The total number of registered marriages that occurred in the province for year 2019 was 4,692 as shown in Figure 1. A decrease by 15.51% was observed against registered marriages of 5,553 in 2018. Moreover out of the total recorded marriages in 2019, 4,364 or 93 percent were timely registered while only 328 or 7 percent were late registered.

With a total number of 764, Kidapawan City became the top city/municipality with most marriages in Cotabato Province, that is 16.3 percent of the total marriages that occurred in the province in 2019. In contrast, Banisilan became the municipality with the least number of marriages in 2019 which is 76 only or an equivalent of 1.6 percent of the total recorded number. (Figure 3)

Top three city/municipality with most registered marriages were, 1.) Kidapawan City with 764 (16.3%), 2.) Midsayap with 477 (10.2%); and 3.) Mlang with 405 (8.6%). These three municipalities consistently holds the top three rank with most recorded marriages for the past three years (2017-2019).

This can be associated with the fact that Kidapawan is the capital city of the province, Midsayap and Mlang were among the most economically advanced compared to nearby municipalities where couples from other municipalities choose to have their marriages be solemnized in this city/municipality.

Ages between 25-29 has been the preferred age to get married among brides and grooms in 2019 with a total number of 1,615 and 1,795 respectively. As shown in Figure 4, after this age group, or as age progressed, marriages began to slow down. On the other hand, the least number for marriages was at age group of 55-59 both for males and females, which is 21 for males and only 12 for females.

Moreover, there were more males who got married at age 25 years and over compared to females. On the other hand, more females married at their young age between 15-19 which is 364 or (469%) more compared to men of 64 only.

It has been recorded in 2019 that most couples got married on December with a total number of 544. It was followed by February (531) and May (475) with little difference in number. The month with the least number of couples who get married was the month of July with a total of 260 (Figure 5).

In addition, compared to the average recorded marriages of 463 in 2018, it went down by 15.51% in 2019 or with an average number of 391 marriages every month. Consistently, it was in the month of December that most marriages occurred and followed by the month of February for year 2018-2019.