Global Divorce Rates Soar: Spain among countries with highest divorce rates

World
Europe

03:07

Marriage is becoming less popular and divorce rates continue to rise worldwide. Every year, world organizations such as the UN release reports of global divorce rates. In Spain, the number of people breaking off their marriage has dramatically increased since divorce was legalized in 1981. The country now has one of the highest divorce rates in the world. Filio Kontrafouri has more from Madrid.

The sanctity of marriage and life-long commitment, once the cornerstone of society across most of Europe seems to be on a rocky ground in Spain. The Iberian country has the second highest divorce rate in the world.

More than six out of ten marriages in Spain end in divorce. The Vice President of the Institute for Family Policy Mariano Martinez-Aedo y Rojo believes it is a complex issue, exacerbated by the fact that less Spaniards are getting married.

MARIANO MARTINEZ-AEDO Y ROJO VICE PRESIDENT, INSTITUTO POLITICO FAMILIA "There are two main causes. The first is the low cultural significance associated with marriage and engagement. There are also social issues. The labor market and the housing market don't do anything to help people get married in the first place."

In 2005, the Spanish Government passed the 'Express Divorce Bill'. It is a policy aimed at reducing bureaucracy and mounting costs of what used to be a lengthy legal process to legally separate.

MARIANO MARTINEZ-AEDO Y ROJO VICE PRESIDENT, INSTITUTO POLITICO FAMILIA "Nowadays it is harder to finish a contract with a mobile phone company than it is to get divorced. It sends a message to people that marriage is no longer important, that it's something you can break off whenever you want as it has no legal complications."

75% of all divorces in Spain are by mutual agreement, the only case when an express divorce is applicable. Victor Martin Organista, an attorney specializing in divorce cases, says the bill has had a huge impact. His law firm sees an annual increase of 10 to 15 percent in divorce cases. Yet not all the couples go through with their decision because of Spain's recent economic crisis.

VICTOR MARTIN ORGANISTA ATTORNEY, MATO ORGANISTA ASSOCIATES "In Spain we have less middle class and more people living on about 1,000 euros per month year after year. A lot of people come here to get divorced but after they visit they decide they won't because when you tell them the economic consequences of that decision they realize they can't afford it."

Still, the Spanish society is evolving as women gain more power and become more financially independent. That also makes it easier for them to leave an unhappy marriage, further pushing divorce rates upwards and changing society.

FILIO KONTRAFOURI MADRID "While the divorce rate in Spain has recently stabilized at over 60%, it remains very high. And as the institution of marriage has lost the relevance it once had, divorce lawyers and experts warn that this upward trend likely looks set to continue. Filio Kontrafouri, CGTN, Madrid."