Taiwanese are marrying less frequently and later in life, Ministry of the Interior statistics showed.
An estimated 4.4 million people between 20 and 40 years of age are single, as are 1.55 million aged 20 to 24, 1.3 million aged 25 to 29, and 1.54 million aged 30 to 40, the ministry’s Department of Household Registration said.
Last year, the average age of marriage was 34.4 for men and 31.5 for women, higher than the 32.6 for men and 29 for women from a decade ago, the department said.
The average age of first marriages last year was 32.4 for men and 30 for women, also higher than 10 years ago, it said.
Last year, 73,500 couples tied the knot, down from 82,500 in 2011, the department said, adding that the annual number of marriages has stagnated over the past decade.
From January to last month, 80,874 marriages were registered, down by 4,445, or 5.21 percent, from the same period last year, it said.
The department said the number of women from China or Southeast Asia who married Taiwanese has declined significantly, with Chinese brides falling from 13,641 10 years ago to 7,849 last year.
New Taipei City leads the six special municipalities in newlyweds last month with 3,050 couples marrying, followed by 2,312 in Taichung, 2,278 in Taipei, 2,008 in Taoyuan, 1,974 in Kaohsiung and 1,254 in Tainan, it said.
Taoyuan, at 5.45 percent, had the highest marriage rate in the nation, followed by 5.03 percent in Keelung and 4.99 percent in Taipei, the department said.
Chiayi City (4.99 percent), Kinmen County (3.06 percent) and Chiayi County (3.4 percent) have the lowest rates, it said.
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