Abu Dhabi: A report published in Abu Dhabi recently has found that the most popular month for Emirati weddings is in March and ironically, the most popular month for divorces was also in March.
The Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre (ADSC) reported that a total of 5,892 marriage contracts were registered in Abu Dhabi in 2016, 70.9 percent of which were mixed marriage contracts – a decline of 2.4 percent from 2015.
According to the ADSC, mixed marriages are defined as a marriage between an Emirati man and a female expat, or between an Emirati woman and a male expat.
The average age of marriage for Emirati men in Abu Dhabi stood at 27.2 years and at 24.2 years for women in 2016, with the highest percentage of marriages taking place in March while June saw the lowest.
A total of 1,922 divorce cases were registered in Abu Dhabi in 2016, 68.3 percent of which involved Emiratis, either males or females.
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Divorce among citizens reached 7.6 cases per 1,000 population, with the month of March witnessing the highest rate of divorce, and September seeing the lowest.
The report also pointed out that 28.2 percent of divorce cases in 2016 did not endure one full year, and more than 50 percent of marriages did not last three years.
“Though the number of marriage contracts registered in Abu Dhabi has been increasing by 5.8 percent annually since 1975, the marriage rate decreased from 7.6 marriages per 1000 citizens during 2016 from 7.9 marriages per 1000 citizens in 2015,” stated the report.
The report also added that in 2016, 58.6 percent of Emiratis aged 15 years old and above were married, while 35.7 percent were single, and 5.7 per cent were divorced.
