Moroccan Marriage Rates Decline as Average Age for First Wedding Rises, Report Finds

Are Moroccans living in fear of marriage? The latest report from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) is quite damning and raises questions about the future of this requirement of Moroccan society: marriage.

According to this report, marriage in Moroccan society has changed considerably: the average age of marriage has risen to 31.9 years for men and 25.5 years, indicating a trend among Moroccans to delay marriage.

One of the most significant changes in Moroccan society in this context is the growing phenomenon of celibacy, where 35% of women have never been married, 24% of singles are between 30 and 34 years old and 11% between 45 and 49 years old, according to the report cited by Challenge.

Similarly, the fertility rate of Moroccan families has seen a significant decline in 2014, dropping to 2.21 children per Moroccan woman. This rate rose to 2.38 children per woman in 2018, but remains largely unchanged.

Based on these HCP data, the same source indicates that most Moroccan families are content with two children and could eventually be content with only one, if nothing is done.

Among the reasons that could explain the decline in the fertility rate, contraceptive methods are pointed out. Indeed, 70.7% of Moroccan women currently use contraceptives to avoid births, the report concludes.