Over 60% of residents aged 30–49 married or in partnerships

In Luxembourg, 60% of residents aged 30 to 49 are married or in a registered partnership, according to Statec data released by the think tank Fondation IDEA on Thursday.

After decades of decline, the number of marriages has shown a moderate increase in recent years, remarriages accounting for around 13% of newly formed unions. “Many marriages concern divorced individuals who re-engage,” the report notes.

Marriage, the most legally structured form of union in Luxembourg, creates specific obligations and rights for spouses. Couples are required to live together, share responsibilities for household and children and the surviving spouse automatically benefits from inheritance rights.

Marriages can only be dissolved by death or judicial divorce, and financial obligations, including debts contracted for household needs extend to both spouses.

Registered partnerships (or PACS), by contrast, are legally declared unions that confer fewer rights and obligations. They automatically terminate if one partner marries, and they do not grant succession rights to the surviving partner.

Between the two, marriage remains the most durable form of union, and couples in marriage generally have more children than those in civil partnerships. The report also indicates that women in cohabiting unions after a first child have a lower probability of a second conception than women who remain married.

Children born to married parents are also less likely to live in single-parent households, a factor associated with lower risk of poverty, reads the research.

Policy debates have increasingly focused on fiscal reform, including proposals to abolish joint taxation for married couples and registered partners. While divorce rates are often cited to question the relevance of marriage, the report notes that many marriages remain long-term.

Between 2020 and 2023, the average marriage before divorce lasted between 12.5 to 13 years.