The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that 1.613 million couples divorced last year, while 8.341 million couples registered to marry.

Compared with the previous year, 282,000 more couples got divorced -- an increase of 21.2 percent -- and 227,000 more couples registered to get married.

About 995,000 couples chose to divorce at civil administration offices rather than suing in court, which is an increase of 44 percent on 2003 and 62 percent of last year's total divorces.

From 1978 to 2003, the number of couples getting divorced grew by a factor of 3.2, according to the ministry.

Personal incompatibility was named as the most common reason for divorce, while extramarital affairs came second, being cited in around 30 percent of all cases.

An increase in the number of "DINK" (double income, no kids) couples was also identified as a factor in making divorce an easier option. "Among divorced couples, 40 percent have no children," said Xu Anqi, an expert in family research at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

China's civil administration bodies should make more efforts to educate people in taking a more cautious approach to marriage, said Wu Changzhen, an expert in marriage and family law at the Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Wu quotes three factors as important in explaining the sharp rise: simpler divorce procedures, less social stigma and greater freedom of choice.

After the new marriage law took effect in October 2003, couples can get divorce certificates on the spot if they present residence booklets, identity cards, marriage certificates and written divorce agreements. In the past they needed references from employers or from local residents' or villagers' committees, basic community organizations in China.

Whereas previously people who got divorced would be viewed negatively by many, Chinese society now tends to take a less judgmental attitude, said Wu.

Moreover, he said the opening up of society has allowed people to enjoy more freedom in marriage. Instead of a closed and simple social life decades ago, diverse lifestyles, dissimilar employment as well as different sets of values make family bonds less strong than before.

There is also some evidence that many of those getting divorced are younger couples. A local court in Beijing’s Chongwen District said that, of the 410 divorce cases they handled last year, over 120 involved couples who were less than 25 years old.

One Beijing law firm with many divorcing clients agreed, saying that couples below 35 years old accounted for 90 percent of the cases they dealt with.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2005)