Estonians marry less and divorce more often in 2025
According to Statistics Estonia, 5,998 marriages were registered in 2025, 363 fewer than in 2024, while divorce numbers rose, particularly in Ida-Viru County.
Data from Statistics Estonia reveals that in 2025, residents of Estonia entered into 5,998 marriages, a decrease of 363 from the previous year. Among these were 139 same-sex unions. The last time marriage numbers were this low was between 2009 and 2012; for comparison, only 5,066 marriages were recorded in 2010. The post-COVID-19 peak came in 2022 with a record 7,200 marriages. However, Kadri Rootalu, head of the Population and Education Statistics Service, noted that such fluctuations have occurred several times over the past 25 years, making the 2025 figure unexceptional in the broader trend.
Most weddings took place in July and August, accounting for 30% of all marriages, with August 8 being the most popular date. The majority of newlyweds were marrying for the first time: remarriages represented 22% for men and 23% for women, down from around 30% in 2023 and 32% 25 years ago. The average age at first marriage was 31.8 for men and 29.8 for women, slightly lower than five years earlier when it was about half a year older.
A notable trend is the increase in marriages among very young people. In 2025, 618 men and 1,079 women married before age 25. Compared to a decade earlier, the number of men in this age group rose by 72, while women decreased by 86, despite overall marriage numbers being higher. Rootalu mentioned that early marriage has been linked in the media to benefit eligibility, but statistics do not include motivations. The largest decline in marriages occurred in the 30–40 age group. Meanwhile, the share of older people marrying has grown: among men aged 45 and over, the proportion rose from 13% in 2005 to 20% in 2025; among women, it increased from 9% to 15%.
Regarding divorce, 52% of those who divorced whose residence was known lived in Harju County, followed not by Tartu but by Ida-Viru County (13%). Divorces in Ida-Viru have surged from below 300 in 2022 to nearly 400 in 2025. In Tartu County, 312 men and 310 women divorced, a slight decline from the previous year but an increase over longer-term trends.
Most divorces involved ethnic Estonians, Russians, and Ukrainians. In 2025, 1,894 Estonian men and 1,897 Estonian women divorced, with 1,621 divorces between two ethnic Estonians—the highest in eight years. Among Russians, 804 men and 892 women divorced; among Ukrainians, 117 men and 122 women.
The total first-marriage rate, estimating the proportion who marry by age 50, stood at 0.45 for men and 0.52 for women in 2025, suggesting that about half of Estonia's residents will never appear in marriage or divorce statistics. The data exclude cohabiting couples and dissolutions of unregistered partnerships.
