AMMAN
— In a detailed analysis conducted by the
Higher Population Council (HPC) in
partnership with the United Nations Population Fund, recent data indicates a
constancy in the matrimonial landscape of Jordan from 2010 to 2022.
اضافة اعلان
The
study, entitled "Jordan's
Marital Dynamics: An Analysis from 2010 to
2022," presents an array of findings that illuminate the nuances and
shifts in the nation's marital dynamics, the Jordan News Agency, Petra
reported.
A
pivotal revelation from the study is the pronounced decrease in marriages among
relatives, now reduced to 28 percent, a figure significantly lower than the 56
percent observed in 1990.
A rise in the proportion of
individuals who have been previously married
The
research further underscores a rise in the proportion of individuals who have
been previously married, which currently stands at 60 percent, as inferred from
the most recent household surveys and corroborated by data from the Jordanian
civil registry.
In
a parallel development, the incidence of
women currently married in the fecund
demographic has escalated to 56 percent.
The
survey proffers a nuanced view of the demographic distribution of widows and
divorcees, uncovering a relatively modest divorce rate across diverse age
brackets and both sexes, with a peak of 6 percent in certain female age groups
and less than 4 percent among men.
Female widows: 49 percent, Male
widows: 7 percent
A
significant gender disparity is evident in widowhood, with the proportion of
female widows reaching 49 percent in the over-60 demographic, in stark contrast
to a mere 7 percent for their male counterparts as of 2022.
Polygamy
Polygamy,
exhibiting variations across different governorates, shows a declining trend,
with a mere 7.3 percent of married women aged 15-49 having spouses concurrently
married to another woman.
A decrease in polygamy
This
trend suggests either a diminishing prevalence of polygamy within Jordan or a
propensity for men to divorce their initial spouses before entering subsequent
marriages.
Analyzing
annual marriage trends between 2015 and 2022, the study reveals that marriages
involving divorced women constituted between 15 to 22 percent of the total,
with the cumulative remarriage rate of these women reaching 18.3 percent over
the eight years.
73 percent of grooms in 2022 were
bachelors
In
2022, the marital status of grooms in most unions predominantly involved
bachelors (73 percent), followed by divorcees (18 percent), widowers (2
percent), and men in plural marriages (7 percent). Conversely, brides were
primarily unmarried (77 percent), with divorced (22 percent) and widowed (1
percent) women following.
First-time marriages
The
average age for first marriages has incrementally ascended during the study
period, from 26.9 to 27.3 years for males and from 22.1 to 22.7 years for
females, maintaining a consistent inter-age gap of approximately five years.
The research discerns no discernible decline in the overall marriage rates
throughout the years under review.
Decrease in marriages involving
minors
The
study also notes a downturn in marriages involving minors, with the proportion
of females marrying under the age of 18 dwindling from a peak of 16.6 percent
in 2017 to about 11.9 percent in 2022. Mafraq Governorate recorded the highest
incidence of such marriages in 2022, at 21 percent.
Nonetheless,
the rate of early marriage remains notably higher among Syrian women, despite
its reduction, standing at 37.9 percent in 2022, juxtaposed against a rate of
about 9.7 percent among Jordanian women.
Addressing
prevalent social and media discourses on the subject of spinsterhood or
celibacy, Issa Masarweh, Secretary-General of the HPC, elucidated that the
observed increase in the number of unmarried individuals is primarily a
function of the expansion in the cohort of young adults of marriageable age,
rather than a decrease in the propensity to marry.
This
trend is substantiated by data from the 2015 population census, the 2018
survey, and the 2022 civil registry, where this figure ascended to 60 percent.
Unmarried women: A consequence of
the demographic expansion
Masarweh
further clarified that the rise in the population of unmarried women is a
consequence of demographic expansion, not attributable to a postponement or
aversion to marriage.
He
highlighted that historical trends in childbearing have resulted in a
substantial population of women within the marriageable and childbearing age
group, currently estimated at 2.79 million (ages 15-49 years).
Therefore,
irrespective of the dynamics in marriage and childbirth rates, the count of
unmarried individuals and the frequency of births continue to rise annually,
with approximately 2.68 million births registered between 2010 and 2022.
In
addressing public curiosity regarding matrimonial unions with foreigners, the
study concludes that such marriages have minimal impact on the celibacy rates
among Jordanian women.
The
data reveals that annually, around 5 percent of Jordanian men marry
non-Jordanian women, while about 7 percent of Jordanian women enter into
marriages with non-Jordanian men.
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