12 Australian Relationship Statistics You Didn’t Know

Most of us only believe something is true and factual after we’ve seen “official numbers” and random figures. So for those of you interested in facts, figures and random relationship trivia…here we go.

1. Whoever said men are afraid of commitment, obviously wasn’t talking about Australian men. At least not according to this survey that says 26% of Aussie men are interested in finding a long term partner as opposed to only 13% of women! In fact, in the over 60 bracket, 99% women do not want a long term relationship while 24% men do!
   
   
2. But when it comes to finding someone of the same wavelength, the men are definitely the fussier of the two genders. While only 16% of women complained of not finding someone of the same wavelength, almost 23% of men think its hard finding that “perfect” someone.
   
   
3. However, despite women’s lib and feminism and all that jazz, 42% of women believe men should always pay for dinner.
   
   
4. And guess what? When I keep going on and on about how awesome online dating is, I’m not wrong! 69% of those interested in finding a new partner said they would use internet dating to do so.
   
   
5. In fact 4 in 10 Aussies have used new technology (mobile phones, emails, social networking, internet dating etc) to form important relationships in their life. Of these 23% used it to form romantic relationships.
   
   
6. 4 in 10 Australians (not necessarily the same four as above) are also looking for some sort of relationship if they’re not already in one. Friendship ranked highest with 20% looking for a friend; 17% are interested in a long term relationship and only 5% wanted something short term.
   
   
7. If you thought living with someone or “cohabiting” is the best way to get to know someone before marriage – you aren’t a minority. More than 76% Aussie couples cohabit before marriage as opposed to 31% in 1981 and only 16% in 1975.
   
   
8. Little wonder then that the average age for the first marriage has gone up to 29 for men and 28 for women.
   
   
9. Before you ask…yes, sex is definitely important for Australians. 88.2% men and 79.5% women said an active sex life is vital for a sense of personal well being.
   
   
10. What of same-sex relationships? 25.1% women said sex between two women is always wrong. In comparison, 36.9% men said sex between two men is always wrong.
    
    
11. In these trying financial times when we’re all worried about every dollar we spend, the number of couples stressing over financial matters has more than doubled. In 2006, only 18% of Australian couples said money was a major relationship stress factor. However, in 2008, 40% of couples said they felt the pressures of financial woes affecting their relationship.
    50% of couples said work was a major pressure on relationships while 37% said job insecurity/job loss was causing relationship stress.
    
    
12. However at the end of the day when you ask an Australian man or woman why they would get married, 91% of them said “love”.
    
    

All statistics were sourced from surveys conducted by Relationships Australia.

Already a member? Sign in or Join Now! to add your comment on this article!