Fewer Filipinos have been getting married in the past decade, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA data showed that between 2005 and 2015, reported marriages declined 20.1 percent.

The PSA also reported that registered marriages declined by 2.9 percent in 2014 and 3.6 percent in 2015.

“The number of registered marriages showed an erratic trend for the past 10 years,” the PSA said. “It is also interesting to note that from that year up to 2015, the number of marriages declined continuously.”

The PSA said most notable change occurred in 2013, which recorded a decrease of 8.2 percent from 482,399 in 2012 to 442,603.

Data showed that 15 out of 18 regions saw a decrease in the number of registered marriages in 2015.

Regions that had large decreases in marriages were led by Soccksargen which saw a 10.6-percent decrease in registered marriages in 2015.

This was followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region, with a contraction of 8.6 percent; Ilocos, 8.1 percent; and Negros Island region, 7.8 percent.

Regions that saw an increase in registered marriages were led by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, with an 85.6-percent growth in registered marriages.

This was followed by Eastern Visayas, at 18.8 percent and Central Visayas, at 2.4 percent. These regions were the only ones that posted a positive growth of registered marriages.

Data showed there were 1,135 marriages solemnized daily through different ceremonies in 2015. Of the total marriages, 42.7 percent were contracted through civil rites.

Other matrimonial ceremonies were officiated in Roman Catholic churches, 36.2 percent; other religious sect rites, 19.1 percent; Muslim tradition, 1.2 percent; and tribal wedding rites, 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, data showed the median age of marriage for brides and grooms are 26 and 28, respectively.

Most of the brides marry at ages 20 to 24, reaching 140,738, or 34 percent, of the total.

The PSA said the majority of the grooms preferred to marry between the ages of 25 and 29, reaching 145,952, or 35.2 percent, of the total.

“Marriages involving teenage brides were five times more than marriage with teenage grooms. It was also observed that there were marriages recorded involving adolescents aged under 15,” the PSA said.

While most brides preferred to marry between ages 20 and 24, those marriages that were solemnized in Muslim and other religious sect rites were older at 25 to 29 years old.

Meanwhile, regardless of preferences of wedding ceremony, most grooms preferred to marry between ages 25 and 29 through different ceremonies, except for those who marry in tribal rites, which involved younger grooms aged 20 to 24.

Data on marriages presented in this release were obtained from the Certificates of Marriage (Municipal Form 97) that were registered at the Office of the City/Municipal Civil Registrars all throughout the country and forwarded to the PSA.

Information presented include registered marriages that occurred from January to December 2015.