At what age to get married: legal marriageable age, statistics, traditions of different countries, willingness to be a wife and marry

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The family is the most important social institution. And the basis of family relations is marriage - a special form of union between equal partners, a man and a woman, who are connected by a common life, sexual relations and mutual responsibility.

Today, about a third of marriages are not viable and break up. In this regard, sociologists and psychologists around the world are actively studying the question of how old to get married so as to form a strong unit of society with harmonious relations.

At the same time, the legislation of each country determines the minimum marriageable age before which one cannot marry or get married. In different states, the age bar is set based on cultural and historical traditions. And even in Russia, it varies depending on the specific region.

Historical background

In Russia of the pre-Christian periodthe minimum marriageable age was very low: 10 for girls and 11 for boys. After Christianity was firmly established in our country, the marriageable age was increased to 12 and 15 years for girls and boys, respectively.

The authorities took a large fine for not marrying off daughters, so the girls were “handled off” as early as possible. And the girls themselves were waiting for this event, since their social status changed with marriage. That is why fortune-telling “how to find out at what age you will get married” was extremely popular in Russia. They guessed on cards, candles, pins, a method was popular to ask the first person you met and thus find out your fate. The traditions of Christmas divination are still observed today, but to a lesser extent and more for entertainment.

Since 1774, the Holy Synod, as the highest body of spiritual authority, has also raised the minimum threshold for girls - now they could be married from the age of 13.

In 1917, with the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the minimum marriageable age was set: for women - 16 years, for men - 18 years. After 10 years, in 1927, a single minimum age for marriage was established, the same for both sexes - 18 years. But for the republics of Transcaucasia, it was reduced to 13 and 16 years, for girls and boys, respectively.

Russian legislation

How old can you get married in Russia? According to Article 13 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, a man and a woman can register their union with the registry office only when each of the newlyweds reaches 18 years of age. There is no maximum age limit (in tsarist Russiahe was 80 years old).

However, sometimes it is allowed for a number of reasons to reduce the age of marriage. In addition, in a number of regions of the Russian Federation the threshold has been lowered due to cultural and historical traditions.

Reducing the age of marriage in Russia

After how many years can you get married in different subjects of the Russian Federation? The marriageable age has been officially lowered in 27 regions of Russia, and you can enter into a marriage union in them:

• from the age of 15 - in Ryazan, Murmansk, Chelyabinsk and a number of other regions of the Russian Federation;
• without a minimum threshold - in Tatarstan, but here you need to understand that even if the legislation of the republic does not specify the minimum age for marriage, marriage cannot be registered before the age of 14, since younger citizens of the country do not have a passport;
• from the age of 14 - in Moscow, Tyumen, Samara, Vladimir and some other regions.

In all subjects of the Russian Federation, it is possible to achieve a reduction in the minimum threshold for marriage, up to 16 years maximum, for the following reasons:

• pregnancy;
• couple already have a baby;
• difficult life situation, for example, the bride is an orphan or grows up in an incomplete or dysfunctional family;
• life threatening;
• severe illness;
• being in the army.

Application for permission to register a marriage, if one of the spouses is under 18 years old, may be submitted by minors themselves, their parents or legal representatives.

At what age can you register a marriage in other countries

Many also wonder what age you can get married in other countries of the world. In most countries, the minimum marriage threshold is approximately the same and is still the same 18 years. However, each state has its own nuances of local legislation that allow you to get married much earlier than recommended:

• In the US, the minimum age for marriage ranges from 15 (13 with parental consent) to 21, depending on the state.
• China has one of the highest marriage thresholds in the world - 20 and 22 years for girls and boys respectively.

• In India, you can officially marry at 18 (women) and 21 (men) years, but the problem of early marriages in this country is still relevant.
• In Tunisia - 17 and 20 years old.
• Ecuador has one of the lowest marriage thresholds - 12 and 14 years for girls and boys respectively.
• In Kenya and Yemen, you can get married from the age of 9.
• In the UK and Spain - from the age of 16.

Statistics

How old do people get married in Russia? According to statistics, girls get married for the first time at the age of 18-25, the average age for the first marriage is 23 years. Men have higher rates, they marry for the first time at 22-27 years old.

If we talk about all marriages, including repeated marriages, entered into by people under 50 years old, then the average age of the spouses will be as follows: 25-26 years for women and 27-28 years for men.

At what age do girls get married atother countries? The numbers are:

• in the USA and Belgium - 25 years;
• Sweden has the highest rates at 33;
• in Norway a little less - 31.5 years;
• Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Austria Finland - 31;
• in Japan and Canada - 27 years;
• in France - 29 years.

So, despite the fact that girls in Russia marry later than a couple of decades ago, when the average age of the bride was 21, we are still different from confident Europeans who are in no hurry to walk down the aisle.

Early marriages

What is the best age to get married? Early marriage is most often dictated not by a conscious decision of two lovers, but by a combination of circumstances. Most often, early marriages are entered for the following reasons:

• unexpected pregnancy;
• desire to feel independent;
• living in a family with a difficult situation, the desire to escape from a negative environment;
• desire to get away from overprotective parenting.

According to statistics, almost 70% of women who married before the age of 20 are unhappy with their union, whether it ended in divorce or not.

However, there is nothing terrible or frankly bad in early marriage if the person is quite mature and independent by the time of registration. Often such unions are quite successful - the spouse has greater psychological “flexibility” and adapts to her husband, it is possible to raise children early and remain young andattractive, etc.

However, when deciding what time to get married, one should not forget about the negative aspects of early marriages, namely: the lack of life experience, housekeeping skills, reduced time for entertainment and friends, and dissatisfaction due to missed opportunities.

Late marriages

Late marriages after the age of 30 are most often based on cold sober calculation. This does not mean that the spouses do not have tender feelings for each other, but they have all aspects of marriage clearly defined: domestic issues, budget allocation, even the intimate side of the issue. More like a business deal than a union of lovers. But such alliances are strong enough.

Psychological readiness for marriage

But at what age to get married, so that it is not too early and not too late? Lawyers do not recommend getting married before the age of 21, since it is after this figure that a person is considered more mature and responsible.

Psychologists consider ideal marriage in the range from 23 to 27 years. During this period, studies at the university are already over, the first steps in a successful career have begun, and the girl is a fully formed person who understands what she wants from life and from the upcoming marriage.

At the same time, readiness for family life includes three components:

• Socio-moral: suitable age, satisfactory he alth and economic viability.
• Motivational readiness: this includes, as well asthe formed feeling of love and affection for the spouse, as well as the readiness for increased responsibility, the birth and upbringing of children.
• Psychological readiness: similar views, interests and preferences of spouses, the ability to smooth sharp corners and compromise.