A total of 3.6 million Chinese couples broke up last year, a year-on-year increase of 3.9 percent, the Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed on Wednesday.

Despite the rise, the divorce momentum slowed compared with 2013, when 3.5 million break-ups constituted a 12.8 percent increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, couples choosing to tie the knot last year fell by roughly three percent to 13.1 million, including 470,000 pairs involving foreigners, overseas Chinese or residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the ministry added.

The 25-29 age bracket represented 38 percent of the total, up by 2.8 percentage points from the previous year.