Marriage Rate In Indonesia Drops, 2035 Demographic Bonuses Are Also Threatened

The phenomenon of marriage age decline is in the spotlight of the National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN). (Special)

JAKARTA The difference in goals and high levels of education is said to be one of the declines in the number of marriages in Indonesia. The decline in the number of marriages is feared to be directly proportional to the decrease in the capital fertility rate or the fertility rate of women.

Based on a report by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) entitled Indonesian Statistics 2024, the number of marriages in Indonesia has continued to decline in the past decade. However, the most striking decline has occurred in the last three years.

In 2023, for example, the number of marriages in Indonesia reached 1,577,255, a decrease of around 128 thousand compared to the number of marriages in 2022. Meanwhile, in the last decade, the number of marriages in Indonesia has decreased by 28.63 percent or shrank by 632,791.

It should be noted that the marriage data published by BPS is marriage data at all ages for Islam. BPS obtained the data from the Director General of Islamic Community Guidance from the recording of the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA).

The National Population and Family Planning Center Agency (BKKBN) explained several factors that were considered to be the cause of the decline in marriage age in Indonesia. According to the Head of BKKBN Hasto Wardoyo, the higher education rate is one of the causes of backward marriage. In addition to education, financial and environmental capabilities are also influential.

"The richer you get, the higher education and the more you live in urban areas, the closer you are to the median of married age who is getting backward," said Hasto in his statement.

Marriage is something sacred to everyone. In various regions in Indonesia, marriage is even considered a goal or target. So, it is not uncommon for marriage to become a 'race' and who first married is considered the winner.

However, this phenomenon has begun to shift in recent years, as evidenced by the decline in the number of marriages in the country. Marriage is no longer a 'race event' between one individual and another. The assumption that marriage has an ideal age is also starting to erode.

Still according to BPS data on Indonesian Youth Statistics 2023. From this report, it can be seen that young people who postpone marriage continue to increase from year to year. Last year, 68.29 percent of young people were not married. This figure is an increase compared to 2014 when the number of unmarried youths was 54.11 percent.

BPS itself refers to Law Number 40 of 2009 concerning Youth, which states that youth are Indonesian citizens aged 16 to 30 years.

One of the factors that contribute to the decline in the number of marriages is economic reasons, according to financial planner Andy Nugroho. Andy said that young people are currently more financially literate, so they think longer before deciding to step up to the level of marriage.

"National Z and millennials, they realize that the funds needed to get married are not only for the cost of marriage, but also for households to pay for their children's schools in the future," said Andy.

Apart from economic factors, there are other things that are considered to be one of the causes of the decline in the number of marriages. Modern lifestyle shifts to trauma caused by a relationship are also considered to cause a decrease in the number of marriages.

Quoting another Body Greenfactor that causes a person to be reluctant to get married is that marriage is considered a patriarchal institution, a desire to focus on careers, a high divorce rate, as well as feelings of many rules and expectations of marriage.

The decline in the number of marriages did not only occur in Indonesia, but also in other countries. In the United States, for example, the number of marriages decreased by 60 percent in 2023 compared to the 1970s. Meanwhile, China also recorded the lowest number of marriages in history in 2022, as reported by the Asia Media Center.

The decline in the number of marriages also occurred in other Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea. Japan is even said to have experienced a quench of marriage ice' because the number of marriages continues to decline. Quoted by NIkkei, the number of men who were not married throughout their lives in 2020 was 30 percent. In fact, this figure did not reach 2 percent in 1933.

The decline in the number of marriages turned out to be directly proportional to the decrease in women's fertility or the total fertility rate. The BKKBN reported that in the last 10 years, fertility rates had decreased from 2.7 to 2.1 in 2023.

The liftotal fertility rate2.1 is an ideal figure that must be maintained. However, seeing the declining trend of marriage, there are concerns that fertility rates will also continue to decline in the following years.

Whereas the decline in fertility rates can have an impact on economic growth that has not been achieved. Indonesia itself has a target of undergoing demographic bonuses since 2035 in order to get out of the status of the country's middle income or developing country. If fertility rates continue to decline, it is feared that by 2035 the population of productive age will not be more than non-productive age.

"This condition (the declining marriage) affects the demographic bonus, total birth rate (TFR), population growth rate, middle income trap, and also affects Indonesia's efforts to become four major countries in the world," said Hasto.