The number of weddings in the Czech Republic in 2023 was the second lowest since the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918, according to preliminary data released by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).

Only 44,486 couples tied the knot in 2023, just under 1,000 more than the record low set in 2013.

The report, published in the April edition of Statistika & My, showed how marriage numbers have fluctuated over the past 11 years, peaking in 2019 when nearly 55,000 couples got married.

While the overall number of weddings has dipped, the ČSÚ highlighted a positive trend: The divorce rate has been falling steadily. For the past four years, it has remained below 40 percent, with 20,800 marriages ending in divorce last year, down from 26,764 in 2013.

“Divorced people most often remarry soon after divorce. Their willingness to marry again decreases as time after the divorce increases,” the ČSÚ stated.

Marriage appears to offer more than emotional and social benefits, with married couples reportedly having a lower mortality rate compared to their divorced or widowed counterparts.

“However, this is also influenced by the fact that individuals with serious health issues often do not marry in the first place,” the ČSÚ noted. Current data suggests that unmarried individuals have a 1.8 times higher mortality rate than married people.

The average age of both Czech men and women when they first get married has increased to 32.7 years and 30.6 years, respectively, as societal and economic factors mean Czechs are no longer in a hurry to move out, marry, and start a family. In 67 percent of married couples between 2019 and 2023, the groom was older than the bride.

On average, Czech couples now stay married for about 13.5 years before divorcing. While people aged 45 to 49 — born during the country’s 1970s population boom — are most frequently involved in divorce proceedings, those under 25 face the highest divorce rates relative to the number of people married in that age group. Divorce rates tend to decline with age for both genders.

International marriages have also been on the rise. A record 15 percent of weddings in 2023 were between a Czech citizen and a foreign national, reflecting the country’s increasing international mobility. The most common nationality of a foreign national was Slovak.