In 2023, Turkey saw a slight decline in marriages by 1.82% and a drop in divorces by 5.79%, according to recent data from the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Despite these decreases, Turkey maintains the highest divorce rate among Muslim countries.
The statistics revealed that there were 565,435 marriages and 171,881 divorces in the country last year. The median age for first marriages increased to 28.3 for men and 25.7 for women, with a typical age difference of 2.6 years favoring older males in 70.7% of unions. Additionally, about 3.2% of marriages were consanguineous, involving relationships as close as second cousins.
Divorce trends showed that 33.4% occurred within the first five years of marriage, while 21.7% happened between six and ten years. Of the divorces, 171,213 children were awarded custody, predominantly to mothers (74.9%) over fathers (25.1%).
On a regional note, Kilis in southeastern Turkey recorded the highest crude marriage rate at 8.09 per thousand, while Gümüşhane in the Black Sea region had the lowest at 4.52 per thousand. Overall, while the divorce figures have fluctuated since 2001, they have generally increased over time.
