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Why is the divorce rate so high in Saudi Arabia?
The statistics also reveal that more than 60 percent of divorces take place among newlyweds.
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A couple sits during sunset in the Saudi Red Sea resort town of Jeddah on Dec. 20, 2023. (AFP/Giuseppe Cacace)
F
rom year to year, divorce cases tend to increase in Saudi Arabia, and the divorce rate has been staggeringly high in recent years. According to a report from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Statistics, about 37 percent of marriages in the kingdom end in divorce. The statistics also reveal that more than 60 percent of divorces take place among newlyweds.
Here are a few examples of statistical data on divorce cases in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, there were about 51,000 divorce cases, and in the following year (2020), the number increased by 57,595 cases (an increase of 12.7 percent). In 2022, divorce cases skyrocketed, reaching more than 350,000.
This figure is certainly high for a country of 36 million (in 2023). The data exclude divorce cases that courts do not record so that the real figure may be higher. Nonetheless, in Arab countries, Kuwait has the highest divorce rate (about 48 percent), followed by Egypt (40 percent).
Why is the divorce rate so high in Saudi Arabia? This question is interesting partly because of the following reasons.
First, previous anthropological studies drawing largely from African societies show that divorce rates tend to be lower in societies with strong kinship bonds and substantial bride wealth payments (the compensation given by the groom or his family to the bride’s family to ratify and formalize marriage relationships).
Like African societies, Saudi society is also typified by sturdy kinship ties and large bride wealth that have existed in the Arabian Peninsula since the pre-Islamic era. This means the previous studies contradict divorce cases in Saudi Arabia (or Kuwait and Egypt).
Second, although Islam permits divorce (dissolution of marriage), it is not laudable. The Quran suggests and promotes reconciliation when disharmony happens between spouses. In other words, divorce should not be the first option and solution but the last resort instead. Prophet Muhammad also reportedly said that of all permissible things to God, divorce is the most hated one.
