Tuesday, December 3, 2002
Canadian divorce on the rise
A story released today by Comtex reports that according to a report released by Statistics Canada, more marriages in Canada went on the rocks in 2000, the third consecutive year of growth in the number of divorces.
According to the agency, a total of 71,144 couples had a divorce finalized in 2000, up a marginal 0.3 percent from 1999, and 3 percent from 1998.
"Year No. 4" of marriages proved most hazardous. "After the first anniversary, the divorce rate was 5.1 per 1,000 marriages. This increased to 17 divorces after the second anniversary, 23.6 divorces after the third, up to the peak of 25.5 after the fourth anniversary," Statistics Canada said.
After the fourth year, the risk of divorce decreased slowly for each additional year of marriage. The figures also showed that 60 percent of divorces in 1999 and 2000 were in marriages of less than 15 years.
