Marital Age Preference Determined By Beauty, Money, and Reproduction in Morocco

Rabat – Morocco’s High Commission of Planning (HCP) has shed light on the average age gap between married couples as well as the preferred age for marriage in Morocco.

Released on Tuesday, the new study shows that the average age gap between married couples moved from 7.2 years in 2004 to 7.9 years in 2018.

The HCP study indicated that half of couples in Morocco had an age difference of over six years in 2004. This gap widened by more than seven years between 2012 and 2018.

Couples living in urban areas had an average age gap of 8.1 years in 2018 compared to 7.9 years in 2011.

Meanwhile, spouses in rural areas have an average age gap that is  0.4 years lower compared to urban couples, standing at 7.7 years in 2018. 

“This increase in the average age gap results from the decrease in the share of women married to younger men or men of the same age.”

The HCP also attributed the change to the increase in the number of women married to older men.

Data from 2018  showed that 87.1% of women are younger than their husbands. About 9.5% of women are married to men of the same age, while only 3.4% of women are married to men younger than them.

HCP explained the situation by concluding the differences in the partner’s age preferences are frequently driven by an “unconscious psychological process of reproduction.” This means that men whose objective is procreation “opt for younger women who do not undergo the pressure of the biological clock.”

Women, meanwhile, “lean towards men with a stable economic status that will ensure the safety and material comfort of their children.”

The study also claims that men “generally value the physical condition and beauty that is often associated with young women.” 

On the other hand, women are supposedly more interested in “maturity and a sense of responsibility.” The age preferences, HCP argued, lead to “men seeking younger women and women seeking older men.”  “The percentage of couples with age differences ranging from 2 to 9 years is decreasing,” the study said.