By Corrie Douglas-Young, Catholic Herald. (Photo: Unsplash)
Only 12 per cent of those born in 1995 were married by the age of 29, while Ireland’s overall marriage rate has fallen to 3.6 per 1,000 people.
Only half of Ireland’s Gen Z will marry, according to a new paper by the Iona Institute. The Collapse of Marriage Among Gen Z report showed that while 49 per cent of people born in 1965 were married by the time they were in their mid-to-late 20s, only 12 per cent of those born in 1995 were.
Among Gen Z, defined in the study as those born from 1995 onwards, it projected that 52 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men would marry.
Each successive age group in Ireland, starting with those born in 1960, has been less likely to marry than the one before it. By the age of 45, 83 per cent of those born in 1960 were married, compared with 68 per cent of those born in 1980. Far fewer marry after the age of 45 than before.
Furthermore, Ireland’s overall marriage rate is at its lowest level ever, except during Covid lockdowns, at 3.6 marriages per 1,000 people per year, about half the rate back in the 1970s.
Only 12 per cent of those born in 1995 are married in the 25-29 age group, meaning they would have to marry in unprecedented numbers in their 30s to reach marriage rates comparable with those of preceding generations. The paper noted that people are now commonly delaying getting married until they are in their mid-to-late 30s.
The study projects that just 46 per cent of women and 42 per cent of men born in 1995 will be married by the time they are 40 years old, with small increases after that. The Iona Institute noted that the generation begins from a “very low actual base” of 14 per cent of women and 10 per cent of men being married at age 30.