Khaberni - The Higher Council for Population confirmed that the number of divorce cases in Jordan over the past ten years (2015-2024) has "remained generally stable", according to data from the Department of the Chief Justice, which is a key partner of the Council in monitoring ongoing changes in the marital status of the population due to instances of marriage, divorce, and widowhood.
The Council clarified in a statistical briefing on Wednesday that 27% of the divorce cases recorded during the same period "occurred before consummation", i.e., before the wedding was completed, which means there were no children involved.
The Council believes this enhances the chances of remarrying, as the figures indicate that 19% of marriages in the past ten years were for women who were divorced and then remarried.
The data also showed that 23% of total divorce cases were "revocable divorces", which allows the husband to return to his wife during the waiting period without the need for a new contract or dowry.
The Council pointed out that the number of divorces has not seen an increase in rates over the last ten years despite the population growth and the increasing number of married couples and families. The general divorce rate in Jordan is 2.4 cases per thousand population, which drops to 1.8 cases per thousand population when excluding pre-consummation divorces.
It added that experiences in several societies have shown that the rates of divorce and marriage stabilize or even decrease during periods of rising prices and economic downturns, which could be applicable to the Jordanian situation.
The Council noted that newlyweds delaying the birth of their first child until recovering from the expenses of marriage helps to spare children the consequences of early divorce if it occurs after a few years of marriage.
