Tourists who come to the south of Gran Canaria take the opportunity to get married. In general, the Nordic countries have some of the highest divorce rates in the world. According to Eurostat data, in 2020 the divorce rates in these countries were: Iceland: 46,2%; Denmark: 44,7%; Norway: 42,2%; Finland: 41,3% and Sweden: 40,1%. These figures are significantly higher than the average for the European Union (24,0%) and the OECD (31,5%).
The Canary Islands, for its part, have the highest divorce rate in Spain: in 2023 the divorce rate in the Canary Islands was 247,3 lawsuits per 100.000 inhabitants, the highest in Spain for the fifth consecutive year. This means that, for every 100.000 inhabitants in the Canary Islands, there were 247,3 divorces. The divorce rate in Spain in 2023 was 180,2 lawsuits per 100.000 inhabitants.
In 2023, 84 couples got married in the Church of the Mariners of Gran Canaria. No parish in Norway celebrated more weddings abroad than in Gran Canaria, that is, almost two weddings per week in the south of the island. In total, in 2023 there were 398 marriages and 35 blessings in Norwegian churches.
Among the six most popular wedding churches of the Church of the Seamen, only Copenhagen is not located in Spain. The seven seaside churches in Spain had a total of 274 weddings. There were approximately the same number of weddings in Sjømannskirken in 2022, while the number of weddings is 26 percent lower than in 2019. A wedding in Sjømannskirken varies from intimate with only the bride and groom and staff present, to large family parties.
It is possible to get married in 18 of Norway's churches, where it is possible to obtain a church blessing or intercession for a civil marriage. Gran Canaria swept the list with 84 links, followed by Copenhagen with 53, Costa del Sol with 50, Mallorca and Barcelona with 45; Albir 39; Torrevieja with 38 weddings, Thailand with 27, New York with 11 weddings, London and Tenerife tied at 10.
