According to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency, Greek men marry for the first time at an average age of 32.4 years, while Greek women marry at an average age of 30.9 years. The data also indicates a significant increase in the average age at first marriage across Europe in recent decades.
Tovima.com has reported that in the European Union, the average age for first-time marriages is about 30.7 years for women and 33.1 years for men.
The findings highlight an interesting divide between Western and Eastern Europe. In Eastern Europe, both men and women tend to marry at younger ages compared to their Western counterparts. For instance, men in Western Europe typically marry after the age of 30, with countries like Sweden (37.5), Spain (36.9), Norway (36.9), and France (36.0) reporting averages over 36 years. Similarly, women in these countries often marry around or after age 30, with Sweden (34.8), Spain (34.7), and Norway (34.1) showing averages over 34 years.
Conversely, in Eastern Europe, women marry at younger ages, such as in Ukraine (24.9), Belarus (25.1), Turkey (25.2), and North Macedonia (26.6). Men in these regions also marry earlier, with averages in Belarus (27.5), Turkey and Ukraine (28.0), and North Macedonia (29.5). These countries are among the few in Europe where the average age of first marriage for men is below 30.
The overall increase in the average age of marriage in Europe can be attributed to various social, economic, and cultural factors. Key influences include the pursuit of higher education and career development, economic independence, changing social norms that increasingly accept cohabitation without marriage, a preference for financial and emotional stability before marriage, and longer life expectancies.
Source: tovima.com
