1966 was the year since World War II with the second-highest number of people getting married. The average age of those who married for the first time – 25.9 years for men and 23.3 years for women – was also the youngest.
In addition to people living longer, all of this contributes to 2026 being a year when many can celebrate diamond weddings, meaning having been married for 60 years - "perhaps the most ever," writes SCB.
"In 2000, there were 8,200 people who on January 1 were living in a marriage that would reach 60 years during the year. In 2025, there were 22,700 who could look forward to the same thing," says demographer Filip Dabergott on the authority's website.
A trend in Sweden, and in many other countries, is that people are getting married at an older age.
Almost three-quarters – 72.7 percent – of the women who married in 1966 were under the age of 25. At the same time, just over half of the men – 50.7 percent – were under 25 when they married.
Last year – 2025 – the corresponding figures were 7.0 percent for women and 3.6 percent for men.
The statistics are based on data for all registered persons in Sweden who married or divorced each year.
