E6K-table+description-Vivian

The table displays the marriage statistics in 1981 and 2002 marked from Australia Bureau.

As can be seen from the table, except the number of registered marriages decreasing from 113,905 in 1981 to 105,400 in 2002, the other numbers had increased. The average age of brides rose by 5.7 years, while the age of grooms went up by 5.1 years. At the same time, the number of divorces increased dramatically by approximately 14,000, in contrast, the number of cohabitational couples nearly had doubled in 2002.

These changes are owing to a number of reasons. Firstly, women may have been more independent than before. They can live without marriage or marriage late. Secondly, people could have suffered more pressure from education and career than before, which may delay their marriage age. In addition, it is acceptable for divorces and cohabitation today, which have caused couples divorce or keep defacto relationship commonly.