Consciously Coupled

Consciously Coupled

Recent statistics and studies indicate that South Africans place a high value on romantic relationships and find significant personal joy in them, despite high levels of economic and financial stress.

Key Relationship Statistics

- 81% of surveyed South Africans are satisfied with the love in their lives, ranking the country among the top 10 globally, higher than the 77% global average.

- 51% of South Africans state that feeling appreciated and loved is a top contributor to their happiness.

- Recent data suggests that over 50% of couples now meet through online dating.

- Marriage rates have been declining, with a notable shift towards cohabitation, which now has a prevalence of about 19%.

- While civil marriages are declining, registered customary marriages experienced a rise of 63.5% between 2021 and 2022.

- Divorces have shown volatility, with a 10.9% increase in divorces granted in 2022 (20,196) compared to 2021.

- 75% of unhappy South Africans cite their financial situation as a key contributor to their unhappiness, indicating a sharp divide between personal happiness (love) and structural stress (money).

- In some communities, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, marriage rates are low, with fewer than 12% of women aged 20-45 married by 2009.

- A study on relationship quality showed that 63.5% of women reported experiencing conflict in the previous 3 months, with 63% reporting some level of controlling behaviour from partners.

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a national crisis in South Africa, with recent 2024 and early 2025 data showing a disturbing upward trend in several categories.

- 957 women were murdered during this period, representing an 8.6% increase from the 881 murders in the same timeframe in 2023.

- 43% of rape victims were attacked by their domestic partners.

- Over 1 in 3 women (35.8%) in SA have experienced physical or sexual violence.

- SA’s femicide rate is approximately 5 times the global average.

Did You Know?

Relationship stress can cause mental health issues, hypertension and gastrointestinal diseases.

Help...

Reach out to GBV Command Centre - 0800 428 428/ SMS “HELP” to 31531.

www.sanalifestyle.co.za