Who Marries whom in Flemish Belgium?

Abstract

In a Western European context Belgium can be considered a traditional country. This is obvious in its ideological and political history and in the family formation behavior. The country has a Catholic tradition. In the beginning of the 1990s 65% of the Belgian population still defined themselves as Catholics (Dobbelaere, Voyé 1992). On the political level, the Christian Democrat Party has been part of the government since 1947 till 1999 and has held the position of Minister of Family and Welfare during most of this time. In a Western European context the age of females at first marriage among the post war cohorts in Belgium is relatively young (27.0 years in 2001) and approaches the ages observed in Eastern European countries (Sardon 1992). Unmarried cohabitation is still exceptional, as by 1991 it did not exceed the 10% in any age group (De Boosere 1994). In 1995 17% of the births were out-of-wedlock (NIS 2000). The divorce rate in Belgium is, as in other European countries, increasing, but at a medium level. The total divorce rate amounts up to 0.44 in 1999 (Council of Europe 2001).

The author wants to thanks Prof. T. Jacbos (University Antwerp) for granting permission to use the PSBH-panel dataset and particularly R. Marynissen for preparing the appropriate dataset.