philippines exchange “I dos” between ages 25-29 years old.

A total of 38.6% of marriages in 2019 were contracted through civil ceremonies. Followed by 36.2% for Roman Catholic weddings. The rest were performed in other religious rites (22.9%), Muslim tradition (1.4%) or through tribal ceremony (0.9%).  — Ian Nicolas Cigaral