The number of weddings in the Czech Republic continues to fall, with 2024 recording the second-lowest number of marriages since 2013.
According to preliminary data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), 44,486 couples tied the knot last year—only about 1,000 more than in 2013. However, one notable trend has been an increase in marriages between Czech citizens and foreigners, which reached a record 15% of all weddings last year. Despite the declining number of weddings, the divorce rate has also dropped, staying at approximately 40% for the past four years.
Historically, the largest number of marriages in the Czech Republic occurred in 1920, with 135,714 unions. Statisticians emphasize that, aside from the social and emotional benefits, marriage also provides a “protective” function against premature death. Married individuals have a lower mortality rate than divorced or widowed individuals.
“However, it also plays a role that people with more serious health burdens often do not marry, which confirms that the mortality rate among unmarried people is currently 1.8 times higher than among married individuals (several years after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided),” the statisticians concluded.
In the last 11 years, the number of newlyweds in the Czech Republic has fluctuated. After a low point in 2013, the marriage rate grew for five consecutive years, then alternated between increases and decreases. The peak of this period occurred in 2019, when 54,900 couples were married.
Three-quarters of marriages in the Czech Republic are first-time marriages for both partners, with grooms averaging 32-33 years old and brides 30-31 years old over the past decade. Around a quarter of marriages involve remarried individuals, with those who have been divorced typically more inclined to marry again, though this tendency decreases as time since the divorce increases.
The number of annulled marriages last year stood at 20,800, a decrease from 26,764 a decade earlier. The average duration between marriage and divorce is 13.5 years. Recent trends show that divorces are most common among men and women aged 45-49, those born during the 1970s demographic wave. Interestingly, younger individuals under 25 experience the highest divorce rates. As age increases, the divorce rate tends to decrease for both men and women.
