Mail Order Marriage Statistics In 2023: Facts About Marriages & Divorces

How do mail order brides work? How often do mail order marriages end compared to other marriages? What else do you need to know before you start searching for a potential mail order bride?

Here, you’ll find only real mail order bride facts supported by real international marriage and online dating statistics.

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Who are mail order brides?

Let’s take a closer look at the mail order bride industry. Who are the women using mail order bride services? What do you need to know about foreign brides before you start dating them?

So, first of all, mail order brides are foreign ladies who are interested in marrying a man from another country. The concept of mail brides is very popular in Asia—Asian women often get married to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese men, for example. But in the context of this website, mail order brides are women who want to marry a Western man.

Most mail order brides are pretty young: an average bride is in her early 20s, has never married, and has no children. Typically, mail order brides come from such regions as Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, but it’s not a rule. They typically speak English quite well, and they are usually aware of American culture, so you don’t need to worry much about the language and cultural barriers.

Mail order marriages facts & statistics

Here, you’ll find some facts regarding mail order bride marriage statistics. If you want to know what to expect from foreign brides and how international marriage statistics differ from American ones, continue reading!

• It’s interesting that top mail order bride countries often have very high divorce rates. However, this is not the case when we’re talking about mail order marriages. We’ll cover this topic a little bit later in more detail.
• Women from the so-called “mail order bride” regions (Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, South America) do typically get married earlier than women in the United States. And they become mothers earlier, too!
• Taking the previous point into account, it’s not surprising that 21-25-year-olds make up 47% of the mail order brides. The second most popular age category is 26–30 years old (24%), so we can safely say that more than 6 out of 10 mail order brides are younger than 30 years old.
• Philippines, Mexico, and Ukraine were the top mail order bride countries in 2021—all the other countries are left far behind, so if you’re interested in mail order brides, you need to pay attention to these three places first.
• The number of interracial marriages (most mail order bride marriages are interracial) is constantly growing. In 1980, there were only 7% of intermarried newlyweds. In 2015, there were 17% of them—and this number is still increasing.
• It’s all about online dating. Online dating sites and apps are becoming more and more popular within the US—30% of American adults have used a dating site/app at least once, and at least 12% of Americans have been in a committed relationship with someone they met online.
• So when it comes to international marriages, it’s almost always about online dating. More than 55% of K-1 visa applicants met their partners online on mail order bride platforms, dating sites, and via mail order bride agencies!

These are just a few of the most popular facts about mail order brides—read on and learn even more interesting things.

Mail order brides sites statistics

Let’s now take a look at the statistics provided by mail order bride websites.

First of all, both reply and success rates are incredibly high on these platforms. This is not surprising, taking into account the philosophy of these websites: the absolute majority of users there are searching for a husband or a wife, so they are more serious about their online dating activity and more likely to respond to a message. It’s obvious that the chances of finding someone are also high there because if the dating pool consists of people with serious intentions, the success rate would always be high.

When it comes to the average mail order bride age, it’s simple. As we already mentioned, most girls searching for foreign husbands online are in their 20s, so there’s nothing surprising here. The same is about the divorce rate: we’ll cover this subject later, but in general, the divorce rates in mail order marriages are lower than in other ones. That’s just how mail order marriages work.

Mail order brides statistics by country

Of course, you can’t just go to any country in the world to find mail order spouses there. In some countries, it’s a social taboo, while in others, the idea of marrying an American is just not that attractive to local ladies.

There are three main regions when it comes to mail order bride statistics: Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Let’s be more detailed.

• In South America, the top countries you need to pay attention to are Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. In 2021, there were 1,357, 496, and 367 new K-1 visa holders from these countries, respectively. Mail order brides typically use k-1 visas—they allow foreign women to enter the US with the purpose of getting married there.
• When it comes to Eastern European countries, it’s mostly about Ukraine (617) and Russia (246). Poland, the Czech Republic, and other Slavic countries are not even close to these two, according to the mail order marriage statistics.
• As for Asia, it’s simple: the top-3 Asian countries for online relationships are the Philippines (1,227 K-1 visa holders in 2021), China (828 from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan), and Thailand (752).

Of course, you should choose based on your own preferences and not just statistics, but in these countries, you will be able to find mail order brides more easily.

Mail order bride success rate statistics

What percentage of mail order brides stay married?

It’s interesting that according to some sources, interracial couples (and most mail order bride couples are interracial) have a slightly higher divorce rate than couples married within their race. This can be easily linked to and explained by cultural and language barriers. However, according to other studies, the divorce rate in such couples is lower than the national divorce rate in the United States!

Do mail order brides get divorced?

It’s the Russian mail order brides mentioned in the previous paragraph—in mail order marriages with American men and Russian women, the divorce rate is lower than that of the US (national average). Interestingly, Russia is actually one of the top countries in the world regarding divorce rates right now. So foreign women from this country divorce a lot when they marry Russian men, but when they marry American men, they are less likely to file for a divorce. What’s the reason? We believe it’s about Western men who are more respectful, caring, and reliable than local men in the mail order brides’ countries. The domestic violence level is lower in the United States, and American men tend to treat foreign women with more respect than men in their countries. That’s why the mail order success rate is so high.

Successful mail order bride stories where it works out

Mike, a 30-year-old IT specialist from Seattle, met Maria, a 26-year-old nurse from Manila, on a dating site. After chatting for several months, they decided to meet in person. Mike flew to Manila, where Maria showed him around the city, taking him to the best local restaurants and markets. They also visited the beautiful beaches of Boracay, where they enjoyed swimming and sunbathing together. Mike was immediately struck by Maria’s kindness and sense of humor, while Maria was charmed by Mike’s intelligence. They fell in love and got married a year later in a beautiful ceremony in Sodo Park!

Ryan, a 35-year-old teacher from Chicago, found his match on a dating site when he met Kasia, a 30-year-old lawyer from Krakow. They started talking regularly, and soon they realized they had a lot in common, including a love for travel and food. After several months of chatting, Ryan flew to Krakow to meet Kasia in person. They had several dates and spent a week together, and after that, they continued dating long-distance for a year before Ryan proposed. In 2022, they got married in Krakow.

David, a 28-year-old engineer from New York, fell in love with Juliana, a 25-year-old artist from Rio de Janeiro, on a dating site. They talked regularly and soon realized they had a lot in common, including a love for music and art. David flew to Brazil to meet Juliana in person—they explored the city together, visiting museums and art galleries. They also enjoyed the local cuisine and danced to samba music—and that’s when David realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this lady. A year later, in 2021, they married, and 8 months after that, Juliana got a K-1 visa and entered the US.

Our Editor`s conclusion

Nelly Perry

Author

So, do mail order brides work in real life? In short, yes. If you find a mail order bride online using one of those online dating services, you can expect your marriage to be more stable, stronger, and more successful than the average American marriage. This doesn’t mean that any foreign woman you can meet online would be genuinely interested in building a strong relationship, of course. But the chances are obviously higher than with American ladies.