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Ireland’s marriage rate is expected to drop to a record low by 2030 – though divorces will

still be much lower than the rest of Western Europe, according to a new report.

The nation’s matrimonial level is predicted to decline from 4.9 marriages per 1,000 in 2017 to the lowest ever rate of four per 1,000 in 2030 – 60% lower than the rate of 6.4 in 1980.

A new Euromonitor report on the future population also predicted people will wait until they are older to tie the knot in 2030.

The average age at first marriage for men will be 32.4 years and for women it will be 31.2 years – over five years later than in 1980.

Meanwhile, the number of divorced people in the total population is predicted to rise slightly to reach 4.9% by 2030, much lower than the average of 6.6% in Western Europe.

The Euromonitor International report stated: “Divorce in Ireland was legalised for the first time in 1996 and the divorce rate peaked in 2006 at 0.9 divorces per 1,000. In 2030 the rate is expected to reach 0.6 per 1,000, up from 0.5 in 2017.”

Ramune Verikaite, Economic and Consumer Data Manager at Euromonitor International, said the expected fall in Irish marriage rates in the future is due to a drop in the numbers of those of typical marrying age. He added: “People in Ireland usually get married around their 30s.

“Looking at population by age we can observe the share of population aged 25-34 in total population will be decreasing over the next decade.

"It is mainly caused by low birth generations coming to fertile and marital age. Low number of such people means lower number of births as well as marriages.”

The report, titled Ireland in 2030: The Future Demographic, said on average women will have their first child at 29.6 years in 2030, a slight rise from 2017 but nearly five years later than in 1980.

It stated 37.5% of the population will be married between the years 2017 to 2030 – lower than the 41% average for Western European countries.

Mr Verikaite believes the slight increase in divorces in another 12 years is due to a bump in the number of marriages in more recent years.

He added: “Divorce is a cancellation of marriage, thus it is related to marriage.

“This relationship has a lag because people usually divorce after 10 years of marriage, at least in Europe.”

Last year the Central Statistics Office reported 50.9% of weddings which took place last year were Catholic, 29.1% were civil, 7.8% were humanist and the rest were other religions.