What’s the Median Age To Get Married in Singapore?

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23 Nov 2021

It’s official.

I’m finally at the age where conversations with friends are naturally steering towards the topics of weddings, BTOs and babies.

I can safely say that being in my 20s is probably the most exciting AND terrifying period of my life.

Exciting because it feels like I could be doing anything in this world.

Terrifying because life has officially become a rat race, guided by the stereotypical markers of success.

To make it a little more terrifying, I chanced upon some key statistics on marriages in Singapore by the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Interested to find out the marriage trends in Singapore?

Here are some key results that were published in 2020.

Key Statistics of Marriages in Singapore

The median age at first marriage is 30.4 years old for males, and 28.8 years old for females.
The median age of grooms and brides varies across different ethnic groups.
The age difference is between couples is getting smaller, with 42.1% of couples being either of the same age or aged one year apart in 2020, an increase from 35.4% in 2010.
The median age (at first marriage) is also different for different educational qualifications.
The median age at divorce is 43.2 for males and 39.5 for females.
The median duration of marriage for divorces is 10.4 years in 2020.

What’s the Median Age To Get Married in Singapore?

There has been an increase in median age at first marriage for grooms and brides since 2010.

The median age for males rose from 30 years old to 30.4 years old from 2010 to 2020.

The median age for females rose from 27.7 years old to 28.8 years old from 2010 to 2020.

	Median Age At Marriage
	1990	2000	2010	2020
Grooms, First Marriage	28.0	28.7	30.0	30.4
Brides, First Marriage	25.3	26.2	27.7	28.8
Grooms, Remarriage	38.0	40.2	41.8	43.3
Brides, Remarriage	32.6	34.5	36.3	38.0

Median Age to Get Married According to Ethnic Group

It’s interesting to note that the median age to get married varies across different ethnic groups.

Over the past 30 years, the median ages of grooms and brides have generally risen across the years.

Here’s how it’s broken down:

Grooms (Age)
	1990	2000	2010	2020
Chinese	28.6	29.3	31.5	31.4
Malays	27	28.6	29.2	29.2
Indians	28.5	29.6	30	30.9
Eurasians	30.1	34.5	31.7	32.7
Caucasians	34.2	34.9	37.3	36.7
Others	31.2	31	30.2	31.8

Brides (Age)
	1990	2000	2010	2020
Chinese	25.9	26.7	28.7	29.7
Malays	24.4	25.6	27.1	27.6
Indians	25	26.6	27.7	28.9
Eurasians	26.5	28	28.9	30.4
Caucasians	28.2	30.1	32.5	32.6
Others	26.3	28.2	27.9	30.2

Age Difference Between Married Couples

It’s interesting to note that the age difference between married couples is getting smaller over the years.

In 2020, 42.1% of married couples were either of the same age or aged 1 year apart, an increase from 35.4% in 2010.

Age Difference Between Couples Married in 2020	2010	2020
Same age	14.4%	18.0%
One year apart	21.1%	24.1%
Two years apart	15.5%	18.1%
Five years and above	68.9%	64.1%

Median Age at First Marriage by Educational Qualification

	Secondary & Below		Post Secondary		University
	2010	2020	2010	2020	2010	2020
Grooms	31.3	30.2	29.0	29.2	30.4	31.0
Brides	26.6	26.7	26.7	27.4	28.5	29.4

Since 2010, the median age at first marriage has risen across all education groups, with the exception of grooms with secondary and below qualifications.

The youngest groups in 2020 were:

Grooms: Post-Secondary, 29.2 years old

Brides: Secondary & Below: 26.7 years old

Education Differential at Marriage

Do our educational backgrounds determine the person we marry?

The Singapore Department of Statistics has collated data on the educational profile of newlyweds as well.

It was found that the proportion of marriages with both brides and grooms being university graduates rose from 31.3% in 2010 to 41.9% in 2020.

And the proportion of both having secondary and below qualification dropped from 18.1% in 2010 to 8.2% in 2020.

Here are some key statistics:

	2010	2020
Bride with Higher Qualification than Groom	17.2%	18.6%
Groom with Higher Qualification than Bride	17.1%	12.6%
Both Secondary & Below	18.1%	8.2%
Both Post-Secondary	16.2%	18.6%
Both University	31.3%	41.9%

Top Reasons for Divorces in Singapore

Nobody enters a marriage expecting it to end up as a divorce.

But sometimes, things might not work out due to various different reasons.

In Singapore, the median age at divorce rose in the last decade, from 37.4 years old in 2010 to 39.5 years old in 2020 for females, and 41.0 years old in 2010 to 43.2 years old in 2020 for males.

According to divorces under the Woman’s Charter, the main reasons for divorce in 2020 is:

Unreasonable Behaviour (52.7%)
Live Apart/ Separated for Three Years or More (44.3%)

According to divorces under the Administration of Muslim Law Act, these are the top reasons for Muslim divorces in 2020:

Infidelity/ Extra-Marital Affair (23.4%)
Financial Problems (11.6%)
Domestic Violence and Abuses (9.4%)
Desertion (9.1%)

Beyond the heartbreak, divorces can come with a huge price tag as well.

For instance, we’ve seen how much we could lose if we give up our BTO flat…

Are We Financially Ready for Marriage?

It’s a dream for most to marry our other half.

While marriage doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive, some of the biggest financial milestones do come after marriage.

This includes getting the first BTO flat, holding a wedding or having the first child.

Given that financial conflicts are one of the most common problems in marriages, it is important to talk about money with our partner before marriage and set financial goals together.

Understanding how your future spouse deals with his or her finances can also help eliminate potential future disagreements as well.

Beyond these financial milestones, the choice of your partner has always been cited as the most financial decision in your life.

So make sure you’ve made the right choice too!