Most weddings, in which both were 16 years old, was in the district of Beja, followed by Aveiro, Braga, Faro and Porto. The rest took place in the districts of Castelo Branco, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarém and Setúbal, each registered with a marriage.
A total of 381 16 -year -olds have married in Portugal since 2023, 52 of which in the first three months of this year, before the legislative amendment that prohibited marriages under the age of 18.
According to data from (IRN), requested by Lusa agency, 705 young people, aged between 16 and 18, married in 2023, 2024 and in the first three months of 2025.
Among the 16 -year -olds, the number increased from 135 by 2023 to 194 in 2024, which represents an increase of 43.7%. Between January and March they married 52.
In the same period of time, there was also a record of 32 marriages in which both were 16 years old, between 12 marriages in 2023, 17 in 2024 and five in 2025.
Which districts where there were the most marriages among young people?
Most of these marriages, in which both were 16, was registered in the district of Beja (13), followed by Aveiro (5), Braga (4), Faro (3) and Porto (2). The rest took place in the districts of Castelo Branco, Lisbon, Portalegre, Santarém and Setúbal, each registered with a marriage.
On the other hand, they registered 349 weddings in which at least one of the couple’s elements had 16 yetsand representing 74.25% of the total of 470 marriages with lower registered since 2023.
In the age group between 16 and 18 years old, 16 -year -olds are the most representative, whether in the total number of people who marry, or in the number of weddings and just look at the number of weddings where at least one of the people was 17 years old to lower 196 marriages. The number of weddings in which at least one of the elements was 18 was 111.
Between 2023 and March 2025 married 381 young people were 16, representing 54% of the total of 705 minors who married in this period of time. Young people at the age of 17 assume 30%, while 18 -year -olds are 15.7%.
Also in a total of the 940 people who married, and at least one of them were smaller, the 16 -year -olds are mostly and representing almost half (40.53%), while 17 -year -olds represent 22.6%and 18 years 11.81%.
Of the total 16 -year -olds who have married since 2023, most are the female genre. There were 317 girls who contracted marriage, while boys were 64.
Gender inequality remains among the young people who married at the age of 17, as among the total of 213, 127 were girls and 86 were boys, as well as the 18-year-olds, since of the total of 111, 96 were girls and 15 were boys.
The President of the Republic promulgated the Decree of the Assembly of the Republic on March 24, after, in late February, the Assembly of the Republic increased by 18 years the minimum age for a young man being able to marry and removed from various articles of legislation the reference to emancipation.
The decree was voted on February 20, in Parliament, and was approved with the votes against the PSD, IL and CDS-PP and results from the Left Bloc Bills (BE) and the People-Animal-Nature Party (PAN), approved in the general 31 January, the Commission on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees.
