Marriages in North Macedonia fall sharply, while divorces rise

The structure of the family in North Macedonia is undergoing major changes. Official data show fewer marriages, more divorces and a continuing tendency toward relationships within the same ethnic community.

A total of 10,507 marriages were registered in the country during 2025. Most couples belonged to the same ethnic group, while marriages between different communities generally accounted for only 6–10 percent of the total.

Among Macedonians, statistics for 2025 show 2,623 Macedonian-Macedonian marriages. In the Albanian community, 2,301 Albanian-Albanian marriages were registered.

A comparison with data from five years earlier shows a sharp decline. In 2020, the number of marriages within the Macedonian community was 4,701, while in 2025 it fell to 2,623. Among Albanians, the figure dropped from 3,829 marriages in 2020 to 2,301 in 2025.

The situation is different with divorces, which have increased. Among Macedonians, they rose from 981 cases in 2020 to 1,036 in 2025. Among Albanians, meanwhile, the number increased from 260 to 341 divorces.

Marriages between people of different ethnic backgrounds remain rare. In 2025, 29 Macedonian men married Serbian women and 24 married Albanian women. During the same period, 36 Macedonian women married Albanian men, 19 married Turkish men and 16 married Serbian men.

In the Albanian community, these marriages are even more limited in number. A total of 38 Albanian men married Macedonian women, while 24 Albanian women chose Macedonian men as their spouses. Also during 2025, seven Albanian-Turkish marriages and seven Albanian-Bosniak marriages were recorded.

Data on the Serbian community show another feature: of the 18 marriages in which the groom was Serbian, 16 were with Macedonian women and only one with a Serbian woman.

The decline in the number of marriages is not linked solely to changing choices of partners, but also signals a contraction in family formation. At the same time, the increase in divorces makes this trend even more evident.

These developments represent one of the most significant social changes of the past five years. Mixed-ethnicity marriages, meanwhile, continue to be influenced by the cultural, religious and demographic factors affecting the communities and remain at relatively low levels.