Marriage in Italy continues to lose ground, consolidating a downward trajectory that has lasted for decades, excluding post-pandemic technical rebounds. In 2024, the weddings celebrated were 173.272, marking a decrease of nearly 11,000 celebrations compared to the 184.207 compared to the previous year (-5.9%).
The collapse of the religious rite
The component most affected by this contraction is that of marriage with a religious rite. In 2024, church weddings recorded a decrease of’11,4% compared to 2023, accentuating the preference for civil ceremonies (which now widely exceed half of the total choices nationwide).
The geography of the decline
The decline in marriage rates affects the entire country, but with varying intensities:
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Mezzogiorno records the most marked decrease with a -8,3%, a significant signal for an area historically more tied to the institution of marriage.
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Center drop in -5,0%.
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North: smaller decrease, equal to -4,3%.
The driving factors: demographics and new living arrangements
Two main drivers explain the trend identified by the National Institute of Statistics:
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The demographic winter: The prolonged decline in birth rates has reduced the numerical size of the younger generations; As there are fewer individuals in the age group traditionally inclined to marry, the absolute number of marriages is falling even with the same propensity to marry.
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Shift in family models: The transition to adulthood and the formation of new families increasingly involve cohabitation as husband and wife and cohabitation, which have progressively replaced marriage as the preferred path for housing and couple autonomy.
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