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Chapter 2: Divorce
ISSUES: Marriage
Chapter
2
Divorce
The haven for honeymooners where
everyone gets divorced
By Oliver Smith
B
rad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s
sudden split may well have
shocked the Western world,
but given how commonplace divorce
has become– particularly in the United
States – perhaps it shouldn’t have.
The US has the sixth highest divorce
rate of any country, with 3.6 annual
divorces
per
1,000
inhabitants,
according to the most recent figures
available. But America has some way
to go to match the divorce capital
of the world. Ironically, given that
it’s so popular with honeymooners,
it is the Maldives. The island nation
has a divorce rate of 10.97, earning it
recognition in the
Guinness Book of
Records
. The UN even estimates that
the average Maldivian woman, by the
age of 30, has been divorced three
times.
Why is the rate so high in the Maldives?
Various reasons have been cited.
Perhaps the most compelling is that,
as in other Muslim societies, where
premarital sex is taboo, many marry
young, but, under the country’s mixed
Sharia and common law system, they
can then secure a divorce relatively
easily when things don’t work out.
Others have blamed a lack of childcare
facilities combined with a rise in
women entering the workforce.
Russia, Belarus, Latvia and another
tropical idyll – Aruba – fill the gaps
in between the US and the Maldives.
The UK divorce rate is two, putting it
tied for 38th of the 104 destinations
to feature. The lowest divorce rates
are often found in countries with
large Catholic populations, such as
Chile, Colombia and Ireland, as well as
Muslimcountries like Libya, Uzbekistan
and Bahrain.
The 20 places where divorce is
most common
1.
Maldives – 10.97 per year per 1,000
inhabitants
2.
Russia – 4.5
3.
Aruba – 4.4
4.
Belarus – 4.1
5.
Latvia – 3.6
6.
United States – 3.6
7.
Lithuania – 3.5
8.
Gibraltar – 3
9.
Moldova – 3
10.
Belgium – 3
11.
Cuba – 2.9
12.
Switzerland – 2.8
13.
Ukraine – 2.8
14.
Denmark – 2.8
15.
Hong Kong – 2.76
16.
Jordan – 2.6
17.
Czech Republic – 2.5
18.
Portugal – 2.5
19.
Costa Rica – 2.5
20.
Sweden – 2.5
20 September 2016
Ö
Ö
The
above
information
is
reprinted with kind permission
from
The Telegraph
. Please visit
for further
information.
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2017
