3310.0 - Marriages and Divorces, Australia, 2008 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 31/08/2009   
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Contents >> Marriages >> Previous marital status

PREVIOUS MARITAL STATUS

In 2008, 78.2% of people married had not been married previously, continuing the general upward trend observed since 2001. For males, this applied to 77.3% of all marriages, with a further 1.6% of males having been widowed, and 21.1% having been divorced. For females, 79.0% had not been previously married, with a further 1.8% having been widowed, and 19.2% having been divorced.

Never previously married, 1989-2008
Graph: Never previously married,  1989-2008


Marriages in which neither party had previously been married made up 69.8% (82,847) of all marriages in 2008, while a further 16.8% (19,969) were first marriages for one partner. The remaining 13.4% of marriages (15,940) were remarriages for both partners. 

Since 1989, the number of widows/widowers remarrying has been steadily decreasing while marriages of people who were previously divorced has remained relatively stable for the last few years.

Previously Widowed, 1989-2008
Graph: Previously Widowed,  1989-2008


Previously Divorced, 1989-2008
Graph: Previously Divorced,  1989-2008








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