The Average Age of Marriage for Men in Iran Has Reached 28 Years

A senior official from Iran's Civil Registration Organization states that the average age of marriage for men has reached 28 years and for women 24 years. The average age of marriage for most Iranian men and women was reported as 27 and 22 years in 2013. Ali Akbar Mahzoun, the director of the Population Statistics and Information Office of the Civil Registration Organization, added in an interview published by ISNA on January 3 that 'the fertility rate or average number of children is below 2.1, which is the replacement level, so that population growth in the country under these conditions will reach zero in the coming years and then experience negative growth.' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has personally called for changes in population policies in Iran to promote population growth. He also issued a 14-article directive in May aimed at removing obstacles to marriage and lowering the marriage age. Meanwhile, in addition to the rising age of marriage, the average fertility rate has also decreased in Iranian families. At the end of November, the head of the Health Committee of the Women's and Family Council of Iran stated that the average fertility rate in Iranian families has decreased threefold over the past 25 years. In 2013, the director of the Population Statistics and Information Office stated that most marriages among men occur between the ages of 20 and 34 (average: 27 years) and among women between the ages of 15 and 29 (average: 22 years). In November, Mohammad Ismail Motlaq, the director of the Health, Population, and Family Office at the Ministry of Health, said that the number of marriages in 2013 had decreased by nearly 60,000 compared to 2012. He predicted that this number would decrease further this year.