Divorce rate doubles in space of a year in Bangladesh

A survey has found that the divorce rate in Bangladesh has doubled in the space of a year.

The gross rate of divorce rose to 1.4 per thousand people in 2022, compared to 0.7 per thousand the year before, reports bdnews24.com citing the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

In its report on the Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics 2022 published on Tuesday, the national statistics agency found a growing trend of divorces in rural areas, where the rate was 1.5 per thousand. It outstripped separations in urban areas last year, where the rate stood at 1 per thousand residents.

The findings are based on a survey of more than 1.3 million people and 300,000 households across the country in 2022, according to Alamgir Hossain, the director of the project.

On average, around 18.1 people out of every thousand got married last year, according to the report.

Meanwhile, 28.7 per cent of the country's population above the age of 10 are single, 63.9 per cent are married and 7.4 per cent are either widowed, divorced or separated.

The average age of marriage is now 25.3 years for men and 18.8 years for women.

The survey also found that among those who got married last year, 6.5 per cent were under 15 years of age. And, 40.9 per cent were under 18 years of age.

In Bangladesh, the legal age of marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men.