As with the previous year’s trend, the age groups with the highest number of grooms in 2004 were the 25-29, 30-34 and 35-39 with 5,149 (23.8%), 4,975 (23.0%) and 3,457 (16.0%) respectively. In 2003, these same groups had respective totals of 5,278 (23.5%), 5,264 (23.4%) and 3,631 (16.2%). In 2002, they had 5,621 (24.4%), 5,564 (24.1%) and 3,624 (15.7%) respectively.

In respect of brides married in 2004, the leading age groups were the 25-29, 30-34 and 20-24 with respective values of 5,782 (26.7%), 4,593 (21.2%) and 3,651 (16.8%). The same age groups led in the same order for 2003 with 5,978 (26.6%), 4,771 (21.2%) and 3,873 (17.2%). In the previous year these age groups had totals of 6,266 (27.2%), 5,135 (22.3%) and 3,951 (17.1%) respectively.
TABLE 18: NUMBER OF MALES (BRIDEGROOMS) AND FEMALES (BRIDES) MARRIED BY AGE GROUPS AND SHOWING PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL MARRIAGES FOR 2004

Graph 9 shows age group distribution for grooms and brides for marriages performed in 2004. From the distribution it can be observed that the modal group for both groom and brides is the 25-29 group. As was seen in the previous year, the distribution of brides tends to the left of the grooms’ distribution indicating that overall the group of brides were younger than the set of grooms that were married in 2004.

GRAPH 9: AGE GROUP DISTRIBUTIONS FOR GROOMS AND BRIDES FOR 2004

For the 2004 marriage data by joint age of groom and bride, the largest age group cohort is that of the groom and the bride being 25-29 years with 2,487 (11.5%) such marriages. The next largest one was for the groom being 30-34 and the bride being 25-29 with 1,772 (8.2%) marriages. In the third position was the cohort with the groom and bride being 30-34 years with 1,746 (8.1%).

In the previous year, there was a similar situation with the leading cohort being that of the groom and bride being 25-29 years with 2,513 (11.2%) such marriages. Next was the group with the groom and bride being 30-34 with 1,886 (8.4%). In third was the cohort with the groom being 30-34 and the bride being 25-29 years with 1,854 (8.2%) marriages.

TABLE 18a: MARRIAGES BY JOINT AGE OF GROOM AND AGE OF BRIDE FOR 2004