Divorce rate in Bangladesh doubled in 2022: report

The number of divorces in the rural parts of the country was higher than in urban areas last year, according to a survey

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, according to 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 percent of the country's population above the age of 10 are single, 63.9 percent are married and 7.4 percent 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 percent were under 15 years of age. And, 40.9 percent were under 18 years of age.

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