Average duration of a marriage in Bulgaria is just less than 16 years – statistics institute
In Bulgaria, the average duration of a marriage before a divorce in 2018 was 15.9 years, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on April 12 in its annual report on the country’s demographics.
There were 28 961 juridical marriages registered in 2018, a total of 368 more than the previous year.
Nearly three quarters (21 463) of the total number of marriages were among the urban population.
The mean age at first marriage in 2018 is 31.7 years for males and 28.7 for females.
Compared to the previous year, the mean age at first marriage has increased by 0.3 years for both males and females.
Of the marriages in 2018, 87 per cent were the first time for the bride and 86.2 per cent the first time for the groom, the statistics institute said.
The marriage rate was highest in the districts of Dobrich and Razgrad and lowest in the districts of Pernik and Lovech.
There were 10 596 divorces in Bulgaria in 2018, a total of 185 more than in 2017. More than 80 per cent of divorces were among city dwellers.
The NSI said that the highest stated reason for the divorces was “mutual agreement” (65.9 per cent), followed by “incompatibility of temperament” (26 per cent) and “virtual parting” (6.6 per cent).
Of those who divorced in Bulgaria in 2018, it was not the first time for 9.4 per cent of women and 11 per cent of the men, the NSI said.
(Photo: Kai Kuusik Greenbaum)