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The Higher Population Council announces results of a study on trends in nuptiality in Jordan 2010-2022.’
The Higher Population Council announces results of a study on trends in nuptiality in Jordan 2010-2022.’
Wednesday, 27 December 2023

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A recent study conducted by HPC showed there are no changes on the status of nuptiality in Jordan during the period 2010-2022.

One of the most important results of the study, ‘Nuptiality and Its Trends in Jordan for the Period 2010-2022,’ which the Higher Population Council launched in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund UNPF, today, Thursday, was that the rates of marriage amongst relatives currently declined to 28%, compared to 56% in 1990. The study also showed an increase of up to 60 % of those who have previously been married, according to the most recent household surveys and the Jordanian Civil Status Registry. In addition, the study showed that the percentage of currently married women has also increased to 56% among girls and women of childbearing age.

Widowhood:

Percentages of widows and divorces: the percentage of divorced individuals was low for all age groups for both sexes, amounting to a maximum of 6 % for some age groups for women and less than 4 % among all age groups for men.

As for widows, there seemed to be a large discrepancy between the percentages of widowhood among men and women, as the percentages of female widows reached 49% at the age of 60 and over, while it did not exceed the 7 % limit for males in 2022.

Polygamy

Prevalence of polygamy, meanwhile, seems to vary between governorates;  the percentage of currently married women aged (15-49) whose husbands have another wife has decreased to 7.3% indicating that either polygamy is not so common and popular now in Jordan, or that a man’s marriage to a second wife comes after his divorce from the first wife.

Annual Marriages:

The study showed that 15%-22% of the ‘nuptialities’ marriages recorded during the past years, 2015-2022, were for divorced women; the total percentage of divorced women who were remarried out of the total marriages during the past eight years amounted to 18.3%.

Groom marital status in 2022:

The study showed that most marriages in 2022 regarding the marital status of the groom were as follows:

  • 73%: groom was single, meaning he was marrying for the first time
  • 18%: groom was divorced
  • 2%: groom was a widower
  • 7%: groom had already been married (i.e., he had multiple wives)

 

Bridegroom marital status in 2022:

Most marriages according to the bride’s marital status in 2022 were as follows:

  • 77%: bride’s first time marriage
  • 22%: bride was divorced
  • 1%: bride was widowed

 

Average age at first marriage

Results showed that during the time the study was conducted, the following changes regarding the average age at first marriage were noted:

  • a slight increase from 26.9 years to approximately 27.3 years for males
  • a slight increase from 22.1 years to 22.7 years for females.

The same difference continued to exist between the ages of the bride and groom, with an average of five years difference. No evident decline in crude marriage rates during the time the study was conducted .

Marriage of girls under 18

Results of the study regarding marriage of girls under 18 showed the following:

  • a decline in the percentage from a maximum of 16.6 % in 2017 to about 11.9 % in 2022
  • Mafraq Governorate recorded the highest rate of early marriage in 2022, at 21 %
  • Though slightly decreased, marriage rate of girls under 18 years was still high among Syrian women at 37.9% in 2022, compared to about 9.7% among Jordanian women.

In his speech during the presentation of this study, Dr. Issa Masarweh, HPC Secretary-General, stated that one of the tasks of HPC is to study all that relates to the demographic situation of the Jordanian population in terms of elements and topics, including nuptiality. Dr. Masarweh added that publishing digital evidence that the study comes out with aims to deliver the facts to decision makers, media professionals, civil society organizations and enlighten public opinion in general. Attending the event were representatives of relevant government agencies and civil society organizations.

Masarweh emphasized that the demographic situation and happenings Jordan is witnessing today is mostly related to decisions and actions taken and happening in the ‘Jordanian family’, the core institution in any society, regarding marriage, divorce, widowhood, remarriage as well as giving birth. These decisions, Masarweh  added are associated with the elements of what is known as ‘reproductive health,’ including the family decision regarding marriage, starting a family, remarrying, and using birth control and family planning methods.

As for the reason why HPC opted to choose a different title for this study, which is Nuptiality and not ‘Marriage’ Masarwaeh reiterated that this choice was made in order to emphasize the fact that marriage is a multifaceted social system deep rooted in social culture, and is governed not only by legislation, but by prevailing social norms that are not easily nor quickly susceptible to change.

In a commentary made in the course of the discussion on the results of the study following the presentation, Masarweh explained that the common talk going on among the public and in media channels about spinsterhood, or rather celibacy, is far from the  truth. The increase, Masarweh added, in the number of those who have not been previously married is because of the growing number of young women and men at the right age for marriage and not due to a decline in the percentage of those who have previously been married, as this percentage has increased to 60 % according to the results of the 2015 population census and the 2018 survey, and according to the Jordanian civil registry for the year 2022.

HPC Secretary General went on to  explain that the increase in the number of those who have not been previously married is due to the growth in their number and not to delayed marriage or non-marriage, indicating that births in the past have resulted in the number of girls and women at the right age for marriage and childbearing has become quite large in Jordan as the number now amounts to 2.79 million in the age group of 15-49 years. Therefore, and regardless of the changes in the direction of marriage and birth rates, the numbers of those who have never been married, and the numbers of births, continue to increase successively. To this end, Masarweh said, about 2.68 million births were registered at the Civil Status Department 2010-2022 at an average of more than one million births every five years.

In an answer to the question going on among the public about marriage to foreigners, Masarweh said that it was found that this type of marriage has no bearing whatsoever on the level of celibacy among girls; the study showed that while about 5 % of young men marry non-Jordanian girls every year,  at the same time, 7 % of Jordanian girls are wedded to non-Jordanian men.