Brazil registers record-high divorces in 2007
5/12/2008 16:31
The number of divorces registered in Brazil in 2007 surpassed 179,000, an
11-percent increase from 2006, according to a yearly study released
yesterday.
The number of divorces was only about 30,000 in 1984 when the
study was first conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
(IBGE). The country's divorce rate increased more than 200 percent in the past
23 years, jumping from 0.49 to 1.49 percent.
The IBGE said the increase in
the number of divorces was the result of legislation passed in January 2007 that
simplifies the process.
According to the new law, a couple can request
divorce by consensus at a notary's office if they have been separated for more
than a year and have no underage or special-needs children.
The study showed
that 75.9 percent of the record-high divorces registered in 2007 were
consensual, while 24.1 percent were litigious and filed mostly by women.
The
study also showed that the number of weddings in Brazil increased last year to
more than 916,000.
Xinhua
|
