Marriage Trends In Singapore

by Chan Wai Yin and Alice Tan Kar Yoke

Population Planning Unit, Ministry of Health

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Introduction

Singapore's singlehood rate is rapidly rising and is one of the highest in the world. The increase in the celibacy rate is also associated with the general trend towards a delay in marriage. This paper provides a statistical overview of the singlehood trends and marriage timing in Singapore. It also presents some findings on marriage delay from the Survey on Courtship and Marriage.

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Singlehood Trends

The number of singles aged 25-39 years increased by 77 per cent between 1980 and 1993. Those in the age group of 35-39 showed the largest percentage increase: single males increased from 6,600 to 24,000 during this period while females increased from 5,300 to 19,300 (Table 1).

Table 1 Number of Singles and Singlehood Rates, 1980-1993

In 1993, about 18 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women were unmarried among those aged 35-39. The data suggest that about one-in-five of each male cohort and one- in-seven of each female cohort are likely to stay single in their lifetime. This celibacy rate for women is much higher than those of Hong Kong (10 per cent) and Japan (8 per cent), but the rate for men is about the same.

By Educational Qualification

Among the better educated, the singlehood rates were remarkably high. For female graduates, 25 per cent of those aged 35-39 were unmarried in 1993. For graduate men, the rate was lower at 13 per cent. For the lower educated, the trend was reversed : 21 per cent of men with below secondary education in the same age group remained single in 1993, compared to 9 per cent for women (Table 2).

Table 2 Singlehood Rates by Education, 1993 - Per Cent  

By Ethnic Group

Among the three major ethnic groups, the Chinese had the highest proportion of single males and females, followed by the Indians and Malays (Table 3). In 1993, 20 per cent of Chinese males aged 35-39 were single, compared to 14 per cent for Indians and 10 per cent for Malays. The ethnic disparities were less pronounced amongst the females. About 15 per cent of Chinese females in its age group were single, about 1 and 6 percentage points higher than their Indian and Malay counterparts. Although the singlehood rates of the Malays were relatively lower than other ethnic groups, they were considered high by international standard.

Table 3 Singlehood Rates by Ethnic Group, 1993 - Per Cent

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Marriage Timing

Age at first marriage had risen steadily over time, reflecting a continuing trend in delayed marriage. In 1993, the mean age at first marriage was 29.3 years for grooms and 26.3 years for brides (Figure 1). Ten years ago, the grooms and brides were about two years younger.

FIGURE 1
MEAN AGE AT FIRST MARRIAGE
1980 - 1993

By Educational Qualification

There was a clear tendency towards later marriages amongst grooms and brides with lower educational levels. Between 1984 and 1993, the mean age of grooms and brides with secondary or lower education increased by between 1.4 and 2.9 years (Table 4). For those with post-secondary and tertiary education, the increase in mean age was marginal, by 0.4 years or less.

Table 4 Mean Age at First Marriage of Grooms and Brides by Education 1984-1993 (Years)

By Ethnic Group

The Chinese exhibited the highest mean age at first marriage for both grooms and brides, followed by the Indians and Malays. All three major ethnic groups experienced a delay in marriage (Table 5). The Malays experienced the largest increase of 1.9 years in mean age of grooms between 1984 and 1993, while the Indians displayed the largest increase of 1.8 years in the mean age of brides. Among the Chinese, the mean age of grooms and brides increased by 1.5 and 1.3 years respectively.

Table 5 Mean Age At First Marriage of Grooms and Brides for Main Ethnic Groups 1984-1993 (Years)

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Duration of Courtship

The delay in marriage was also evident from data collected in the Survey on Courtship and Marriage. The mean duration of courtship had increased from 2.6 years in 1988 to 3.0 years in 1992 (Table 6). The increase was most significant among grooms-to-be who were university graduates - from 2.5 years to 3.2 years.

Table 6 Mean Duration of Courtship and Percent Who Courted for Four Years and More by Education of Grooms-To-Be

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Reasons for Marriage Delay

In 1992, the most important reason for the relatively long duration of courtship and the delay in marriage was the need to own a house or flat before marriage. The second major consideration in the marriage decision was having enough savings for wedding expenses, followed by the desire to know one's partner well. These priorities had changed since 1988, when couples were more concerned with knowing their partners well, while housing and financial considerations ranked second and third. The present trend reflects a change in the expectations and attitudes towards tying the nuptial knot.

There were some variations between younger and older grooms-to-be in their ranking of reasons for not marrying earlier. The ranking by grooms-to-be aged 25-34 mirrored the overall response pattern. For those in the older age group (35 years and over), the ranking was different; the desire to know one's partner better was the most important reason, followed by the need to own a house/flat first. It was significant that being too busy with their career was the third important reason for the older grooms-to-be.

Among grooms-to-be of different educational levels, those with secondary and lower education cited financial reasons as the cause for marriage delay, while housing was the prime consideration for those with post-secondary education. In contrast, graduates indicated that the delay in marriage was mainly due to the desire to know one's partner better.

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Conclusion

The number and proportion of singles has increased significantly over the last decade, especially for those in their thirties. About one-in-five of each male cohort in their late thirties and one-in-seven of each female cohort in the same age group are likely to remain single in their lifetime. Associated with this trend is the delay in marriage timing, with the age at first marriage rising to 29.3 years for grooms and 26.3 for brides.

The high celibacy rate and the delay in marriage timing is a cause for concern as they would tend to have significant demographic impact. High singlehood rates would have a direct dampening effect on overall fertility rates, while delayed marriage would shorten the child- bearing life-span of married women.

Source : Statistics Singapore Newsletter, Vol 17 No. 1 July 1994
Article obtained from Department of Statistics
Copyright © Singapore Department of Statistics. All rights reserved.

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