The divorce rate in Taiwan reached 2.23 for every 1,000 people in 1999, which is about six times that of three decades ago, a Taiwan professor, Li Mei-ling, said November 18.

The number of newly divorced couples on the island has increased from 3,000 or 4,000 couples to about 50,000 couples each year, Li said.

The increasing divorce rates run across the gamut of all ages, but are most notable among people under 24 years of age.

A breakdown of the statistics shows that in the age group of below 20, the rate of divorced males has increased from four to 41 per 1,000 people and that of divorced females from six to 53.

Among the people aged between 20 and 24, the divorce rate for men has increased from six to 48 per 1,000 males and the figure for women has grown from seven to 43 per 1,000 females.

Even males aged above 65, who were rarely divorced in previous studies, posted a divorce rate of two per 1,000 people last year, said Li.

(People’s Daily 11/18/2000)