Family: civil unions between same-sex couples on the rise. Separations and divorces fall

Marriages are falling, separations and divorces are decreasing. The Istat report 'Marriages, civil unions, separations and divorces' indicates that in 2023, 184,207 marriages were celebrated in Italy, 2.6% less than in 2022.

The fall in the number of the fateful "yes" was more consistent in the South (-5.8%) than in the North (-0.3%), with the Centre (-1.3%) in an intermediate position. Religious marriages were down considerably compared to the previous year (-8.2%), accentuating a downward trend that had already been underway for some time, so much so that 6 out of 10 (58.9% of marriages) were celebrated with a civil ceremony.

Divorces and separations are decreasing in 2023: there are 82,392 separations (-8.4%) and 79,875 (-3.3%) divorces, a decrease of 19.4% when compared to 2016, the year in which there were the most divorces so far (99,071). The trend in divorces has been steadily increasing since 1970, the year divorce was introduced, until 2015. In this year, the number of divorces underwent a strong surge (+57.5%) in connection with the entry into force of two measures: Decree-Law 132/2014, which introduced out-of-court consensual procedures without the need to go to the Courts, and above all Law 55/2015 (the 'short divorce').

The number of second or subsequent marriages is increasing: in 2023 there were 44,320, the highest figure ever recorded so far (the share in total marriages is 24.1%). A percentage that had only been higher in 2020 (28%). The increase in second marriages for at least one of the spouses is 3.3% compared to 2022; if both spouses have a previous marriage behind them, the increase is more substantial (+7.2%). 15.8% of the bridegrooms and 14.8% of the brides have a divorce behind them, but these percentages show an increasing trend as the age of the bride and groom increases. 52.2% of grooms and 52.8% of brides aged 50 and over have dissolved their marital ties through divorce. Only 1.5% of the bridegrooms and 0.9% of the brides before marriage were widowed; the percentages rise to 6.3% and 4.6% respectively when considering brides and grooms aged 50 and over. The increase in second marriages, recorded mainly in 2015-2016 as a consequence of the introduction of the 'short divorce' in 2015, was followed by a gradual stabilisation that continued until 2019.

There were 3,019 civil unions between same-sex couples formed at the Civil Status Offices of Italian municipalities in 2023, an increase over the previous year (+7.3%). Provisional data for the first eight months of 2024 instead show a decrease (-2.1%) compared to the same period in 2023. The prevalence of unions between men is also confirmed in 2023 (1,694 unions, 56.1% of the total), stable compared to the previous year (56.7%). 35.5% of civil unions are in the North-West, followed by the Centre (24.3%). Among the regions, Lombardy leads with 23.5%, followed by Lazio (13.3%) and Emilia-Romagna (10.4%). At the national level in 2023 there were 5.1 new civil unions per 100,000 residents, while in the South the indicator is roughly half that number.