Indians shell out more money on their wedding than on education, a report has found. The Indian wedding industry derives immense economic activity and is valued at US $130 billion. According to a report by Jefferies, Indians spend an average of Rs 12.52 lakh on their wedding, which is twice the expenditure on education (pre-primary to graduation). The report stated that the Indian wedding market is nearly double the size of the US but still smaller than that of China.
According to Jefferies, the current average expenditure per wedding of Rs 12.10 lakh is five times India’s GDP per capita of $2.9k and greater than 3x the average annual household income of $4.5k.
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The average expenditure for a luxury wedding in India is in the range between Rs 2 crore- Rs 3 crore.
Interestingly, the spending on 18 years of education is Rs 6.67 lakh. In the US, the wedding spend/education spend ratio in the US is only 0.5x for public education and 0.1x for private education.
Further, the report mentioned that India is the largest wedding destination globally, with 8-10 million weddings taking place each year. Around 40% of the country’s population is in the “marriageable age” of 20-39 years, and around 280 million people are unmarried.
Overall, the wedding industry in India not only sustains various sectors directly but also indirectly fuels demand in segments like automobile, consumer electronics, and paints.