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    Home / Data Portal / STATSSA / ZAF-STATSSA-MD-2023-V1
StatsSA

Marriages and Divorces 2023

South Africa, 2023
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Reference ID
zaf-statssa-md-2023-v1
Producer(s)
Statistics South Africa
Collections
Statistics South Africa
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Mar 27, 2025
Last modified
Mar 27, 2025
Page views
422
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20
  • Study Description
  • Data Description
  • Downloads
  • Get Microdata
  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Data Collection
  • Data Access
  • Disclaimer and copyrights
  • Metadata production
  • Identification

    Survey ID number

    zaf-statssa-md-2023-v1

    Title

    Marriages and Divorces 2023

    Abbreviation or Acronym

    MD 2023

    Country
    Name Country code
    South Africa zaf
    Study type

    Socio-Economic/Monitoring Survey

    Abstract

    The Marriages and Divorces (MD) dataset is one of three primary sources of of marriage and divorce statistics in South Africa. Unlike the other two sources (population censuses and household sample surveys), the MD dataset is compiled from administrative data and based on continuous recording (i.e. from civil registration systems and administrative records). Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) regularly publishes a series of data on marriages and divorces, with the first dataset in the series begining in 2006. The most recent dataset in the series is MD 2023.

    Marriage data: Data on marriages for citizens and permanent residents are obtained from registered marriage records that are collected through the civil registration systems of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). South Africa recognises three types of marriages by law: civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions. Before 2008, marriage data only covered civil marriages. The registration of customary marriages and civil unions began in 2003 and 2007 respectively. However from 2008 onwards, Stats SA began publishing available data on customary marriages and civil unions.

    Divorce data: Data on divorces are obtained from various regional courts that deal with divorce matters. The data are based on successful divorce cases that have been issued with a decree of divorce by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD). Divorce cases come from marriages that were registered in different years as well as divorce cases that were filed in different years but whose divorce decrees were granted in the relevant year of collection.

    NOTE: although both the data on marriages and divorces are collected in the same year, the data sets are not linked to each other.

    Kind of Data

    Administrative records

    Unit of Analysis

    Individuals

    Version

    Version Description

    v1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution

    Version Date

    2022

    Version Notes

    This version was retrieved by DataFirst on 27 March 2025.

    Scope

    Notes

    Marriage data covers: province of registration, date and type of marriage (religious or civil) and age (and age difference) and status (e.g. single/widow/divorcee) of marital couple.
    Divorce data includes: individual level data: Age, gender and population group, status, and occupation and number of children. Data is also collected on the marriage (date, number, type and duration, and matrimonial property system) and the divorce (date of separation and date of divorce).

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage

    The data has national coverage.

    Geographic Unit

    The lowest level of geographic aggregation covered by the data is province

    Universe

    The data covers all civil marriages, civil unions and customary marriages that were recorded by the Department of Home Affairs and all divorce applications that were granted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in 2023 in South Africa.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name Affiliation
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa
    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    Department of Home Affairs Government of South Africa Data producer
    Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Government of South Africa Data producer

    Data Collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    2023-01-01 2023-12-31
    Mode of data collection
    • Other
    Data Collection Notes

    The marriage data is provided to Statistics South Africa by the South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) from their marriage registration database based on registration forms.

    The divorce data is obtained by Statistic South Africa from the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development from administrative records on divorces granted for civil marriages by its divorce courts.

    Data Access

    Access authority
    Name Affiliation URL Email
    DataFirst University of Cape Town http://support.data1st.org support@data1st.org
    Access conditions

    Public access data for use under a Creative Commons CC-BY (Attribution-only) License

    Citation requirements

    Statistics South Africa. Marriages and Divorces 2023 [dataset]. Version 1. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa [producer], 2025. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/a17m-kp44

    Disclaimer and copyrights

    Copyright

    Copyright 2013, Statistics South Africa

    Metadata production

    DDI Document ID

    ddi-zaf-datafirst-md-2014-v1

    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    DataFirst University of Cape Town Metadata producer
    Date of Metadata Production

    2025-03-27

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version

    Version 1

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