• Highlights

• In 2022, 51.3% of the population aged 10 and over in Brazil lived in a consensual union. In 2010, they were 50.1%; in 2000, 49.5%.
• From 2000 to 2022, the proportion of persons in the population aged 10 and over who had never been in a marital union fell from 38.6% to 30.1%. The proportion of persons who were not but had already lived in a marital union went from 11.9% to 18.6%.
• From 2000 to 2022, there were increases in only civil marriages (17.5% to 20,5%) and in consensual unions (28.6% to 38.9%) and decreases in civil and religious marriages (49.4% to 37.9%) and only religious marriages (4.4% to 2.6%).
• The percentage of consensual unions surpassed that of civil and religious marriages for the first time, and that is now the most frequent type of union.
• By color or race of persons living in some type of union, the civil and religious marriage is predominant among white persons (46.0%) and Asians (48.2%), whereas consensual union is predominant in the Indigenous (56.0%), black (46.1%) and brown (43.8%) population.
• Among persons who chose the civil and religious marriage, there was a higher proportion of Catholics (40%) and protestants (40.9%), whereas the consensual union was the main choice for those with no religion (62.5%).
• From 2010 to 2022, the total unions between same-sex partners increased from 58 thousand (or 0.1% of the total domestic units) to 480 thousand (or 0.7%). In 2022, 77.6% of homosexual couples were in a consensual union and 13.5% in only civil ones.

In 2022, more than half (51.3%) of the population aged 10 and over in Brazil were living in a marital union, a total of 90.3 million people. For the first time, the consensual union was the most frequent type (38.9%), surpassing civil and religious marriage (37.9%). Against 2000, there was an increase in only civil marriages and in consensual unions. On the other hand, there were drops in the percentages of persons celebrating civil and religious marriages (from 49.4% in 2000 to 37.9% in 2022) and only religious marriages (from 4.4% to 2.6%).

The data are from the 2022 Population Census: Nuptiality and Family: Preliminary sample results. released today (5) by the IBGE. The launch will start at 10 am at Prof. Jouberto Uchôa Memorial, in Sergipe, state of Aracaju (SE). The event will be streamed on Digital IBGE. The data will be available on the IBGE website and on platformas such as SIDRA and the Census Overview. Read also the news on families.

“The increase in the proportion of consensual unions confirms behavioral changes being observed in the Brazilian society, as civil and religious marriages have lost ground to non-formal unions. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that consensual unions can be formally registered or not," emphasizes survey analyst Luciene Longo. 

In 2000, less than half of the population were living in a consensual union (49.5%), having reached 50.1% in 2010 and 51.3% in 2022. The proportion of persons who were not living in a marital union,but who had before, also increased in the period, and changed from 11.9% in 2000 to 14.6% in 2010, and to 18.6% in 2022, with an overall increase of 56.3% over the period. On the other hand, there was a drop in the percentage of persons who were never in a marital union, from 38.6% in 2000 to 35.4% in 2010 and 30.1% in 2022.

Among the states, in 2022, Santa Catarina (58.4%), Rondônia (55.4%) and Paraná (55.3%) had the highest percentages of persons living in a marital union, whereas Amapá (47.1%), Federal District (47.7%) and Amazonas (48.1%) had the loest ones. Rio de Janeiro stood ou with the highest percentage of persons who have experienced the dissolution of a marital union (21.4%), followed by Bahia (20.4%) and Sergipe (20.1%). The lowest percentages were found in Santa Catarina (16.1%), Pará and Mato Grosso (both with 16.9%).

Women enter marital unions at a younger age, but the gap compared to men has decreased 

Data show that younger women, up to 39 years of age (42.9%), were in living in marital at a higher proportion than men in the same age group (35.8%). That order is reversed for the group aged 40 to 49 years, with 23.2% for men and 23.1% for women), a difference that nears 6 percentage points among persons aged 60 and over  (22.5% and 16.7%, respectively).

“That reflects the highest life expectancy of women. With the higher longevity of women, there is an increase in the proportion of women who never lived in a marital union and of those who started living without their partners or husbands, due to either separation or widowhood. That caused the proportion of men in marital unions to be above that of women the same age,” Luciene explains. 

The average age for the first marital union showed a slight trend to increase in recent decades. In 1980, it was 24.1 years; in 1991, 24.3 years; in 2000, 24.2 years; in 2010, 24.4; and in 2022 it reached 25.0 years of age. Men remain entering marital unions at an older age, but the gap had decreased over the Years: whereas in 2000 and 2010 it was about 3 years, that gap fell to 2.7 years. The Southeast (25.9) had the higher average age for the first marital union, for both men (27.2) and women (24.6).

The distribution by color or race of persons living in a marital union shows that Indigenous, black and brown persons, at a higher proportion, chose a consensual union, with percentages of 56.0%, 46.1% and 43.8%, respectively. Among white and Asian persons, the biggest proportion was united by means of a civil and religious marriage (46.0% and 48.2%).

White persons are more likely to form unions with each other

The occurence of a marriage or union in the same color or race or educational group configures endogamy. Despite the still high endogamy figures, an increase of exogamy has been observed: 67.0% of the persons aged 10 years and over were united to persons of the same color or race, whereas, in 2000, this percentage was 70.9%, and 69.3% in 2010.

“Color or race, level of schooling and religion are important aspects in one's choice of a spouse, for these characteristics represent personal attributes, with an impact on cohabitation and level of commitment. Nevertheless, endogamy tends to decrease over time, since the everyday experience with differences in personal characteristics can contribute to the break of social barriers, causing unions to be more heterogeneous,” Luciene anayzes.

In 2022, endogamy was stronger among white persons (70.4%), followed by brown (69.7%) and Indigenous (51.0%) persons.

The differences between men and women were more significant among black persons. Black women tend to choose black men at a higher proportion (48.0%) than black men do in relation to women of the same color or race (39.3%).

In educational terms, endogamy was also predominant, for 58.2% were united to persons with the same level of schooling, with a decrease after the increase observed between 2000 and 2010 (from 63.0% to 68.2%).

In 2022, women were less selective than men, and 52.3% of women with a higher education degree were living in unions with men of the same group, whereas 68.5% of men with this level of education were united to women of the same group. “That is possibly related to recent increases in women's level of schooling,” the survey analyst explains.

The remainder is temporarily in Portuguese. 

União consensual tem maiores proporções entre jovens, sem religião e menores rendimentos

As uniões consensuais eram mais frequentes entre pessoas até 39 anos, concentrando 56,2% delas em 2022, evidenciando uma importante relação geracional. Já entre as uniões formais (casamento no civil e no religioso) há preponderância entre as pessoas de 40 anos ou mais (76,3%).

“A união consensual estava mais presente entre as pessoas em condições socioeconômicas mais precárias, na medida em que as pessoas nas faixas de menor rendimento domiciliar per capita tiveram maior representação nesse tipo de união”, avalia Luciene. Para aqueles cujo rendimento era de até ½ salário-mínimo, 52,1% das uniões eram consensuais. À medida que o rendimento aumenta, maiores são as proporções de casamento civil e religioso, chegando a 54,3% para aqueles cujo rendimento era de mais de 5 salários-mínimos.

O estado conjugal está relacionado a escolhas individuais, mas é também influenciado pelas convicções religiosas. Entre os que optaram pelo casamento civil e religioso, houve uma maior frequência de católicos (40%) ou evangélicos (40,9%), enquanto a união consensual foi a principal escolha para os sem religião (62,5%).

Em 2022, chamou a atenção o elevado percentual de pessoas que viviam em união consensual nas unidades da federação das regiões Norte e Nordeste do país: no Amapá, por exemplo, esse percentual chegou a 62,6%, mesmo tendo recuado um pouco em relação a 2010 (63,5%).

Quase 80% dos casais do mesmo sexo estavam em uniões consensuais

Em 2022, uniões entre pessoas do mesmo sexo corresponderam a 0,7% do total de unidades domésticas (cerca de 480.000), um crescimento expressivo em relação a 2010, quando representavam 0,1% das unidades domésticas (cerca de 58.000). Em relação à natureza da união, 77,6% das uniões homoafetivas eram consensuais e 13,5% apenas no civil.

A distribuição por sexo das pessoas nesse tipo de união mostrou que 58,2% eram constituídas entre mulheres e 41,8% entre homens. Esses valores mostram uma maior proporção de uniões entre mulheres em relação a 2010, quando os percentuais eram 53,8% e 46,2%, respectivamente.

Em relação ao nível educacional, houve um aumento das pessoas em uniões homoafetivas que declararam ter superior completo, indo de 25,8% em 2010 para 31,0% em 2022.

Em termos religiosos, permanece a predominância de pessoas católicas (45,0%), seguida por pessoas sem religião (21,9%), assim como em 2010 (47,4% católicas e 20,4% sem religião). Outras religiões somavam 19,5% e evangélicos tinham a menor proporção (13,6%) em 2022.

Regionalmente, o Sudeste é a grande região onde há maior presença dessas uniões, concentrando 48,1% dos casais de mesmo sexo, mesmo tendo diminuído em relação a 2010, quando foi 52,6%.

Mais sobre a pesquisa

O Censo Demográfico 2022: Nupcialidade e Família: Resultados preliminares da amostra traz informações referentes à nupcialidade das pessoas de 10 anos ou mais de idade, com desagregação por estado conjugal e natureza da união conjugal, além de dados de família detalhados por existência ou não de famílias conviventes, quantidade de componentes e composição familiar. Os resultados estão desagregados também por idade, sexo, cor ou raça, grandes grupos de religiões declaradas, nível de instrução e classes de rendimento per capita, e serão disponibilizados para Brasil, grandes regiões, estados e municípios e outros recortes geográficos compostos a partir de municípios