People Are Waiting Longer To Get Married

Christina Chandra

13th July 2026 - 3 min read

Financial pressures, job mismatches and the challenge of building a stable career are among the reasons people are waiting longer before getting married, according to National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) Research, Population and Family Division Director Adzmel Mahmud.

Speaking on the Kasih Lensa Keluarga podcast ahead of World Population Day on 11 July, Adzmel said the average age at marriage had risen to 31 for men and 29 for women in 2024. DOSM’s Marriage, Divorce and Rujuk Statistics, Malaysia, 2025 puts the median age at marriage at 29 for grooms and 27 for brides, up from 28 and 26 in 2018.

It’s About More Than Paying For A Wedding

For many couples, preparing for marriage isn’t a case of having a great and memorable wedding. The reality is that managing household expenses, planning for children and building a future together all rely on having a steady source of income if you want to have a good time.

Adzmel said many people still want to get married, but financial constraints and the need for greater job and income stability have led them to postpone those plans. Reaching that point can take longer than expected when the jobs available don’t always match the qualifications you’ve spent years working towards, making it harder to secure the income you were hoping for.

Some have also taken on more than one job to make ends meet. While the extra income can help, Adzmel said balancing multiple jobs over a long period can eventually affect both physical and mental wellbeing, making it harder to feel ready for the next stage of life.

The challenges aren’t unique to Malaysia either. A recent United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) survey of more than 108,000 people aged 18 to 39 across 73 countries found that financial security was the biggest consideration before entering a partnership, followed closely by stable employment. More than two-thirds of respondents said they wanted to marry or live with a partner, suggesting that many are delaying those plans rather than giving them up altogether.

Adzmel also said social media has shaped some people’s perceptions of the ideal age for marriage, creating unnecessary pressure around when they should settle down.

Marrying Later Means Fewer Births

Adzmel said the trend deserves attention because marrying later shortens the reproductive period and could affect future birth rates, with longer-term implications for the country’s population structure.

He said helping people reach that stage goes beyond financial assistance alone. Better access to quality education, decent jobs, flexible working arrangements and support for working parents all play a part in making it easier for people to build a family when they’re ready.

LPPKN also offers several programmes to support people preparing for marriage and family life, including the Smart Start Pre-Marriage Programme, the Fertility Treatment Assistance Programme, reproductive health education, and family and marriage counselling services.

Christina Chandra

Christina writes about personal finance with an eye for making the complicated feel straightforward. She is drawn to the everyday money decisions people face and genuinely enjoys finding the clearest way to explain them. Between articles, she is probably napping, on a hiking trail, or terrorising her sister’s cats.

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