Following the Lunar New Year, mainland China has witnessed a surge in divorces, with 100 couples waiting in line for divorce proceedings, while only 5 couples registered for marriage. Netizens have analyzed the phenomenon and identified a major underlying reason.
On February 22, 2024, the first working day after the Lunar New Year, the Civil Affairs Bureau in Zhun'an County, Anhui Province, experienced a divorce wave. Over 100 couples queued up to process their divorce, while only 5 couples registered for marriage. This event has caught the attention of netizens, who have started to analyze the reasons behind it.
Shifting Reasons for Divorce in Hong Kong, Decrease in Extramarital Affairs Proportion between Mainland China and Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Federation of Women's Centres has provided services to over 2,000 women in the past 10 years. Last year, the organization commissioned the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at Lingnan University to analyze cases and found that the main reasons for divorce in Hong Kong have shifted from "spouse's failure to provide financial support" and "domestic violence" a decade ago to self-abuse and extramarital affairs in recent years.
On the other hand, the analysis revealed that during the past few years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the divorce rate due to spouses having extramarital affairs in mainland China decreased significantly from 10.5% to 3.7%. However, at the same time, the divorce rate due to extramarital affairs in Hong Kong increased from 21.8% to 23.5%. Additionally, the analysis found that the higher the number of children, the greater the likelihood of divorce due to spouse's child abuse, lack of financial support, or debts.
2.88 Million Couples Divorced in Mainland China in 2022
According to data from mainland China, in 2022, there were approximately 6.83 million marriage registrations, with the majority of individuals (around 37%) falling within the 25-29 age group, followed by the 20-24 age group at 15.2%. In terms of divorce cases, approximately 2.88 million couples filed for divorce in 2022, representing a 1.4% increase compared to the previous year, with a divorce rate of approximately 2%.