Marriages and Divorces 2010 (South Africa)

Abstract

Marriages data
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) publishes marriage data on citizens and permanent residents that are collected through the national civil registration systems. The data in this dataset is based only on registered marriages and divorces that are stipulated and governed by the country’s legal frameworks. The management of registered marriages is the responsibility of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Two main
legislations cover the registration of civil marriages and customary marriages. Civil marriages are administered through the Marriage Act, 1961 (Act No. 25 of 1961) as amended, and its associated regulations. Customary marriages are governed by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No. 120 of 1998) that came into effect on 15 November 2000. An additional legislation is the registration of civil unions - relationships between same-sex couples that are legally recognized by a state authority. These unions are covered by the Civil Union Act, 2006 (Act No. 17 of 2006) that came into operation on 30 November 2006. After the solemnisation ceremony of a marriage or a civil union, the marriage officer submits the marriage /civil union register to the nearest office of the DHA, where the marriage / civil union details are recorded in the National Population Register (NPR). With respect to customary marriages, the two spouses and their witnesses present themselves at a DHA office in order to register a customary marriage. Hence the province of registration is not necessarily the province of the place of usual residence of the couple since the registration of the marriage can take place in any DHA office. Statistics South Africa obtains data on marriages and civil unions in digital format from DHA through the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and the Marriages and Divorces 2010 dataset is compiled from this data.

Divorces data
The dissolution of registered marriages and civil unions falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD). This responsibility of the department is mandated through the Divorce Act, 1979 as amended, and its associated regulations (Act No.70 of 1979) and the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act, 2008 (Act No. 31 of 2008) as amended which came into effect on 9 August 2010.

The divorces data file only provides 2010 data on divorces from civil marriages. It is limited in its usability by this and by the fact that the data is on divorces that were granted in 2010 by the
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development at 12 of the 62 divorce courts mandated to deal with divorce cases in South Africa. The lack of geographical data in the dataset also compromises its usability.