One In Five Civil Union Couples Are Visitors –
Media release
3 May 2013
There were 20,521 marriages registered to New Zealand residents in 2012, Statistics New Zealand said today. A further
2,422 marriages were registered to overseas residents. There were also 303 civil unions registered to New Zealand
residents, and an additional 87 to overseas residents.
"Around 1 in 5 civil unions in New Zealand are registered to couples from overseas, compared with 1 in 10 for
marriages," population statistics project manager Joel Watkins said.
Other statistics on civil unions indicate that:
• Of the 303 civil unions registered to residents in 2012, 22 percent were to opposite-sex couples.
• The first civil unions were celebrated in New Zealand on 29 April 2005.
• Up until the end of 2012, 2,455 residents have registered a civil union in New Zealand, and 124 civil unions have been
dissolved.
In 2012, 8,785 married couples divorced. Just over one-third (35 percent) of couples who married in 1987 had divorced
before their silver wedding anniversary (25 years).
In New Zealand, an application for divorce can be made by either partner on the grounds that the marriage or civil union
has broken down irreconcilably, provided a two-year separation requirement is satisfied. However, couples may be
separated for longer than two years before divorcing or may separate and never formally divorce.
For more information about these statistics:
ENDS