Divorce rate
hits record high even as marriage rate falls
THE divorce rate among Singaporeans reached a record level last
year, with 1.91 cases per thousand residents.
This is a significant 11 per cent increase from 1.72 the previous
year, latest official statistics reveal.
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The last high was in 1998, when it hit 1.78, after which it fell
before rising again in 2002.
The figures were in a report called Statistics On Marriages And
Divorces 2003 released by the Singapore Department of Statistics
yesterday.
Of all age groups, young couples aged 20 to 24 were the most likely
to break up, consistently registering the highest divorce rate over
the last decade.
Both in 2002 and last year, males aged 35 to 44 and females aged 25
to 34 formed the largest proportion of divorced people.
The mean ages for divorce were the same in the two years - about 40
for males and 37 for females, the report said.
'Unreasonable behaviour of spouse was the most common reason cited
for non-Muslim divorces, increasing from 29 per cent in 1993 to 49
per cent in 2003,' it said.
Having lived apart or being separated for three years or more was
the second most common reason.
Among Muslims, 43 per cent cited personality difference and 16 per
cent, infidelity, as the reason for going their separate
ways.
This rising divorce trend was accompanied by a drop in the number
of marriages.
Last year, only 21,962 couples registered to be married, an over 5
per cent dip from the 23,198 couples in 2002. This is after a 4 per
cent increase in the number of marriages from 2001 to 2002.
According to the report, marriage rates last year fell across all
age groups, continuing a similar trend in the last decade.
The annual report also revealed that the mean age at which
Singaporeans marry increased by two to three years over the past
two decades. The mean remarriage age also increased, by one to
three years over the same period.
Meanwhile, older men continued to marry younger women.
Last year, such marriages accounted for 73 per cent of all first
marriages, a slight decrease from 76 per cent in 1993.
Married couples within a year's age difference of each other
increased from 29 to 33 per cent in the last decade, as did couples
aged 10 years or more apart, which increased from 6 to 8 per cent
over the same period.
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Zi gu duo qing, kong yu heng. 
*shake head*
Cheers
