Marriages, Civil Unions, and Divorces: Year ended December 2009

In the December 2009 year:

• 21,600 marriages were registered to New Zealand residents.
• 2,100 marriages were registered to overseas residents.
• The general marriage rate was 13.2 marriages per 1,000 not-married population aged 16 years and over.
• 312 resident civil unions were registered, of which 78 percent were same-sex unions.
• 58 civil unions were registered to overseas residents.
• 8,700 orders for dissolution of marriage were granted in New Zealand.
• There were 10.2 divorces for every 1,000 estimated existing marriages.