Lori Leads in Divorce Rates

The executive representative of the United Nations Population Fund, Zovinar Harutyunyan, announced during a meeting with journalists yesterday that the number of marriages has increased by 202, totaling 3,783 compared to 3,580 from the previous year. However, the number of divorces has decreased by 171; in the first quarter of this year, 850 divorces were registered, down from 1,021 last year.

“Previously, couples who divorced were usually those who had been married for longer periods, for example, the 20+ age group made up about 30 percent of divorces. In recent years, this trend has shifted, and more couples with shorter marriages are getting divorced. When looking at the reasons, it has mainly been found that disputes and arguments account for about 50 percent, 14 percent cite incompatibility of character, and 8 percent are due to going abroad for work,” Zovinar Harutyunyan informed.

According to her, in the first quarter of 2019, Gegharkunik region was in the best position, having the highest marriage statistics and the lowest divorce rates: 380 marriages and 37 divorces. “Unfortunately, the worst regions are Lori, Kotayk, and Yerevan.”

Additionally, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Smbat Saikyan announced that a study has begun in cooperation with the UN office to investigate the demographic trends of these regions. “We plan to conduct these studies in the regions to identify the reasons.” This means that after these studies, it will become clear why divorces are occurring in each region.