Divorce rate continues to climb in 2006 in China

Source: Xinhuanet | 05-24-2007 13:04

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- About 1.9 million couples divorced in China in 2006, an increase of 128,000 couples or seven percent on the previous year, according to a report by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Civil affairs bureaus across the country handled 1.29 million divorces last year and another 622,000 couples divorced through courts in the same period, the report said.

Five provinces -- Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan -- reported more than 100,000 divorce cases in 2006.

The number of couples getting married, however, also increased in 2006, with 9.45 million marriages registered nationwide, an increase of 1.2 million year-on-year, according to the report.

Divorce is traditionally discouraged in China.

But as the women become more independent financially and with divorce procedures now much simplified, the divorce rate has soared in the last twenty years.

It more than doubled from 1985 to 1995, and by 2006 the rate had more than tripled.

Unlike most western countries which track the number of marriages that end in divorce, the Ministry of Civil Affairs provides statistics on the number of divorced couples per 1,000 people. That figure rose to 1.46 from 1.37 the previous year, according to the Ministry.

Chinese people can now marry or divorce much more easily as employers do not have to be notified or asked to provide recommendations on the suitability of an employee's marriage plans.

Editor:Du Xiaodan