The given bar charts compare the variation of the percentage of men and women getting married in 1998 and 2008. In general, the proportion of married individuals of both genders experienced a slight decrease for those aged under 30 years old and a noticeable increase for the other age groups in the given decade, and the age from 25 to 29 years old was the most ideal age to get married. It is also obvious that the marriage age for men is usually higher than women’s.
As presented in the chart, there was a minor decline in the percentage of women getting married under the age of 24, especially the percentage of early 20-year-old married females was half in 2008 compared to that in 1998. Noticeably, no males got married during the age of 16 to 19. The rate of 25-29-year-old women married to their husband remained unchanged at approximately 11,5% over a 10–year period, while men’s figure observed a slight drop to 8% in 2008.
With regard to older age groups, a substantial rise was witnessed in the proportion of 30-37 years old married people in both genders which accounted for 8% for females and 11% for males in 2008, in comparison with 7% and 9% respectively in 1998. For people aged above 35, the proportion of married men surged substantially to 9% and nearly 7%, resulting in twofold figures of women over 35 years old