In 2022, Brazil saw a 19.8% jump in same-sex marriages, reaching 11,000—the highest since the 2013 mandate prohibiting registry denial.
This data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reveals that most of these marriages (60.2%) were among women.
However, these unions constituted just 1.1% of Brazil’s total marriages, numbering 970,000 for the year.
Following a decrease in marriages from 2015 to 2020, notably due to the pandemic, recent figures still fall short of pre-pandemic levels, as noted by IBGE’s Klívia Brayner.
Additionally, there’s a trend towards older age in marriage, with a noticeable increase in those 40 and older getting married since 2000.
Now, 30% of marriages involve a partner who is either divorced or widowed.
Divorces also climbed by 8.6% to 420,000 in 2022. The average marriage now lasts about 13 years, with almost half ending within a decade.
Judicial divorces, making up 81.1% of the total, often involve families with minors.
The shift towards shared custody has been significant since 2014, now accounting for 37.8% of cases. This has reduced the proportion of women as primary caregivers from 85.1% to 50.3%.
This change highlights evolving family dynamics and custody decisions post-divorce.