Marriage in Germany is governed by the ''

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany, codifying most generally-applicably private law. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbr ...

'' in sections 1297 to 1588 of the fourth book of the code as a branch of

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

. Marriage may only be conducted by a civil registrar, although couples may also participate in religious ceremonies. People who are not citizens or residents may marry in Germany. Since 1 October 2017, same-sex couples may marry.

Statistics

Almost 10 million married couples lived without children, about 6.5 million couples had at least one child under the age of 18. At the end of 2022, 49 percent of German adult population was married.

Marriages between German and foreigner

Of the total of around 21 million married couples in Germany in 2005, 6.3 percent were international (compared to 1996 an increase of 3% to 1.3 million). With 602,000 married couples, the wife is of foreign origin (for 545,000 the husband). In the case of unmarried couples each consisting of a foreigner and a German national, the number of foreign men prevails over the number of foreign women (104,000 to 80,000). The ratio of partners from EU countries to partners from non-EU countries is around 2:3. 45,915 international marriages, in which one of the partners has a German passport and the other a foreign passport, were concluded in Germany in 2015, that is 11.5% of all new marriages or every 9th Married couple. Almost two generations before, in 1960, in the old Federal Republic, only every 27th fresh couple was international (3.7%).

References

External links

{{Marriage in Europe