More above 50 marrying
By Zhen Ming
WHEN my wife and I tied the knot in 1984, you could say that as newly-weds, we were truly Mr & Mrs Average.
I was 28 and she was 25.
Back then, the typical Singapore groom was 28.3 years old and his bride 25.2 years old - that is, an age spread of 3.1 years.
Roughly a quarter of a century later, most couples in Singapore are getting hitched at later ages. The median age was 30.9 years for the groom and 26.7 years for the bride in 2007 - that is, an age spread of 4.2 years.
This widening age spread for newly-weds makes Singapore unlike most developed countries. In the US and Europe, for instance, the age spread is about two years.
In the less developed, more traditional societies, on the other hand, men can be as much as 5-15 years older than their women partners.
In Singapore, the widening age spread is linked to a growing trend among many people in their 50s and 60s (or even older) choosing to re-marry or even get married for the first time.
The number of middle-aged grooms here grew by an astounding 91 per cent over a recent five-year period, to 1,196 in 2007 from 626 in 2002.
Over the same period, however, the number of silver-haired brides grew at a somewhat slower pace of 54 per cent - to 281 in 2007 from 182 in 2002.
Back in 2002, the ratio of all middle-aged grooms to all silver-haired brides was 3.4 to 1.
By 2007, this ratio had climbed to 4.3 to1.
Among men, non-Muslims (80.5 per cent) were more likely to marry (either for the first time or again) at 50 or older.
But among women, Muslims (30.6 per cent) were more likely to do so.
Among men who marry at 50 or older, an overwhelming 84 per cent of those married under the Women's Charter in 2007 chose women partners under 50.
Love is blind?
While financial stability may seem to be the primary reason why a young woman would want to marry an older man, there are some women who fall in love with older men without any pre-planning. (Love is blind, as they say.)
In this regard, 160 women under 30 chose to marry men 50 or older here in 2007.
Among women 50 or older, an overwhelming 79 per cent picked men in the same age bracket.
Put differently, 21 per cent of these middle-aged women selected men partners under 50.
Some of these men may have been much younger than themselves, but in 2007, none of them had a groom under 30.
Source: The New Paper, Fri 27 Feb 2009
By Zhen Ming
WHEN my wife and I tied the knot in 1984, you could say that as newly-weds, we were truly Mr & Mrs Average.
I was 28 and she was 25.
Back then, the typical Singapore groom was 28.3 years old and his bride 25.2 years old - that is, an age spread of 3.1 years.
Roughly a quarter of a century later, most couples in Singapore are getting hitched at later ages. The median age was 30.9 years for the groom and 26.7 years for the bride in 2007 - that is, an age spread of 4.2 years.
This widening age spread for newly-weds makes Singapore unlike most developed countries. In the US and Europe, for instance, the age spread is about two years.
In the less developed, more traditional societies, on the other hand, men can be as much as 5-15 years older than their women partners.
In Singapore, the widening age spread is linked to a growing trend among many people in their 50s and 60s (or even older) choosing to re-marry or even get married for the first time.
The number of middle-aged grooms here grew by an astounding 91 per cent over a recent five-year period, to 1,196 in 2007 from 626 in 2002.
Over the same period, however, the number of silver-haired brides grew at a somewhat slower pace of 54 per cent - to 281 in 2007 from 182 in 2002.
Back in 2002, the ratio of all middle-aged grooms to all silver-haired brides was 3.4 to 1.
By 2007, this ratio had climbed to 4.3 to1.
Among men, non-Muslims (80.5 per cent) were more likely to marry (either for the first time or again) at 50 or older.
But among women, Muslims (30.6 per cent) were more likely to do so.
Among men who marry at 50 or older, an overwhelming 84 per cent of those married under the Women's Charter in 2007 chose women partners under 50.
Love is blind?
While financial stability may seem to be the primary reason why a young woman would want to marry an older man, there are some women who fall in love with older men without any pre-planning. (Love is blind, as they say.)
In this regard, 160 women under 30 chose to marry men 50 or older here in 2007.
Among women 50 or older, an overwhelming 79 per cent picked men in the same age bracket.
Put differently, 21 per cent of these middle-aged women selected men partners under 50.
Some of these men may have been much younger than themselves, but in 2007, none of them had a groom under 30.
Source: The New Paper, Fri 27 Feb 2009
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