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lif) II. THE SWEDISH PEOPLE.
Table. 22. Relative Number of Marriages.
Marriages per 1
million inh. Per 1 million inh. Married per 1 000
unmarried, 20—50 years Per 1 million inh. Married per 1000
unmarried, 20-45 years Per 1 inhab. million wedded
Annually [-Unmarried-] {+Unmar- ried+} men, 20—50 years Married men, first marriage [-Unmarried women,-] {+Unmar- ried wo- men,+} 20— 45 years Married women, first marriage > widowers and divorced widows and divorced
1751- -75 8 684 65 253 7 234 110-9 72 195 7 633 105-7 1450 1051
1776- -00 8 369 76 172 6 956 91-3 77 055 7 315 94-9 1413 1054
1801- -25 8 595 74 733 7189 96-2 74 208 7 549 101-7 1406 1046
1826- -50 7 310 75 876 6 339 83-5 70 457 6 638 94-2 971 672
1851- -75 7 041 83 281 6 242 74-9 78 987 6 595 83-5 799 446
1876- -00 6191 80 516 5 553 69-0 77 150 5 906 76-6 639 285
1901- -10 5 996 85 212 5 502 64’6 77 863 5 786 74-3 494 210
to the decline in mortality and its result, the deferred inheritance of the means
of living — as pointed out especially by Wicksell and Flodström —, though
the decrease of mortality also, in part, has a contrary effect; for by increasing
prosperity, it also promotes the opportunities of gaining a livelihood.
Marriages. The account given above was intended to illustrate the
distribution of the population according to the civil status. We have now
to give some description of the ordinary demographical details concerning
actual marriages. The principal facts can be seen from Table 22.
We must here point out the extraordinary decline in the number of
remarriages, a1 circumstance which, no doubt, stands in connection with the
decline in mortality. At the present time, second marriages are less frequent
in this country than in almost any other country in our continent.
The .average age for marriage has been, during the years 1901—10, for
men 30’03 years, and for women 26"89 years. The difference in age thus
amounts to 3’u years; formerly this difference was unusually small in Sweden,
but has somewhat increased of later years. As regards first marriages alone,
the average age of the men is taken to be 28’66 years, and of the women,
26"40 years; of second marriages, the men’s age is given at 45’27 years and
the women’s at 40 ’34 years.
Of the persons entering upon marriage in the years 1901—10, 0’4 % of the
men and 13 ’/. of the women were less than 21 years of age. These figures
are the lowest of their kind in the whole of Europe. From a physical, moral,
and social point of view, the noted writer Emil Svensén has thoroughly
investigated the subject of premature marriages. Among nations where premature
marriages are common, he generally finds a deficiency of physical and intellectual
strength, and, to a certain extent the stagnation of development (infantilism); perfect
bodily and mental development, will power, and self-esteem, belong pre-eminently
to those nations where marriages are made at more mature ages. Thus, the
figures shown above must be considered as very favourable for Sweden. Also,
in no other nation is the minimum age for the marriage of the woman kept
as high as in Sweden (at present 17 years to which it was raised in 1892, as
a result of a bill brought before the Riksdag).
Characteristic differences are usually found regarding the season of the year
in which marriages are celebrated in different countries. In Sweden, during
the years 1901—10, as many as 17’2 % of all marriages took place in
December, 12-7 % in November, and 12"6 % in October: thus 42’6 % in all, during
the last quarter of the year. During the first quarter, on the other hand, only
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