divorce
Illustrative image. Image Credit: Creative Commons

Dubai: Saudi Arabia has reported an unprecedented increase in divorce rates with 168 cases happening every day, an average of 7 cases every hour, local media reported.

According to Al Youm newspaper, the Saudi General Authority for Statistics has revealed that “57,595 divorce decrees were issued during the last few months of 2020, an increase of 12.7 per cent, compared to 2019, while social media platforms emerged as a main reason for the increase.

Saudi lawyer, Dakhil Al Dakhil said that the number of divorce cases rose significantly during the last 10 years, specifically since 2011, from only 9,233 cases in 2010, to 34,000 in 2011. Divorce cases continued to rise in the following years, reaching 57,000 cases in 2020. This year’s reports indicated that “there are 7 divorce cases every hour in the Kingdom.

Al Dakhil attributed the increasing number of divorce cases in Saudi society to the growing complexities of life and the high cost of living, especially during the COVID-10 pandemic, which began in 2019, and caused a noticeable increase in prices, in addition to social media platforms, which played an important role in ruining Saudi families and Arab families in general.

Other reasons include social differences, having dissimilar goals and priorities in life, as well as cultural disparities.