Marriages Continue Downward Trend

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

In 2025, there were 17,481 marriages and civil unions celebrated by couples living in Aotearoa New Zealand. This was 3 percent lower than in 2024 (18,033 marriages and civil unions) and continues the general downward trend seen in marriage numbers.

"The marriage rate peaked in 1971 and has generally been falling since," population estimates, projections, and coverage spokesperson Rebekah Hennessey said.

In 2025, there were 7.6 marriages per 1,000 people eligible to marry - around half of the rate in 2000 (15.5 per 1,000), and around one-sixth of the peak rate of 45.5 per 1,000 in 1971.

Increase in overseas couples marrying in New Zealand

There were 2,565 couples living overseas who came to New Zealand to marry in 2025. This was up from 2,418 couples in 2024 but was similar to 2023, when 2,523 couples living overseas came to New Zealand to marry.

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

"Nearly 2 in 5 couples who came to New Zealand to marry in 2025 had at least one person in the couple born in New Zealand," Hennessey said.

Divorces increase in 2025

While the number of marriages dropped slightly in 2025, the number of divorces increased. There were 7,887 couples who were granted a divorce in 2025, up 5 percent from 7,497 in 2024. The number of divorces is still generally decreasing over the longer term. In 2000, there were 9,699 divorces granted, and in 1982 the number of divorces peaked at 12,396 (this followed a law change allowing for the dissolution of marriage on the grounds of irreconcilable differences).

There were 7.9 divorces per 1,000 marriages or civil unions in 2025. This divorce rate was up slightly from 7.5 divorces per 1,000 marriages in 2024, but lower than in the past. In 2000, the divorce rate was 12.2 divorces per 1,000 marriages, and it peaked in 1982 at 17.1 divorces.

"The divorce rate was higher than the marriage rate in 2025 for the first time; however, it is important to remember that these measures are not directly comparable as they are calculated using completely different base populations," Hennessey said.

"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 shows that around 5 percent of marriages or civil unions end in divorce within 5 years of marriage, around 15 percent within 10 years, and just over one-third end in divorce within 25 years of marriage.

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