Band 6+: The charts below give information on the ages of people when they got married in one particular country in 1996 and 2008. Summarize the information by selecting and repairing the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The bar graphs illustrate the number of people getting married across various age groups in two separate years: 1996 and 2008.

Overall, there was a significant shift towards delaying marriage in both genders over a twelve-year period. While younger age groups saw a decline in marriage numbers, there was an increase in individuals getting married in their 30s and early 40s.

Regarding females, the period age from 25 to 29 years old ranked first at approximately 12% in the timeframe. The percentage of brides’ marriage age in three different periods 16 to 19, 20 to 24 and 35 to 39 recorded a significant decrease with around a half of the initial data over a decade: 0,5%, 3% and 2,2% respectively, whereas the figure for 30 to 34 increased by 1%. Moreover, the 40 to 44 period age maintained at precisely 2% in 1996 and 2008.

Concerning males, the age at which men get married had changed as they get older in a twelve-year period. The age of grooms at 30 to 34 experienced a moderate growth from nearly 9% to 11% throughout, which that of the period 35 to 39 doubled with that rate, at over 11% in 2008. Furthermore, men decided getting marriage at the period from 25 to 29 reduced around 1%, at 8% in 2008, followed by the period age from 40 to 44 diminish about 2% in twelve years. Finally, the period from 20 to 24 still stood at nearly 2% between 1996 and 2008.