The table illustrates changes in marriage types and the average age of couples in Australia between 1960 and 2000. Overall, it is clear that civil marriages became increasingly popular, eventually overtaking religious ceremonies, while the age at which individuals married rose steadily throughout the period.
In 1960, religious marriages were far more common, with 25,000 ceremonies compared to only 8,000 civil ones. Religious marriages peaked in 1980 at 50,000, before declining to 32,000 in 1990 and recovering slightly to 34,000 by 2000. Conversely, civil marriages showed a consistent upward trend, rising from 8,000 in 1960 to 40,000 by 2000, surpassing religious weddings for the first time in the final decade.
Regarding the age of couples, there was a continuous upward trend for both genders. In 1960, the average age of a bride was 21, while the bridegroom was 24. By 2000, these figures had climbed to 30 and 32, respectively. This represents a total increase of nine years for brides and eight years for bridegrooms over the four decades, indicating a clear societal shift towards marrying at a later stage in life.