Belarus, Russia have highest marriage rate among developed countries

      Belarus and Russia hold leading positions among developed nations in terms of the marriage rate, chief research associate of the Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Lyudmila Shahotko said at the presentation of the research project “Analysis of marriage and divorce statistics in the Republic of Belarus in 1946-2010”.
      (record)
      The marriage rate in Belarus is practically the same as that in Russia. Over the 60 years the figure was higher than in Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. By the way, in the United States and Japan the figure was usually higher than that in Western Europe, but in recent years it has been considerably lower than that in Russia and Belarus. 
      Belarus has not conducted comprehensive studies of demographic issues related to the marriage. The birth rate, the death rate and even the migration rate largely depend on the matrimonial status of people. For example, it is a well-known fact that married men live longer than divorced or widowed men.
The average age of first-time marrying persons is another important indicator associated with the marriage rate. Since the 1990s the age started creeping upwards after a downward trend. At present men and women enter the marriage for the first time when they are 20-29.