http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_391538.html
More saying 'I do'
By Diana Othman
The report also showed that more men who are university graduates wed women grads as well. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
MORE people are getting married every year with the number of nuptials peaking last year.
According to the latest statistics on marriages and divorces in Singapore released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Wednesday, 24,596 marriages were registered last year, up from 23,966 in 2007, making this the fifth consecutive year of rising marriages in Singapore.
Seventy-five per cent of these nuptials were first marriages for both partners, while 17 per cent were remarriages for one partner and eight per cent remarriages for both.
The report also revealed that Singapore men are marrying later - at between 30 to 34 years old, compared to 25 to 29 years in 1990 and 2000.
Women tended to get married between 25 and 29 years.
There were also more inter-ethnic group marriages than before, especially among Muslims.
Such marriages went up 14 per cent last year from 8.7 per cent in 1998.
For Muslim marriages, this rose to 31 per cent from 20 per cent during the same period.
The report also showed that more men who are university graduates wed women grads as well. The proportion of such grooms increased to 76 per cent last year from 65 per cent in 1998 for non-Muslim unions and from 30 per cent to 56 per cent for Muslim grooms.
This is a different trend among non-Muslim graduate brides as the proportion of marrying graduate grooms fell slightly to 74 per cent. But the proportion of Muslim graduate brides marrying graduate grooms increased slightly to 45 per cent from 42 per cent in 1998.
Fewer women are getting married in their teens - between 17 and 20 years old - in the last few years.
Last year, there were 568 non-Muslim marriages with a teenage bride, down 236 from 804 in 1998.
There were 340 Muslim marriages involving teenage brides- this is also down 249 from 589 in 1998.
Marriages taking off due to more conducive environment
More marriages are taking off due to greater and more concerted effort from the community to raise awareness and provide easier access to resources to encourage couples to consider marriage, chairperson of Marriage Central advisory board Anita Fam told straitstimes.com on Wednesday.
'From activities such as events and workshops for couples to better understand each other, to one-stop online resource centres such as Marriage Central, couples certainly have a better environment now to understand more about marriage, and how they can work on strengthening them,' added Ms Fam.
Ms Fam was cheered by the latest figures on marriages released by the Singapore Department of Statistics which showed that Singaporean couples are still choosing to settle down despite the dismal economic climate.
Marriage Council is an organisation started by the National Family Council last year and is supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. It partners with voluntary welfare organisations that offer pre-marital and marital counselling.
More saying 'I do'
By Diana Othman
The report also showed that more men who are university graduates wed women grads as well. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
MORE people are getting married every year with the number of nuptials peaking last year.
According to the latest statistics on marriages and divorces in Singapore released by the Singapore Department of Statistics on Wednesday, 24,596 marriages were registered last year, up from 23,966 in 2007, making this the fifth consecutive year of rising marriages in Singapore.
Seventy-five per cent of these nuptials were first marriages for both partners, while 17 per cent were remarriages for one partner and eight per cent remarriages for both.
The report also revealed that Singapore men are marrying later - at between 30 to 34 years old, compared to 25 to 29 years in 1990 and 2000.
Women tended to get married between 25 and 29 years.
There were also more inter-ethnic group marriages than before, especially among Muslims.
Such marriages went up 14 per cent last year from 8.7 per cent in 1998.
For Muslim marriages, this rose to 31 per cent from 20 per cent during the same period.
The report also showed that more men who are university graduates wed women grads as well. The proportion of such grooms increased to 76 per cent last year from 65 per cent in 1998 for non-Muslim unions and from 30 per cent to 56 per cent for Muslim grooms.
This is a different trend among non-Muslim graduate brides as the proportion of marrying graduate grooms fell slightly to 74 per cent. But the proportion of Muslim graduate brides marrying graduate grooms increased slightly to 45 per cent from 42 per cent in 1998.
Fewer women are getting married in their teens - between 17 and 20 years old - in the last few years.
Last year, there were 568 non-Muslim marriages with a teenage bride, down 236 from 804 in 1998.
There were 340 Muslim marriages involving teenage brides- this is also down 249 from 589 in 1998.
Marriages taking off due to more conducive environment
More marriages are taking off due to greater and more concerted effort from the community to raise awareness and provide easier access to resources to encourage couples to consider marriage, chairperson of Marriage Central advisory board Anita Fam told straitstimes.com on Wednesday.
'From activities such as events and workshops for couples to better understand each other, to one-stop online resource centres such as Marriage Central, couples certainly have a better environment now to understand more about marriage, and how they can work on strengthening them,' added Ms Fam.
Ms Fam was cheered by the latest figures on marriages released by the Singapore Department of Statistics which showed that Singaporean couples are still choosing to settle down despite the dismal economic climate.
Marriage Council is an organisation started by the National Family Council last year and is supported by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports. It partners with voluntary welfare organisations that offer pre-marital and marital counselling.
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