China reports more divorces, marriages in 2011

BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- More cases of divorce and marriage were handled across China in 2011, a bulletin released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Thursday.

In 2011, more than 2.87 million couples divorced through court ruling or civil affairs administrative procedures, up 7.3 percent year-on-year, the MCA bulletin said.

The number of divorces per 1,000 people was 2.13 in 2011, 0.13 points higher from the previous year, the bulletin said.

The bulletin said civil affairs authorities nationwide also registered 13.02 million marriages in the same year, a rise of 4.9 percent on a year-on-year basis.

A survey showed that 36.6 percent of the people who registered for marriage in 2011 were between 20 and 24 years old, accounting for the largest proportion of the newly-weds.