This emerges from the final data published by Statistics Austria on Tuesday. At the same time, a total of 14,510 marriages were legally divorced in 2021, 2.4 percent fewer than in the previous year (and 11.1 percent fewer than in 2019). In the same period, 1,401 registered partnerships were established, which is 145 or 11.5 percent more than in the previous year and 132 or 10.4 percent more than in 2019. 111 were dissolved, 2.8 percent more than in 2020, but by 8.3 percent less than in 2019.
The possibility of same-sex marriage, which has existed since January 1, 2019, was taken up by 368 female and 264 male married couples in 2021. 1,298 partners entered into a registered partnership of different sexes. In 2021, 29 same-sex female and six male couples were legally divorced. In addition, 23 different-gender registered partnerships were dissolved.
In eight federal states, more marriages were concluded in 2021 than in the previous year. The strongest increases were recorded in Vorarlberg (+8.1 percent), followed by Vienna (+6.4), Salzburg (+5.3), Lower Austria (+4.0) and Upper Austria (+3.5). Only in Styria (-0.3 percent) were there fewer marriages in 2021 than in 2020. Compared to 2019, the number of civil marriages in 2021 was lower in all federal states, most clearly in Vienna (-18.1 percent), followed by Burgenland (-12.0) and Styria (-11.4).
In 71.7 percent of marriages in 2021, it was the first marriage for both partners (2020: 70.0 percent). The highest proportion of mutual first-time marriages was recorded in Tyrol with 75.6 percent, the lowest in Carinthia (67.3 percent). The mean age at first marriage for men was 33.1 years in 2021, that for women 31.0 years (2020: men 33.3 years and women 31.0). The youngest at their first marriage were men at 32.5 years in Vienna and Vorarlberg and women at 30.7 years in Lower Austria, Vorarlberg, Upper Austria and Vienna. The oldest were newlyweds in Carinthia (men: 34.3 years and women: 32.2 years).
The subsequent marriage of their parents affected a total of 17,455 joint pre-marital children in 2021. This corresponded to an average of 1.47 children of all ages per marriage with children. The average number of children per marriage with children was highest at 1.53 in Carinthia, lowest at 1.38 in Vienna.
In all federal states, with the exception of Tyrol (+4.4 percent) and Vienna (+2.6 percent), fewer marriages were legally divorced in 2021 than in the previous year. The strongest decreases were recorded in Lower Austria (-7.8 percent), followed by Salzburg (-7.5), Burgenland (-6.1), Upper Austria (-3.3) and Carinthia (-2.9). Compared to 2019, significantly fewer marriages were divorced in all federal states than in 2021.
In 2021, 12,456 or 85.8 percent of all divorces were by mutual consent (§55a Marriage Act). In the total of 1,803 disputed marriages, the man was responsible in 46.0 percent of cases, the woman in 8.9 percent, both in 32.4 percent and neither of them in 12.8 percent of the cases. Of the 111 legal dissolutions of registered partnerships, 92.8 percent were amicable. More than half of the previous registered partners were female (60.2 percent).
Divorce rate highest in Vienna
In a comparison of the federal states, the overall divorce rate in 2021 was 40.1 percent in Vienna, followed by Vorarlberg (39.9 percent), Lower Austria (38.1 percent), Carinthia (37.5 percent) and Burgenland (37.2 percent). In Styria (35.2 percent), Salzburg and Upper Austria (33.7 percent each), the total divorce rate was below the Austrian average of 36.7 percent. In Tyrol, the overall divorce rate was the lowest at 33.6 percent, as it has been since 2017. In the two previous years, this rate was highest in Lower Austria (44.4 percent in 2019 and 40.8 percent in 2020).
The average length of marriage (median) of the divorced marriages in 2021 was 10.6 years at the level of the previous year. 1.2 percent of the divorces took place within the first year of marriage, another 4.0 percent during the second year of marriage. Overall, almost half of all divorces involved marriages of less than ten years (47.7 percent). About every seventh divorce (13.8 percent) took place after the silver wedding anniversary, including 31 couples who only divorced after the golden wedding anniversary.
The mean age for divorce (median) increased by 0.3 years for men to 45.8 years and for women to 42.5 years in 2021. A total of 17,111 children, including 11,834 minors (69.2 percent), were affected by their parents’ divorce. The ex-married couples thus had an average of 1.18 children (of all ages), more than half of them under the age of 14 (9,196 or 53.7 percent).
Source: Nachrichten
