Iraq’s divorce and marriage rates in April

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council reports that in April, an average of seven couples divorced and 23 marriages were registered every hour across the country, excluding the Kurdistan Region. The statistics reveal that 21,851 marriage cases and 5,537 divorce cases were recorded nationwide in April.

On a daily basis, Iraq saw an average of 705 marriages and 179 divorces. Of the total marriage cases, 19,386 were processed within the courts, while 2,465 were recorded outside the courts, often under religious law. Similarly, 4,177 divorce cases were processed within the courts, and 1,360 were recorded outside the courts.

Compared to March, the numbers of marriages and divorces in April decreased. In March, there were 24,088 marriage cases and 6,222 divorce cases recorded.

The Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq previously announced that from the start of 2024 until April, Iraqi couples filed for 20,000 divorces. Fadil Al-Ghrawi, head of the center, attributed the rise in divorce rates to factors such as irreconcilable differences, premature commitments, domestic violence, polygamy, infidelity, and crowded multigenerational homes.

No figures for the Kurdistan Region in 2024 were available, but court statistics released in 2023 showed 53,087 marriages and 14,312 divorces. In 2022, the Kurdistan Region recorded 55,896 marriages and 13,967 divorces.