Is marriage losing importance around the world? The changing face of marriage in Asia

When I was a teenager, I used to think that 23 was a reasonable age to get married.  As I got older, my perceptions about marriage changed and the older I got, the older my age of acceptability got as well.  I thought they were just my own thoughts about marriage, but maybe it was something more universal.  Although we’ve written about marriage trends in the US, Some recent articles about marriage in Asia got my attention.  From all the way around the world, marriage is changing and becoming less important.  But it looks different there than it does here.  Here are a few interesting research findings about marriage in Asia:

1. People are delaying marriage. In Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong—the mean age for marriage is 29-30 for women, 31-33 for men (Jones, 2010)
2. More people aren’t getting married at all.  The percentage of those never married before age 40 has been on the rise.  For those in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, 15-20% of women were “never married” before 40.  In the West, marriage is being replaced by cohabitation; however in Asian countries this does not seem to be the case.
3. Educated woman are less likely to marry.  Women with more education, income, and therefore autonomy are least likely to marry.  This is the opposite trend compared to those in the US and Europe, where marriage is more common among those more educated.  For many Asian men, less education is related to a lower likelihood to marry, perhaps due to difficulties finding a partner.
• Marriage may not be as enticing for educated, working women given the undue proportion of family work that is expected to be the woman’s responsibility in these cultures.  This not only includes raising children and keeping up the household, but often caring for elderly parents or parents-in-law.
• Another research study shows that the lower marriage rates coincide with decreases in meeting a partner through work and matchmakers (including family introductions) (Iwasawa & Mita, 2008).  Without another mechanism to replace these avenues, perhaps people are less likely to be introduced to potential partners.
4. Marriage is still the norm in some countries.  Unlike the countries mentioned above, marriage is still the norm in China and India.  However experts wonder if further industrialization will change these trends as well.

The face of marriage is changing, perhaps along with women’s role in society.   That is, education, income, and opportunity for women changes at a faster rate than sex-role expectations and traditions.  If marriage is one of those things that just has traditional meaning and does not make sense for the modern couple, perhaps it will become a relic of the past?  Or a relic at least until meaning or tradition catches up.

Further Reading:

(August 20, 2011). The flight from marriage. The Economist. http://www.economist.com/node/21526329

Iwasawa, M., & Mita, F. (2008). Boom and bust in marriages between coworkers and the marriage decline in Japan. Japanese Economy, 34, 3-24.

Jones, G. W. (January 2010). Changing marriage patterns in Asia. ARI Working Paper, No. 131.  www.ari.nus.edu.sg/pub/wps.htm.