Fewer Marriages but Declining Divorces in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: New figures from the Statistics Department reveal a 12.5% reduction in the number of marriages in Malaysia, dropping from 215,022 in 2022 to 188,100 in 2023.
Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the country’s Chief Statistician, noted that the Crude Marriage Rate (CMR) dropped from 6.6 to 5.7 per thousand people.

Decline in Muslim Marriages

The largest drop was seen in Muslim marriages, which made up 74.5% of total marriages. These marriages saw a 16.8% decrease, from 168,467 in 2022 to 140,176 in 2023.
Selangor, Kelantan, and Johor recorded the largest declines in Muslim marriages, with reductions of 17.4%, 17.7%, and 15.8%, respectively.

Non-Muslim Marriages Show Growth

Meanwhile, non-Muslim marriages saw a slight rise of 2.9%, from 46,555 in 2022 to 47,924 in 2023, with Johor, Sarawak, and Kuala Lumpur leading in growth.

Divorce Rates Decline Significantly

Interestingly, the number of divorces in Malaysia also dropped by 8.7%, from 63,338 in 2022 to 57,835 in 2023. The Crude Divorce Rate (CDR) saw an improvement from 1.9 to 1.8 per thousand population.
Muslim divorces fell by 3.9%, while non-Muslim divorces plummeted by 21.4%. The biggest declines in Muslim divorces were seen in Kelantan, Johor, and Sabah.