The median age at marriage has increased in most industrial countries, even in less developed ones. This reflects a greater feminist position and a trend away from marriage in the US. The median age at marriage in the US is currently 26.8 for men and 25.1 for women, with both showing a notable increase over the last 20 years.
The median age at marriage has increased in most industrial countries. Even the least developed countries, or recently industrialized countries, show an increase in the average age of marriage of women. These statistics may reflect a greater feminist position in most countries, with more women working and completing college. They also reflect a trend away from marriage in the United States. Half of the US population is now single.
For example, if you look at US statistics over the past 100 years, you see that men had a median age at marriage of 25.9 in 1900. Women in 1900 had a median age at marriage of 22. For some this shatters the illusion that women 100 years ago were sold into marriage as children.
Even Jane Austen, writing in the early 19th century, married off heroines at the early age of 19 or 17. In Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, which are semi-autobiographical, her father did not allow her to marry until she was 18. it should be noted that the average woman was over 18 when she entered her first marriage 21 years ago.
In other cultures, the marriageable age may be slightly lower. For example, in Mexico the median age of marriage is currently 23.3 for men and 18.4 for women. This too has increased, reflecting Mexico’s growing industrialization.
Currently, the median age at marriage in the United States is 26.8 for men and 25.1 for women. Interestingly, while this represents an advanced age for men, it is not significantly higher than the rate 100 years ago. In fact, age at marriage rates for men decreased from 1910 to 1960. The lowest median age at marriage for men was in 1960, when the median age at marriage was 22.8 years.
There are negligible declines in the mean age at marriage from 1910 to 1960 for women. However, the difference between the 1910 data and the 1960 data is less than two years. In men, the difference is a more significant four-year spread. However in the 1970s both figures increased. The biggest jump in a decade was the average age of women at marriage in 1980 and 1990. In ten years, the age rate jumped from 22 to 23.9.
Indeed, over the last 20 years, both men and women show a notable increase in marriageable age. Men are now on average two years older when they marry than the average age of marriage for men in 1980. Women are on average three years older now than the average age of marriage in 1980.
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