Most Spaniards still marry, but divorce on the rise

Madrid, Spain, Jun 29, 2009 / 13:27 pm

The Vice President of the Institute for Family Policy, Mariano Martinez-Aedo, said marriage continues to be the civil state of the majority of Spaniards, but that fast-track divorce and low wages have caused the percentage of marriages drop from 62.3% to 57% during the last 20 years.
 
“Marriage continues being the civil state of the majority of Spaniards today, and this despite the decline in the number of marriages in recent years,” Martinez-Aedo said.  “In Spain, there are almost 11 million marriages today, which means that 57% of Spaniards above age 16 are married,” he added.
 
However, he warned that this figure has dropped from what it was 20 years ago, when 62.3% of Spaniards above the age of 16 were married. At the same time, he went on, the number of single, divorced and separated Spaniards is increasing.
 
This is because of both fast-track divorce and the low wages that make young people remain single for longer and live with their parents.  The current economic crisis has aggravated the situation, Martinez-Aedo noted.
 
The president of the Institute, Eduardo Hertfelder, warned that while the Spanish government continues to ignore the essential social functions that marriage and the family fulfill, the percentage of divorcees and of single Spaniards will continue to increase with all of the subsequent consequences.