PETALING JAYA: The latest statistics reveal a significant 12.5% reduction in marriages in Malaysia, with the total number of weddings dropping from 215,022 in 2022 to 188,100 in 2023.
Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician, reported that the Crude Marriage Rate (CMR) has fallen from 6.6 in 2022 to 5.7 in 2023, per thousand people.
Muslim Marriages Make Up Majority of Drop
The decline was mainly attributed to a significant 16.8% fall in Muslim weddings, which accounted for 74.5% of total marriages in the country, from 168,467 in 2022 to 140,176 in 2023.
Selangor, Kelantan, and Johor recorded the largest declines in Muslim marriages, with reductions of 17.4%, 17.7%, and 15.8%, respectively.
Non-Muslim Marriages Increase Slightly
Conversely, non-Muslim marriages saw a modest increase of 2.9%, rising from 46,555 in 2022 to 47,924 in 2023. Johor, Sarawak, and Kuala Lumpur experienced the largest increases in this category.
Divorce Rates Show Improvement
The number of divorces also fell, showing a reduction of 8.7%, from 63,338 in 2022 to 57,835 in 2023. The Crude Divorce Rate (CDR) improved from 1.9 to 1.8 per thousand population.
Muslim divorces decreased by 3.9%, while non-Muslim divorces dropped significantly by 21.4%. The most significant reductions in Muslim divorces occurred in Kelantan, Johor, and Sabah.