Ukrainians marry less often, but divorce more often and sign marriage contracts: research
After a surge in weddings in the first year of a full-scale invasion, the number of marriages began to gradually decrease each year.
According to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, more than 72,000 marriages were registered in the first half of 2024, which is 15% less than in the same period last year. At the same time, the number of marriage contracts increased by 25%, and the number of divorces increased by 1.5 times compared to last year. About this informs “opendatab”.
A decrease in the number of marriages, but an increase in their awareness
In the first six months of 2024, Ukrainians registered 72,766 new marriages. This is 15% less than in the same period last year and a third less than in 2022.
Analysts say that after a surge in weddings in the first year of the full-scale invasion, the number of marriages has gradually declined each year. This year, for the first time, even fewer new families were created than before the start of the great war.
“Despite this, it can be argued that new families are being created more consciously: Ukrainians are increasingly entering into marriage contracts. Since the beginning of the year, notaries have used 3,768 forms to draw up marriage contracts, which is 25% more than in the same period last year,” they note in “Opendatabot”.
Increasing number of divorces
Divorce rates, which declined in the first year of the full-scale invasion, rose steadily over the next two years.
In the first six months of 2024, 15,578 divorces were registered, which is 1.5 times more than in the corresponding period last year and 18% more than in the first half of 2021.
Regional characteristics of marriages and divorces
According to Opendatabot, Kyiv remains the leader in the number of marriages — 9,392 new families were created in the capital. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is in second place with 7,076 marriages, while Odesa Oblast rounds out the top three with 4,896 newly formed families.
Kyiv also leads in divorces, where 2,118 marriages were dissolved in the first half of 2024. Dnipropetrovsk region ranks second with 1,404 divorces, and Kharkiv region ranks third with 1,148 broken marriages.
Among the regions where hostilities are not taking place and which are not under occupation, the lowest number of divorces was registered in Zakarpattia Oblast — 224, and the lowest number of marriages — in Chernivtsi Oblast, where 1,376 new families were created this year.
