50% of marriages in Abu Dhabi don't last beyond 3 years

Khaleej Times -- More than 50 per cent of marriages in Abu Dhabi don't last beyond three years, according to a government report.

The report released recently by the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) showed that divorces recorded during 2016 were 1,922, of which 978 involved female Emirati citizens.

According to the report, 28.2 per cent of the divorce cases last year show that couples didn't endure one full year in marriage, while more than 50 per cent of the couples didn't complete 3 years after marriage.

The statistics also indicated that there were 5,892 new marriage contracts registered last year and in 3,327 of these marriages, the wife was an Emirati citizen.

The average age at the time of marriage in Abu Dhabi was 28.7 years for males and 25.6 years for females, according to the report. 

March witnessed the highest percentage of completed marriage contracts, while June saw the lowest.

The report said though the number of marriage contracts registered in Abu Dhabi has been increasing by 5.8 per cent annually since 1975, the crude marriage rate decreased to 7.6 marriages per 1,000 citizens during 2016 from 7.9 marriages per 1,000 citizens in 2015.

The report also said 58.6 per cent of Emiratis aged 15 years and above are married, while 35.7 per cent are not, and the rest are divorced.