Why Do Western Countries Have Disproportionally High Divorce Rates?

The trends are changing fast in the east as well, so the old averages do not work anymore. To say that the western nations have less spirituality and, therefore, more divorce would be a gross oversimplification. Life is not what it used to be in the hip and swinging sixties, or for that matter, it does not even tally much with the early 1990s.

Divorce on the Rise


Divorce as a phenomenon has been on the rise for sometime now. This is true all over the world. Apart from the usual toppers such as the USA, Sweden, Holland, UK and other West European nations, Italy has seen a rise above its typically lower rates. Japan has a very high rate of divorce, with Singapore and Hong Kong coming up at the heels. Divorce is on the rise in India too, but the silent and steady rise of cohabitation has made the Indian context even more complicated than it already was. Though divorce is on the rise everywhere, the reasons are widely varied, though some factors are beginning to cut across the East-West divide based on the fast-paced economic development in several countries simultaneously and from the same industrial sectors.

Liberation of Women

This has become one of the ‘traditional' reasons now, quite ironically. With greater freedom being granted to women in all countries now, wives are earning members from even before they get married. The problems start when there is an ego clash between the partners. This can happen when:

The wife earns more than the husband or gets promotions faster, or becomes a competitor in the same office or area of work.

Either the husband or wife or both are celebrities or very highly placed people.

The wife has to leave her job for the sake of raising children or taking care of the household. Even if she does it willingly for the time being, she may come to regret and resent the situation later on.

The husband and wife are strong-willed independent persons who cannot compromise for the sake of mutual peace.

The wife feels that she has been thrown out of the race by getting bogged down with her family, while her peers are carving successful careers for themselves and enjoying greater social freedom.

Extramarital affairs have become more common due to the emancipation of women.

Easy Divorce Laws

There was a time when getting a divorce was really tough. But the laws have loosened up greatly, especially in the context of the UK and to a degree in the USA also. The civil courts are overflowing with pending cases, and they can't be blamed for wanting to rid their desks burdened with unhappy couples every day. The case of France must be pointed out here. It has the highest number of divorce-related court battles fought out every year. Strangely enough, despite the expenditure, French couples are willing to part company literally at any cost and the high rate of divorce has not been affected by the costly quarrels.

Social Acceptability Post-divorce

The legal system is not something independent of the overall social fabric. They reflect the way a society is being shaped by various factors. So, the loosening of the laws concerning divorce, remarriage and cohabitation reflect the wider social acceptability of divorce and the easier amalgamation of divorcees into the main frame of society again. You may feel a bit down for the time, but if you are a divorcee and want to start all over again, you will not lack friends or members of the opposite gender interested in you. Children are not a massive deterrent factor either anymore.

Easy Remarriage and Breakable Relations

The ease and high frequency of remarriages also illustrate the brittle structure of our relations. One can walk in and out of multiple relations with greater speed and ease now. It is also a natural fallout of our hectic lives and the amount of travel that many work profiles involve. In Australia, multiple marriages have reached almost chronic proportions.

Rise of Individualism

Individualism has been on the rise since the 18th century. But its nature has changed drastically due to the digital revolution. Fragmentation is a way of life and single person families (an oxymoron in itself) are becoming common all over the world now.

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