THE number of marriages here rose last year, while that of divorces and annulments fell, the latest figures from the Singapore Department of Statistics released yesterday showed.

But the picture is not quite rosy, as the growth in the number of marriages is small relative to that of the population, said Associate Professor Paulin Straughan, a sociologist with the National University of Singapore.

The drop in the number of divorces and annulments is also marginal, she said.

Last year, 24,596 couples tied the knot here - a record number since 2000. This figure is a 2.6 per cent increase over the 23,966 who got married in 2007.

However, as the total population has grown, the general marriage rate has stayed about the same for men, and actually dropped slightly for women.

Last year, 43.9 of every 1,000 single men living here became a groom, compared to 43.8 in the previous year.

And of every 1,000 single women living here, 41.9 became a bride last year, down from 42.6 in 2007.

The number of divorces and annulments has also dropped slightly, from 7,241 in 2007 to 7,220 last year.

The divorce rates have dipped too. Last year, 7.6 of every 1,000 married men living here parted ways with their wives, down from 7.8 in 2007.

Of every 1,000 married women living here, 7.4 called it quits with their husbands last year, down from 7.6 in the previous year.

Prof Straughan said: "This could just be a fluctuation. It would be significant if it is sustained over at least another year."

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