Although there has been a general downwards trend in the number of marriages starting in the 1990s, in some years the number has risen.

Various factors influence the marriage rate. For example, many couples chose the date 9.9.99, which pushed the numbers up. There was an unprecendently sharp drop of nearly 10% in the number of marriages in 2001 in comparison with the previous year, probably because of the introduction of a new law in 2000 allowing unmarried couples to enjoy joint parental rights. Parents no longer feel it is necessary to marry before having a child.

Far fewer babies are born out of wedlock than in most other European countries, although the percentage is rising. In 1998 they accounted for 8.8% of live births, but in 2005 the figure was 13.7%. In Sweden, with the highest rate in the EU, more than half of live births are to unmarried parents.

In a poll conducted in 2006, two-thirds of those questioned approved of unmarried couples living together. This was up from only 46% twenty years earlier.

Since 2007 same-sex unions have been recognised in Switzerland. Registered partnerships have the same legal standing as marriage as far as such matters as next-of-kin status, tax and social security. The measure was approved in a nation-wide referendum in 2005.

Divorce

The divorce rate is increasing. In one third of the marriages contracted in 2005 at least one of the partners had been married before.

In 1990 there were 46,603 marriages and 13,184 divorces. In 2005 the respective figures were 40,139 and 21,332.