Divorce rates surge in Iraq: Over 357,000 cases in four years

Shafaq News/ Divorce rates in Iraq have been significantly rising over the past four years, posing a threat to family and societal stability, the head of the Strategic Human Rights Center in Iraq, Fadel al-Gharawi, reported on Sunday.

Divorce Figures

“The number of registered divorce cases in Iraq, excluding the Kurdistan Region (KRI), has reached 357,887 over the past four years,” al-Gharawi stated.

Statistics from the Supreme Judicial Council showed that “there were 73,155 recorded divorce cases in 2021, which decreased to 68,410 in 2022 but rose to 71,016 in 2023.”

“During the first seven months of 2024, 45,306 divorce cases were recorded."

Between 2004 and 2014, divorce rates were high, with one in five marriages ending in divorce, totaling 516,784 cases out of 2.6 million marriages, excluding the KRI.

Main Contributors

The primary reasons for the increase in divorce cases, according to al-Gharawi, include a lack of understanding between spouses on intellectual and cultural levels, interference from family and friends, rising family problems and domestic violence, increasing infidelity, misuse of social media, weak religious awareness, and economic issues.

Divorce Remedies

Al-Gharawi urged the government and parliament to amend the Personal Status Law to address factors contributing to the rise in divorce cases.

He also advocated for public awareness campaigns to highlight the dangers of divorce and its effects on families and society, calling for “a comprehensive national study involving all relevant parties to identify and tackle the root causes.”