Examining shifts in marriage age, cities with highest singles over age 45, and preferred overseas wedding locations for Israelis

A rise in 2024 weddings, yet young adults delay tying the knot

(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

ByLIAT RON

JULY 29, 2026 16:15

The year 2023, marked by the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, prompted many couples to put wedding plans on hold. By 2024, however, a clear rebound emerged with a strong increase in marriages across Israel. Beneath the festive numbers and packed venues, Central Bureau of Statistics data shows a more intricate view of Israeli family patterns: rising numbers of young people choosing cohabitation without marriage, climbing single rates in major cities, and a move toward US destinations for overseas ceremonies instead of Cyprus. This outlines Israel's current marriage and singlehood trends.

In 2024, religious institutions authorized for marriages recorded 53,025 couples tying the knot in Israel, marking a roughly 10.4 percent increase from 2023 when conflict began. Among these, 71 percent were Jewish couples (37,646), 25.8 percent Muslim (13,690), 1.8 percent Druze (937), and 1.3 percent Christian (687). Compared to the prior year, Jewish marriages rose 13.1 percent and Muslim ones grew 4.8 percent, while Christian figures dipped 0.6 percent and Druze ones fell 0.4 percent.

Over the past 27 years, marriage rates have declined across all religious groups, with notable drops among Christians, Druze, and Muslims. From 2016 onward, Jewish rates also fell sharply, though recent years show stabilization for both Jews and Muslims.

Alongside this stabilization, cohabitation without marriage continues to grow. Since 2000, the share of unmarried Jewish couples living together has risen steadily, moving from 2.5 percent in 2000 to 7.1 percent in 2024.

Delaying marriage: Single rates climb higher

For first marriages in the Jewish population during 2024, both partners were single in 89.4 percent of cases. The average age for Jewish grooms at first marriage was 27.3 years (matching the overall population average), up slightly from 27 in 2023 for Jews and 27.2 overall. For Jewish brides at first marriage, the average stood at 25.6 years (25.2 overall), compared to 25.4 for Jewish women and 25 overall in 2023.

Over time, first-marriage ages for Jews rose by three years for grooms and 4.5 years for brides between 1970 and 2015. From 2016 to 2024, however, these ages dropped by about half a year for both. Among Muslims, first-marriage ages increased by more than two and a half years for grooms and three and a half years for brides from 1970 to 2024.

Due to later marriage ages among Jews, single rates for young adults jumped notably: single Jewish men aged 25-29 rose from 57 percent at end of 2000 to 65 percent at end of 2024, while single Jewish women in that group climbed from 36 percent to 53 percent over the same span.

Singlehood patterns: Tel Aviv tops list, Bnei Brak lowest

In large cities exceeding 100,000 residents, Jewish populations in Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Herzliya, and Ramat Gan show the highest shares of singles aged 25-29. By contrast, Bnei Brak and Beit Shemesh record the lowest percentages in this age bracket.

Lower marriage rates have also lifted single shares among Jewish adults aged 45-49: single Jewish men in this group grew from 6 percent at end of 2000 to 14 percent at end of 2024, and single Jewish women rose from 6 percent to 12 percent. Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Ramat Gan, and Bat Yam lead large cities with the highest never-married singles aged 45-49. Meanwhile, Beit Shemesh, Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, and Bnei Brak show the lowest rates, reflecting religious communities and areas with many young families.

Overseas weddings: US surpasses Cyprus

Beyond domestic marriages, 8,235 overseas unions were reported to the Population Registry in 2024 where at least one partner was registered, covering 12,159 individuals. Only about half of these reported cases occurred in 2024, with 26 percent from 2023 and the rest earlier. In 52 percent of overseas cases (4,311 couples), just one partner was registered at marriage time, while both were registered in 48 percent (3,924 couples).

Among reported overseas marriages, 1,983 cases (24 percent) involved two Jewish partners. For these Jewish couples, over half (54 percent) wed in the US, nearly a quarter (24 percent) in Cyprus, and about 5 percent in former Soviet Union nations (mostly Georgia at 4 percent).

For 2,379 couples with one Jewish partner and the other's religion unknown, nearly a third (31 percent) married in the US, 23 percent in former Soviet Union countries (9 percent Russia, 7 percent Georgia), and 7 percent in Ethiopia.

Among 1,825 couples with one Jewish partner and the other in the Others group, 40 percent wed in the US, 24 percent in Cyprus, and 23 percent in former Soviet Union nations (16 percent in Georgia).