Montenegro marriage rates decline amid economic pressures

Demographic data from Montenegro indicates a significant decline in marriage rates and a trend toward delayed parenthood. According to MONSTAT, the number of marriages has decreased by nearly 1,000 over the last decade. While 3,837 couples married in 2015, the figure dropped to 2,852 in 2024.

Demographer Miroslav Doderović attributes the delay in starting families to rational responses to economic instability, including high unemployment, seasonal work, rising housing and rental costs, and the high expense of raising children. Psychologist Monika Sekulović noted that young people often seek to resolve existential and financial security issues before becoming parents.

The average age for first marriages has also risen significantly between 1980 and 2023. Women's average age increased from 23.1 to approximately 28, while men's rose from 27.5 to about 31. Doderović highlighted that the current fertility rate of 1.8 children per woman is below the 2.1 required for long-term population replacement.