Fewer South Africans choosing customary marriage: Here are the provinces with the most decline

Official data from Statistics South Africa shows customary marriages have plummeted by nearly a quarter in a single year, raising questions about the future of a centuries-old tradition The latest Marriages and Divorces report released by Stats SA this week shows that only 2 634 customary marriages were registered with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in 2024, a sharp decline of 25,5% from the 3 537 recorded the year before. Across the broader marriage landscape, 102 373 marriages and unions were registered in 2024, down 28,5% from the 143 279 recorded in 2015, and the country’s crude marriage rate has fallen to just 1.6 per thousand people. The data, which covers civil marriages, customary marriages and civil unions registered between January and December 2024, points to a society in which formal marriage, particularly in its traditional form, is becoming increasingly rare.

The Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998 requires that customary marriages entered into after the Act’s commencement be registered within three months. Despite that legal obligation, the numbers suggest many unions are either not being formalised or simply not happening at the same rate as before. The Stats SA report notes that “the number of registered customary marriages have been fluctuating over the 10-year period, 2015 to 2024,” with the highest figure recorded in 2022 at 4 376 and the lowest in 2020 at 1 585.

This dip can be attributed to Covid-19 restrictions. But the 2024 decline cuts deeper than a pandemic blip. Eight of South Africa’s nine provinces recorded fewer customary marriages compared to 2023.

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Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal remain the strongholds of the tradition, together accounting for over half of all customary marriages registered nationally. Yet even these provinces are not immune to the trend.

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