Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – In almost three percent of all marriages concluded in North Rhine-Westphalia in the year before last, same-sex partners said yes to each other. As reported by the State Statistical Office in Düsseldorf on Friday, this applied to 2,258 of a total of 79,325 couples. In 1,227 cases, it was female couples and in 1,031 male couples. 349 times registered civil partnerships were converted into a marriage in 2020.

The average age of grooms was 44.1 years and that of brides 41.5 years. Even in mixed-sex marriages, men are slightly older than women (35.3 years) when they marry, at an average of 38 years.

Marriages for same-sex couples and conversions of registered civil partnerships have been possible in Germany since October 2017. On May 31, diversity will be celebrated in Germany for the tenth time at the “Diversity Days”.