Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the average age at the time of first marriage across European countries. However, despite these increases, the gender gap in age at first marriage has remained relatively unchanged in most countries. As of 2020/2021, the average gender gap was approximately 2.6 years, only slightly lower than the 2.7 years recorded in 1998, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Among the European countries, Montenegro, Romania, Georgia and Bulgaria had the largest gender gaps in age at first marriage, with gaps of 3.7, 3.2, 3.1 and 3.1 years, respectively. On the other hand, Portugal and Greece stood out as the only countries where the gender gap was less than 2 years. In all countries, men tend to marry at a later age on average compared to women.
Reading help: The average gender gap in age at first marriage in 2020/2021 was approximately 2.6 years
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