28.5% of UAE couples divorced within first year of marriage

Abu Dhabi: A new report issued on Sunday has revealed that almost 30 per cent of UAE divorces that took place in 2018 were dissolved within the first year of marriage.

A total of 5,467 marriage contracts were registered last year, according to the Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre (ADSC) who released the report for Marriage and Divorce Statistics 2018 for the Abu Dhabi region, indicating a six percent annual increase of marriages since 1979.

The report pointed out that the number of registered divorce cases rose to 2,025 in 2018 from 1,859 in 2017, an annual increase of 4.2 per cent since 1975.

The new statistics also found that 28.5 per cent of marriages ended in divorce within the first 12 months, which equates to 1,558 of marriage contracts.

The centre’s study also showed that 62.2 per cent of divorces took place within the first four years of marriage.

The ADSC report for 2018 revealed that mixed marriages, between an Emirati and an expat, accounted for 21.7 per cent of the total contracts registered in 2018. The nationality of the foreign spouse were mainly from other GCC and Arab countries, according to the report.

It also noted that the number of registered divorces rose to 2,025 in 2018 from 1,859 in 2017, an annual increase of 4.2 per cent since 1975.

According to the ADSC report, July registered the most number of divorces in 2018 with 213 cases while August witnessed the least amount of registered cases at 105.

The most popular month for marriages was recorded in November and December at 503, with the least popular month for marriage in June with 322 registered marriage contracts.

The average age for marriages among men above the age of 15 was 27.7 years old compared to 24.6 years old for women.

More than half, 59 per cent, of the Abu Dhabi emirate above the age of 15 were married, 35 per cent of citizens have never been married and six per cent of Emirati residents were either divorced or widowed.