Marriage has always played a critical role in adult life and from the perspective of marketers, it is a life event that creates numerous business opportunities. The breakup of marriages also has its commercial upside. The huge number of senior dating web sites and the sale of properties to the ’newly single’ are just a couple of examples. The fact that the creators of this blog posting conducted this global research indicates its value to the legal profession.
A while back I was approached by an Australian legal company that was interested in the global phenomenon of rising divorce rates. They were researching and creating an infographic about the subject and kindly agreed to write a guest posting for my blog.
It is difficult to appreciate the magnitude of social upheaval (and marketing opportunities) that the breakdown of relationships this blog post describes. Many thanks to Mark, of Unified Lawyers, for letting me publish their findings.
Age and Divorce
Many people tend to think that divorce is a crisis that affects the younger couples aged between 20 and 30 years. However, statistics indicate that divorce is increasingly affecting the middle aged population aged between 40 and 46 years in both the U.K and Australia. As people enter their later decades of life, there are several stresses that they have to deal with, and it’s mostly attributed to the midlife crisis, though the facts are scanty.
Now, in the U.K, the provisional mean age of marriage for males was 36.5 years and 34.0 for females in 2012. In the same year, the divorce rate was highest among both men and women aged between 40 and 44 years.
In Australia, the rate of divorce increased by 4.3 percent in 2015, which translates to about 2 divorces in every 1,000 estimated population. The median duration that a marriage lasted before a divorce was 12.1 years in the same year. Similar to the UK, the median age of divorce for males was 45.3 years and 42.7 years for females.
Marriage has always played a critical role in adult life throughout the history of human existence. That has been the norm in most countries, but recently, things seem to be changing, and the role of marriage in the society appears to be declining in some regions as seen by the ever-rising divorce rates. However, the regional differences vis-à-vis their regard for marriage as the anchor for adult life is apparent. That’s why you need an experienced divorce attorney that will offer an outstanding customer experience encompassing adults aged between 25 to 40 years and elderly families aged between 40 and 60 years.
Marriage is not easy, and not all of them end in a happily ever after. As we can see on the global divorce demographics below, a significant percentage of them end in divorce. For someone who is happily married or is about to get married, this is hard to grasp, but it’s the reality.
Countries with the Highest and Lowest Divorce Rates in the Globe
Divorce rates are relatively high in Oceanic and European countries. Asia is represented in both ends of the spectrum. For instance, divorce rates in the Philippines are essentially zero because divorce is illegal in the country. At 87 percent, Luxembourg has the highest divorce rates in the world. Other top ten countries with the highest divorce rates are Spain, France, US, Canada, and Australia, a representation of Europe, North America, and Oceania. These are the continents where the centrality of marriage’s role in adult life course seems to be diminishing, and fast.
On the other end of the spectrum, countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East have relatively lower divorce rates. The divorce rate in India is 1 percent, as compared to 3 percent in Chile and 15 percent in Kenya. These countries represent regions where marriage is still playing the central role in the course of adult life. However, marriages in African nations such as South Africa and Kenya may not be as stable as they seem and the figures could be higher. It’s common for married couples to separate permanently without a legal divorce in these countries.
Divorce and Religion
At 37 percent, divorce rates are highest in Christian marriages — Catholic comes a close second – at 36 percent. Catholicism strictly condemns divorce, but in countries like Spain where Catholicism is common, the divorce rate is higher than 60 percent. Divorce rates are lowest in Hindu and Islam religions. Over time, the stability of marriages has declined across the world, irrespective of religion.
Causes of Divorce
According to a stay home mom, Blindsided Betsy, her husband suddenly wants a divorce claiming that she overspends and he can’t stand the fact that she “lives off him.” Betsy doesn’t want to appear vindictive or poisonous but is rather worried about crying in front of her two kids (2 and 4 years old). With the husband claiming a 50/50 custody, which will mean spending half of her nights without the kids, she feels helpless about the whole situation.
Well, Betsy’s case is just one in a million, but the reasons for the termination of a marriage may include infidelity, money, lack of communication, alcohol and drug addiction, physical/emotional abuse, and lack of commitment, just to mention a few.
No comments:
Post a Comment