In 2009, 1,480 couples got married in Iceland according to preliminary data. Furthermore, there were 20 registered partnerships, equally many male and female couples. The marriage rate was 4.6 per 1,000 population in 2009 compared with 5.1 in 2008.
Marriage rate in 2009 dropped considerably compared with previous years. A total of 1,704 couples were married in 2008 and 1,797 in the year 2007, which is the highest number of marriages registered in Iceland in a single year. Church weddings fell by 243 from 2008 to 2009 while the number of civil weddings was 352 in 2009 and has only once been higher.
Most married couples in Iceland marry after having lived together in a consensual union for a few years. Of those who married in 2009, 84% had lived together prior to marriage. In 2009, 1,717 couples reported consensual union at the National registry. According to Act No 65/2006, same sex couples can register consensual unions, which 18 couples did in 2009, 5 male and 13 female couples. The mean age of those entering a consensual union was 29.5 years for men and 27.3 years for women, which is considerably lower than the mean age at marriage. The mean age at first marriage was 34.5 years for men and 31.8 years for women.
In 2009, 550 couples divorced in Iceland according to preliminary data. The crude divorce rate was 1.7 per 1,000 population. Total divorce rate was 36% in 2009 compared with 38% in 2008. In 2009, there were 703 dissolutions of consensual unions. Furthermore, 12 same sex consensual unions were dissolved, 2 male and 10 female. Duration of consensual unions is shorter than of marriages. In 2009, 51.5% of consensual unions were dissolved within three years, while 12.9% of marriages ended in a divorce within three years. The mean duration of marriages in the year 2009 was 13.3 years.
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