Average marriage age for Shanghai women over 30

The average age that women in Shanghai are getting married is now over 30 for the first time.

The average age at which a woman gets married climbed from 29.9 years in 2011 to 30.3 years in 2012, according to figures published by the municipal Civil Affairs Bureau.

The average age of men climbed from 32.4 in 2011 to 32.7 years in 2012.

The average age at which Shanghai residents marry for the first time has consistently risen as well.

The average age at which a woman gets married for the first time rose from 27.2 years in 2011 to 27.3 years in 2012. The first-marriage age for men climbed to 30 years in 2012 from 29.3 years in 2011.

The statistics were compiled from the 143,819 couples who tied the knot in 2012, the civil affairs bureau said. There were 50,287 marriages with one partner born out of Shanghai, or 35.5 percent of the total.

When choosing non-locals as life partners, Shanghai residents most often chose people from the nearby Jiangsu province, followed by natives of Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, statistics showed. Shanghai residents least often selected spouses from western regions, such as the Tibet autonomous region and Qinghai province.

The city, with a population of 23 million permanent residents, also has seen its divorce rate rise in recent years, with 43,964 couples filing for divorce in 2012, up 13.6 percent from a year earlier.

The marriage between couples in their 30s are most fragile, followed by couples in their 20s and 40s, figures showed.

The post-1980s generation was more quick than previous generations to be bored with their relationships, with the "seven-year" itch being supplemented by a "three-year itch" among this group.

Analysis showed that the post-’80s group, mostly single children who are the product of China’s 1979 family-planning policy, gets more financial aid from their parents than previous generations but has less patience to mend their relationships when problems emerge.

As for the reasons for divorce, about 70 percent of people cited soured relationships, followed by conflicting personalities and interference from a third person.

Statistics showed that financial difficulties, family disputes, dissension generated from the education of children and long-time living apart can also contribute to estranged relationships.