According to the latest press release from the Turkish Statistical Institute (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu, TÜİK), the number of married couples in Turkey decreased from 575,891 in 2022 to 565,435 in 2023. The crude marriage rate, which represents the number of marriages per thousand population, was 6.63 per thousand in 2023 (TÜİK, 2024).
First some key statistics
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Number of married couples (2023) | 565,435 |
| Crude marriage rate (2023) | 6.63 per thousand |
| Number of divorced couples (2023) | 171,881 |
| Crude divorce rate (2023) | 2.01 per thousand |
| Mean age at first marriage (males, 2023) | 28.3 years |
| Mean age at first marriage (females, 2023) | 25.7 years |
| Proportion of foreign grooms (2023) | 1.1% |
| Proportion of foreign brides (2023) | 5.5% |
| Proportion of divorces in first 5 years of marriage (2023) | 33.4% |
| Number of children given to guardianship (2023) | 171,213 |
Divorce Rates in Turkey
The number of divorced couples also decreased from 182,437 in 2022 to 171,881 in 2023. The crude divorce rate, expressing the number of divorces per thousand population, was 2.01 per thousand in 2023 (TÜİK, 2024).
Mean Age at First Marriage
The mean age at first marriage has increased for both genders over the years. In 2023, the mean age at first marriage was 28.3 for males and 25.7 for females, with a mean age difference of 2.6 years between the genders (TÜİK, 2024).
Highest and Lowest Crude Marriage Rates by Province
In 2023, the province with the highest crude marriage rate was Kilis, with 8.09 per thousand, followed by Aksaray (7.81 per thousand) and Gaziantep (7.57 per thousand). The province with the lowest crude marriage rate was Gümüşhane, with 4.52 per thousand, followed by Tunceli (4.82 per thousand) and Malatya (4.98 per thousand) (TÜİK, 2024).
Foreign Grooms and Brides
In 2023, the number of foreign grooms was 6,345, accounting for 1.1% of total grooms, while the number of foreign brides was 31,029, representing 5.5% of total brides. Among foreign grooms, German citizens took first place (21.9%), followed by Syrian (19.2%) and Austrian (5.1%) grooms. Among foreign brides, Uzbek citizens took first place (12.0%), followed by Syrian (11.3%) and Azerbaijani (9.1%) brides (TÜİK, 2024).
Highest and Lowest Crude Divorce Rates by Province
The province with the highest crude divorce rate in 2023 was İzmir, with 3.05 per thousand, followed by Antalya (2.94 per thousand) and Karaman (2.80 per thousand). The province with the lowest crude divorce rate was Hakkari, with 0.36 per thousand, followed by Şırnak (0.44 per thousand) and Muş (0.55 per thousand) (TÜİK, 2024).
Duration of Marriage and Divorce
In 2023, 33.4% of divorces occurred in the first five years of marriage, while 21.7% of divorces occurred in marriages lasting 6-10 years (TÜİK, 2024).
Children Affected by Divorce
As a result of divorce cases finalized in 2023, 171,213 children were given to guardianship. In most cases, guardianship was given to the mother (74.9%), while 25.1% of children were given to the father’s guardianship (TÜİK, 2024).The next release on this subject by TÜİK will be in February 2025.
Reference:
TÜİK. (2024). Marriage and Divorce Statistics, 2023 [Press release]. Turkish Statistical Institute
