• Highlights

• Number of divorces fell 2.8% between 2023 and 2024, reaching 428,301. The last time there was a drop in this indicator was between 2019 and 2020 (-13.6%).
• For the first time, the proportion of legal divorces between couples with shared custody (44.6%) surpassed those in which the woman had custody of the child (42.6%).
• The number of civil marriages grows by 0.9% between 2023 and 2024, but does not reach pre-pandemic levels. Among people of the same sex, the increase was 8.8% and broke a new record, with 12,187 registrations.
• Brazil had 2.38 million births in 2024, a drop of 5.8% compared to 2023 (2.52 million). It is the sixth consecutive year of reduction in birth rates.
• Proportion of mothers aged up to 24 years falls from more than half (51.7%) to just over a third (34.6%) between 2004 and 2024.
• Brazil recorded 1.50 million deaths in 2024, a number 4.6% higher compared to 2023.
• Of the total deaths, 6.9% were due to non-natural causes (homicides, suicides, traffic accidents, drownings, accidental falls, etc.).
• Number of unnatural deaths among men (85,244) was 4.7 times higher than among women (18,043); among teenagers and young people aged 15 to 29 years, this male excess mortality (27,575 deaths) from non-natural causes is even more pronounced, 7.7 times higher than that of women (3,563 deaths).

Brazil registered 428,301 divorces granted in the first instance or through out-of-court deeds in 2024, a reduction of 2.8% in relation to 2023 (440,827). The last time the number of divorces decreased was in 2020 (-13.6%). South (-1.4%), Southeast (-2.5%), Northeast (-3.1%), and Central-West (-11.8%) drove this drop, while the North (9.1%) was the only Major Region with an increase between 2023 and 2024.

The data comes from Vital Statistics, released today (10) by the IBGE. The survey investigates information related to live births, marriages, deaths and fetal deaths reported by the Civil Registry Offices of Natural Persons; to legal divorces reported by Family Courts, Forums or Civil Courts; as well as to out-of-court divorces accomplished by Notary Offices.

“The drop in the number of divorces is small. When we look at the time series, we see that these changes are cyclical, therefore, we need to wait for future releases to see if this behavior indicates any change in trend,” says the survey manager, Klívia Brayner.

For the first time, the proportion of legal divorces between parents with shared custody of minor children (44.6%) surpassed that of couples whose custody of minor children was shared by the woman (42.6%). In 2014, these proportions were, respectively, 7.5% and 85.1%. “The survey shows that this reversal of trend is a consequence of Law no. 13,058, of 2014, which began to prioritize shared custody even if there is no agreement between the parents regarding the custody of children, as long as both are able to exercise the family power,” assesses the survey manager.

Legal divorces granted in the first instance corresponded to 81.8% of the Brazilian divorces in 2024. When analyzing this type of divorce according to family arrangement, the highest proportion of dissolutions occurred among families formed only with minor children, reaching 45.8% in 2024, compared to 46.3% in 2023. Next are divorces among childless couples (30.4%).

On average, men divorced at an older age (44.5 years) than women (41.6 years). Among people of different sexes, for every 100 registered marriages, there were nearly 45.7 divorces in Brazil against 47.4 in 2023. The average time between the date of marriage and the date of the divorce sentence or deed remained at 13.8 years in 2024, repeating the result from 2023. It was nearly 16 years in 2010.

Number of civil marriages grows 0.9%, but does not reach pre-pandemic levels

In 2024, there was an increase of 0.9% in the registrations of civil marriages carried out in Civil Registry Offices of Natural Persons, adding up to 948,925. Northeast was the only Major Region with a decrease (-1.4%). Central-West showed the highest growth (2.6%), followed by the South (2.3%), North (1.5%) and Southeast (1.1%).

From 2016 onwards, the number of civil marriages showed a downward trend. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the reduction was even greater compared to the previous year. In 2021, wedding ceremonies grew again, but without reaching the number seen in 2019. The same happened in 2022. In the following year, the number of civil marriages decreased again. The year 2024 surpassed that of 2023, but without reaching the average observed in the period from 2015 to 2019.

Between 2022 and 2024, the highest numbers of marriage registrations were from September each year. In these three years, December remained the one with the highest number of records. In 2024, with the exception of March, September and December, the total number of marriages in other months was higher than in the same month in 2023.

Same-sex marriage breaks record

The number of same-sex marriages broke a record in 2024, with 12,187 registrations, an increase of 8.8% compared to the previous year (11,198). It is the highest number since the beginning of the time series, in 2013. Of this total, marriages between female spouses represented 64.6%. In relation to 2023, marriages between women increased by 12.1%; among men, growth was 3.3% in the same period.

"The tendency is to increase year after year. Both due to greater acceptance by society and by the law. In 2013, the National Council of Justice approved a resolution preventing registry offices across the country from refusing to convert stable unions between people of the same sex into marriages," explains Brayner.

The Central-West (28.2%), Northeast (16.4%), Southeast (6.1%) and South (4.2%) saw an increase in the number of same-sex marriages. The only reduction was in the North (-4.2%).

Spouses' ages have increased over the years

The difference between the ages of single spouses of different sexes aged 15 years or over was approximately 2 years, with men getting married, on average, at 31.5 years, and women, at 29.3 years, in 2024. In civil marriages between single people of the same sex, the average age was 34.7 years among men and 32.5 years among women.

The ages of spouses in marriages between people of different sexes, regardless of previous marital status, have increased over recent years, for both men and women. In 2004, 8.5% of women who got married were aged 40 years or over, while in 2024, the proportion reached 25.3%. The increase also occurred in relation to men aged 40 years or over, rising from 13.2% in 2004 to 31.3% in 2024.

“The increase in the age at marriage may be related to the postponement of the decision for civil marriage and the increase in the number of remarriages, since the extension of life expectancy also contributes to this scenario,” highlights Brayner.

The share of marriage records in which at least one of the spouses was divorced or widowed increased from 13.5%, in 2004, to 23.4%, in 2014, and, in 2024, reached 31.1% of all records of civil marriages between people of different sexes in Brazil. In 2024, considering at least one of the spouses is divorced or widowed, the average ages at marriage for men and women were 45.3 and 41.5 years, respectively.

Births fall for the sixth consecutive year and reach 2.38 million in 2024

Brazil had 2.38 million births in 2024, a drop of 5.8% compared to 2023 (2.52 million). These births were registered until the first quarter of 2025. This is the sixth consecutive decline in the time series, which began in 1974. The other 65,825 birth records made in 2024 are births that occurred in years prior to 2024 or with the year of birth ignored.

All Major Regions saw a drop in the number of births between 2023 and 2024, especially in the Southeast (-6.3%), North (-6.2%) and South (-6.0%). Northeast (-5.3%) and Central-West (-4.7%) showed less intense falls. Among the Federation Units, highlights include Acre (-8.7%), Rondônia (-8.6%) and Piauí (-8.2%), with the biggest declines, and Paraíba (-1.9%), Alagoas (-2.4%) and Goiás (-3.0%), with less significant reductions.

In 2024, 88.5% of birth registrations generated by mothers living in Brazil were carried out within 15 days and 98.9% within 90 days. The areas with more than 20% of records made after 90 days are concentrated in 11 municipalities, seven of which are in the North Region, three in Piauí and one in Minas Gerais. For the North Region, nearly one in every four birth registrations (25.1%) was carried out after the 15-day period, while in the South this participation was 3.5%.

Proportion of mothers aged up to 24 years old falls from more than half (51.7%) to just over a third (34.6%) in two decades

Nearly 34.6% of births were to mothers up to 24 years of age in 2024, a considerable reduction compared to 2004, when more than half (51.7%) of births were to mothers in this age group. In the Central-West Region there was the main drop in this indicator, from 55.1% to 35.1% in the same period, while the South (29.9%) and Southeast (30.7%) showed lower values ​​in 2024.

There was also a decrease in the number of birth records generated by teenage mothers up to 19 years old, varying from 20.8% in 2004 to 11.3% in 2024. Even so, there were 267,446 births conceived by mothers up to 19 years of age in Brazil, considering that motherhood among young women can be a factor that makes it difficult for them to remain in formal education.

In 2024, 2,370,945 birth records that occurred in the year were of children of mothers who lived in Brazil, without considering those who live abroad or whose residence is unknown. Of this total, 0.9% (22,290) were children of mothers who were born in a foreign country and lived in Brazil. Venezuela (32.4%), Bolivia (18.8%) and Paraguay (9.9%) were the countries of nationality of these foreign mothers, who lived in Brazil, with the highest percentage participation.

Brazil had 1.50 million deaths in 2024; 6.9% due to unnatural causes

In 2024, there were 1.50 million deaths in Brazil, an increase of 4.6% compared to the previous year. These deaths were registered until the first quarter of 2025. The group of elderly people aged 60 years or over represented 71.7% of registered deaths, which corresponds to 1.07 million deaths. In comparison with 2023, there was an increase of 5.6% or 57,133 more deaths in this age group.

Considering the nature of the death, 90.9% of deaths were due to natural causes, 6.9% were due to external causes and in 2.2% it was not possible to obtain the nature.

Deaths from external or unnatural causes (homicides, suicides, traffic accidents, drownings, accidental falls, etc.) especially affect men. In 2024, the number of deaths of this nature among men (85,244) was 4.7 times greater than that of women (18,043); among adolescents and young people aged 15 to 29 years, this male excess mortality (27,575 deaths) from non-natural causes is even more pronounced, 7.7 times higher than that of women (3,563 deaths).

The increase in the number of deaths occurred in all Major Regions and in 26 Federation Units. The South (7.4%) and Central-West (6.2%) showed the biggest increases in the number of deaths, while the increase was smaller in the Southeast (4.0%), Northeast (3.8%) and North (3.2%). Federal District (11.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (7.6%), Santa Catarina and Goiás (both with 7.5%) and Paraná (7.0%) had the biggest changes in the number of deaths. Roraima was the only state with a drop (-5.7%).

When comparing by sex, 815,608 thousand male deaths and 678,372 female deaths occurred and were recorded in 2024. The increase in the number of male deaths compared to the previous year was 4.2% and female deaths, 5.0%. Consequently, the ratio of deaths between sexes decreased from 121.2 to 120.2 male deaths for every 100 female deaths.