“Population Keeps Growing While Marriage Rates Decline to Fewer Than 2 Million Couples a Year”

Indonesia’s population continues to grow each year, but this trend does not align with marriage rates, which have seen a significant decline over the past five years.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows that in 2019, the population reached 266.9 million, with 1.96 million marriages recorded.

This number has steadily decreased, dropping to 1.47 million marriages in 2024, despite the population rising to 281.6 million.

On average, this decline equates to approximately 98,000 fewer couples marrying each year since 2019.

In 2020, there were 1.78 million marriages, followed by 1.74 million in 2021, 1.70 million in 2022, and another drop to 1.57 million in 2023.

In response to this trend, the Ministry of Religious Affairs has set a target of registering 2 million marriages nationwide by 2025.

Various measures are being prepared, including mass wedding programs and the “Gas Nikah” initiative, which simplifies marriage registration for the public.

The Director General of Islamic Community Guidance emphasized the importance of active involvement by religious officials and civil servants in promoting marriage registration.

This outreach effort aims to cover hard-to-reach areas, ensuring couples wishing to marry are no longer hindered by distance or limited facilities.