The data show that the year-on-year increase in marriage stopped at less than 48,000 after the third quarter. By comparison, in 2011, there were 45,000 weddings. “Most of the ceremonies took place in June this year, specifically 10,600. This was the highest number of weddings in a single month in the last nine years,” said Michaela Němečková from the Department of Demographic Statistics in the Czech Statistical Office. Three quarters of the brides and grooms married for the first time. The average age of the grooms was 29, while the average age of brides was 27.
Some attribute the gradually increasing interest in marriage to the strong economy, linking it to wage growth. But that’s not the reason, says psychiatrist Kateřina Irmanová. “Another generation has grown to look at life differently than the generation of their parents. From the experience of their own families, young people often know what informal cohabitation means. They experienced the risks of easy commitments, but they also experienced failures and loss of security and property. This kind of coexistence is no longer right for them,” the psychologist said. The year also saw a decline in the number of divorces. The number decreased year-on-year by one thousand to 17,515.
The population of the Czech Republic increased by about 27,700 to 10,637,794 in the first nine months of this year. As the statisticians pointed out, more people were born in the third quarter than died. In total, 86,636 children were born this year by the end of September. During the year, 84,957 people died, 1,264 more year-on-year.
During the first three quarters of 2018, 43,059 migrants arrived, a year-on-year increase of more than 10,000. Immigration in the first nine months of the year included more than 26 thousand new inhabitants, mainly from the former Eastern Bloc.
