Same-sex marriages between females up, males drop

Same-sex partners entered into 376 marriages in 2019 of which 113 were between two men and 263 between two women.

The number decreased only slightly from the previous year when 387 marriages were contracted, according to Statistics Finland.

Women entered into 21 marriages more than in the previous year, men into 32 fewer.

Because the number of marriages entered into by women grew more than that of men decreased, the total number fell only by 11.

In low figures, a small change in numbers may be considerable in relative terms. The fall by 32 in the number of marriages entered into by two men means a decrease of 22 per cent in relative terms.

Correspondingly, the increase by 21 in the number of marriages entered into by two women means an increase of just under nine per cent.

The number of marriages entered into by two men in 2019 is 44 per cent and that of marriages by two women 32 per cent lower compared to year 2017, when, by amending the Marriage Act, same-sex persons enter into marriage instead of registering a same-sex partnership.

The number of same-sex partnerships ending in divorce in 2015 to 2017 was close to 130.

After that, the number of divorces has decreased and in 2019 there were 72 of them. In order to gain a better understanding of the total number of divorces of same-sex couples, divorces of married same-sex couples, 54, must be added to the figure above.

Then the number, 126, is at the same level as divorces of only registered couples in previous years.