In 2021, 40,836 marriages were performed in Belgium, a notable increase of 25% compared to 2020. That year, only 32,779 couples got married as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. However, there were still 3,434 fewer marriages in 2021 than in 2019, while the number of marriages has been stable around 45,000 every year since 2014.
The increase was greatest in the Walloon Region (+41%). In Wallonia, the fall in the number of marriages was most pronounced in 2020.
Logically, the following year saw the biggest catch-up. In the Flemish Region, the number of marriages increased by 13%, in the Brussels-Capital Region by 22%, to pre-Covid levels.
Top 3 municipalities that performed the most marriages by region | 2020 | 2021 | 2021/2020 |
---|---|---|---|
Brussels-Capital Region | 3,325 | 4,059 | +22% |
1. Brussels | 531 | 722 | +36% |
2. Schaarbeek | 456 | 495 | +9% |
3. Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | 334 | 410 | +23% |
Flemish Region | 19,145 | 21,579 | +13% |
1. Antwerp | 1,808 | 2,026 | +12% |
2. Ghent | 927 | 1,046 | +13% |
3. Mechelen | 320 | 376 | +18% |
Walloon Region | 7,620 | 10,728 | +41% |
1. Charleroi | 423 | 546 | +29% |
2. Liège | 367 | 508 | +38% |
3. Namur | 245 | 335 | +37% |
Age of first marriage continues to rise
In 2021, the age at which unmarried partners enter marriage for the first time continued to rise to an average of 33.6 years for the first spouse and 31.3 years for the second. The age difference in the couple remains stable: 2.3 years for spouses.
We can also look at the extremes of the age categories: in 2021, 93 young people aged 18 and under got married, as well as 661 people over the age of 60.
In 2021, 1087 marriages were performed between same-sex partners. Most of these marriages were performed in Flanders: 355 marriages between two women and 289 between two men. Wallonia and Brussels follow at a distance.
Marriage between two women | Marriage between two men | |
---|---|---|
Belgium (total) | 575 | 512 |
Brussels-Capital Region | 40 | 78 |
Flemish Region | 355 | 289 |
Walloon Region | 166 | 123 |