Couples tying the knot continued to fall in 2025 – Stats NZ

The number of couples tying the knot continued to fall in 2025, according to the latest figures by Stats NZ.

The numbers, released today, revealed there were 17,481 marriages and civil unions celebrated by couples living in Aotearoa in 2025 – 3% lower than in 2024, when there were 18,033 marriages and civil unions.

Stats NZ's population estimates, projections, and coverage spokesperson Rebekah Hennessey said the figures continued the general downward trend seen in marriage numbers.

"The marriage rate peaked in 1971 and has generally been falling since," Hennessey said.

In 2025, there were 7.6 marriages per 1000 people eligible to marry – around half of the rate in 2000 (15.5 per 1000), and around one-sixth of the peak rate of 45.5 per 1000 in 1971.

While fewer Kiwi couples were walking down the aisle in 2025, more overseas couples were saying 'I do' in New Zealand – more than half of them from across the Tasman.

There were 2565 couples living overseas who came to New Zealand to marry in 2025, up from 2418 couples the year before. The 2025 figure was similar to 2023, when 2523 couples living overseas came to New Zealand to marry.

Of the couples who came to New Zealand to marry, 55% lived in Australia. A further 9% lived in the United States, 9% in the United Kingdom, and 7% in China and Hong Kong.

"Nearly two in five couples who came to New Zealand to marry in 2025 had at least one person in the couple born in New Zealand," Hennessey said.

There were 7887 couples who were granted a divorce in 2025, up 5% from 7497 in 2024.

Stats NZ said the number of divorces was still generally decreasing over the longer term. In 2000, there were 9699 divorces granted. In 1982, the number of divorces peaked at 12,396 following a law change allowing for the dissolution of marriage on the grounds of irreconcilable differences.

There were 7.9 divorces per 1000 marriages or civil unions in 2025. This divorce rate was up slightly from 7.5 divorces per 1000 marriages in 2024, but lower than in the past. In 2000, the divorce rate was 12.2 divorces per 1000 marriages, and it peaked in 1982 at 17.1 divorces.

Hennessey said while the divorce rate was higher than the marriage rate for the first time, it was "important to remember that these measures are not directly comparable as they are calculated using completely different base populations".

"The marriage rate is calculated using the number of unmarried people eligible to marry as the base. The divorce rate is calculated using the number of existing marriages and civil unions."

The latest data showed that around 5% of marriages or civil unions ended in divorce within five years of marriage, around 15% within 10 years, and just over one-third ended in divorce within 25 years of marriage.

"Conversely, around 60% of couples remain married for the rest of their lives," Hennessey said.