Marriage in Germany


Marriage in Germany is governed by the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch in sections 1297 to 1588 of the fourth book of the code as a branch of family law. Marriage may only be conducted by a civil registrar, although couples may also participate in religious ceremonies. People who are not citizens or residents may marry in Germany. Since 1 October 2017, same-sex couples may marry.

Statistics

Almost 10 million married couples lived without children, about 6.5 million couples had at least one child under the age of 18. At the end of 2022, 49 percent of German adult population was married.
YearNumber
of
marriages		Marriage rate
1950750,45210.8
1951718,16610.3
1952659,7799.4
1953620,1218.8
1954605,3928.5
1955617,2288.7
1956630,9328.9
1957632,6598.9
1958648,4719.0
1959665,8449.2
1960689,0289.4
1961699,3399.5
1962696,3179.4
1963655,9748.7
1964642,0378.5
1965621,1308.1
1966606,1337.9
1967600,2477.8
1968563,8267.3
1969571,7377.3
1970575,2337.4
1971562,2357.2
1972548,7077.0
1973532,0226.7
1974516,0816.5
1975528,8116.7
1976510,3186.5
1977505,8896.5
1978469,2786.0
1979481,7076.2
1980496,6036.3
1981487,8326.2
1982486,8566.2
1983495,3926.4
1984498,0406.4
1985496,1756.4
1986509,3206.5
1987523,8476.7
1988534,9036.8
1989529,5976.7
1990516,3886.5
1991454,2915.7
1992453,4285.6
1993442,6055.4
1994440,2445.4
1995430,5345.3
1996427,2975.2
1997422,7765.2
1998417,4205.1
1999430,6745.2
2000418,5505.1
2001389,5914.7
2002391,9634.7
2003382,9114.6
2004395,9924.8
2005388,4514.7
2006373,6814.5
2007368,9224.5
2008377,0554.6
2009378,4394.6
2010382,0474.7
2011377,8164.7
2012387,4234.8
2013373,6554.6
2014385,9524.8
2015400,1154.9
2016410,4265.0
2017407,4664.9
2018449,4665.4
2019416,3245.0
2020373,3044.5
2021357,7854.3
2022390,7434.7
2023360,9794.3
2024349,2214.2

Marriages between German and foreigner

Of the total of around 21 million married couples in Germany in 2005, 6.3 percent were international. With 602,000 married couples, the wife is of foreign origin. In the case of unmarried couples each consisting of a foreigner and a German national, the number of foreign men prevails over the number of foreign women. The ratio of partners from EU countries to partners from non-EU countries is around 2:3. 45,915 international marriages, in which one of the partners has a German passport and the other a foreign passport, were concluded in Germany in 2015, that is 11.5% of all new marriages or every 9th Married couple. Almost two generations before, in 1960, in the old Federal Republic, only every 27th fresh couple was international.
Marriages20232022202120202019
Female German, Male Foreigner18,54719,38218,63916,84920,968
Male German, Female Foreigner21,89022,76922,66521,37325,604
Male German, Male Foreigner8299058919281,279
Female German, Female Foreigner396411386354496