Marriage in the Benelux - Statistics & Facts
Marriage to many people is one of the greatest displays of love and affection, but marriage rates in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg have significantly decreased in the past decades, possibly as a consequence of cultural shifts. Recent data indicate that each of the Benelux countries have a marriage rate of less than four marriages per 1,000 population.
There were only 56,419 marriages recorded in the Netherlands in 2021, which was the lowest since the year 1950 bar only 2020, when there were 50,233 marriages. This is partly explained by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its restrictions imposed on society, but is nonetheless part of a general decline. Belgium, too, experienced a lower number of marriages in 2020, amounting to 32,779 marriages, significantly lower than the 44,270 recorded in 2019. There were a total of 1,945 marriages in Luxembourg, which in contrast to the other Benelux countries, has remained stable in the past years , fluctuating between 1,600 and 2,500 marriages since 2008.
In Belgium, the number of same-sex marriages amounted to almost 1,100, in addition to over 1,400 same-sex cohabitations, which is the state of a couple living together in a relationship without being married. In Luxembourg, there were 36 same-sex marriages in 2022, of which 23 were between women and 12 were between men.
In the Netherlands, a majority of marriage dissolutions do not come from divorce but due to the death of a partner, with 20.3 out of 1,000 marriages in 2021, compared to 7.8 due to divorce. In Belgium, 22,200 divorces were recorded in 2021, in contrast to around 35,400 in 2008. Luxembourg is different to Belgium and the Netherlands, in that there is no clear sign of a decline of divorces. It remained quite stable, with only minor fluctuations, totaling to 1,200 divorces in 2022.
There were only 56,419 marriages recorded in the Netherlands in 2021, which was the lowest since the year 1950 bar only 2020, when there were 50,233 marriages. This is partly explained by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its restrictions imposed on society, but is nonetheless part of a general decline. Belgium, too, experienced a lower number of marriages in 2020, amounting to 32,779 marriages, significantly lower than the 44,270 recorded in 2019. There were a total of 1,945 marriages in Luxembourg, which in contrast to the other Benelux countries, has remained stable in the past years , fluctuating between 1,600 and 2,500 marriages since 2008.
Same-sex marriages
The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, which has since been legalized in all three Benelux countries: in the Netherlands since 2001, in Belgium since 2003, and in Luxembourg since 2015. The number of same-sex marriages in the Netherlands has been relatively stable in the past few years, amounting to almost 1,200 in 2021, after an initial spike in the first year where same-sex marriages were legalized, amounting to over 2,400 marriages in 2001. Apart from in 2001 and 2002, there have been more same-sex marriages between women than between men.In Belgium, the number of same-sex marriages amounted to almost 1,100, in addition to over 1,400 same-sex cohabitations, which is the state of a couple living together in a relationship without being married. In Luxembourg, there were 36 same-sex marriages in 2022, of which 23 were between women and 12 were between men.
Divorce
Divorce rates in the Benelux have fluctuated significantly since the 1970s. From 1970 to the mid-1990s, divorce rates increased for all three Benelux countries, from around 0.6 to 0.8 divorces per 1,000 population in 1970, to 1.7 to 2.35 in 1994. This can partly be explained by cultural shifts, as divorce has become more normalized in these countries' societies. Following this, divorce rates stabilized and then started to decrease around the mid 2000s, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium.In the Netherlands, a majority of marriage dissolutions do not come from divorce but due to the death of a partner, with 20.3 out of 1,000 marriages in 2021, compared to 7.8 due to divorce. In Belgium, 22,200 divorces were recorded in 2021, in contrast to around 35,400 in 2008. Luxembourg is different to Belgium and the Netherlands, in that there is no clear sign of a decline of divorces. It remained quite stable, with only minor fluctuations, totaling to 1,200 divorces in 2022.
