Municipality Lifestyle Drives Divorce Rate

China Voices reports that research on the crude divorce rate in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in 2009, based on international methods of statistical research, reveals Xinjiang, Chongqing and Heilongjiang as those with the highest divorce rates. The three northeastern provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang were among the top five，Shanghai ranked sixth, Tianjin eighth and Beijing ninth. Shanxi, Gansu and Tibet Autonomous Region had the three lowest divorce rates.
In addition to nationwide statistics, the Ministry of Civil Affairs also posted civil affairs statistical data for each province over the past two quarters. It implies that Sichuan, where more than 64,000 couples registered divorces, has the highest divorce rate among 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, followed by Shandong and Jiangsu. At the bottom end of the scale were Tibet Autonomous Region – lowest with just 291 divorces -- and Qinghai and Hainan Provinces.
Impetus over 30 Years
Divorce and the divorce rate have steadily risen since the late 1970s, according to Xu Anqi, standing director of the China Association of Marriage and Family Studies, director of the Women's Studies Institute of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and considered an expert on divorce statistics.
China's crude divorce rate in 1979 was 0.3 ‰. By the year 2000 it had hit 1.0‰. Divorce over the past decade has risen in both number and speed.
Ministry of Civil Affairs data shows that 848,000 couples divorced over the past two quarters, equivalent to 5,000 each day.
Municipality Lifestyle Drives Divorce Rate
According to Xu's research, the rate of divorce is highest in areas of rapid economic development, urbanization and industrialization, namely the municipalities directly under the central government including Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing, and the southeast coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
Having risen seven times between 1980, when it was 21st on the national scale, to second in 2000, the divorce rate in Shanghai has shown the most rapid rise. That in the other municipalities and coastal areas mentioned has quadrupled during this time. Municipalities and the three northeastern provinces have stayed in the divorce rate top ten for the past decade.
Experts attribute this phenomenon to the relatively greater changes，compared to other cities, that rapid economic growth and social transformation in municipalities have made to the lives of residents, their social values and ways of thinking.
 
Municipalities historically lead urbanization, economic development, household consumption levels and the social mobility coefficient, all of which have impact on marriage stability. That the rate of divorce is higher in these cities is hence unsurprising.
Xu believes that material improvements in the quality of life in municipalities have brought with them higher expectations of marriage quality and emotional fulfillment. Marriages that may have seemed fair-to-middling in the past are no longer tolerable, which is another reason for the higher divorce rate in China's bigger cities.
Divorce Rate Maintains High in Northeast
The divorce rate in China's three northeastern provinces has remained among the highest over the past 20 years.
The sample survey that Xu headed of 100 divorce cases filed at a court in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, showed that alcoholism was at the root of 20% -- a rate head and shoulders above other areas. Divorce for reasons of domestic violence and incompatibility also appeared much higher than in other areas.
Xu concludes that the lifestyle and attitudes towards marriage in northeast China are relatively advanced and open. This means that no-one – relatives or friends – attempts to mediate if a couple shows signs of breaking up.
Lower in the South
Taking into consideration the rapid economic development in Guangdong and Hainan, their divorce rates have remained relatively low. Guangdong and Hainan rank 27th and 28th in the rate of divorce among the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The two provinces were also at the bottom end during the 21 years from 1980 to 2000.
Xu believes that residents of these areas still live according to the traditional values whereby "the more offspring, the more blessings" and of "raising sons to provide for old age" an attitude that values family stability and so lessens the risk of divorce.
Xu also attributes to this mindset the low divorce rate in Tibet and Guangxi Autonomous Regions and Jiangxi Province.
Different culture and customs among the ethnic minorities in these areas also affect the divorce rate. This would explain why Xinjiang ranks first and Tibet last in the rate and number of divorces.
Within the Normal Range
Xu cites UN divorce rate statistics that show China in the 1990s as ranking in the 50s among 88 countries, pointing out that as at 2006, its status had barely changed.
Xu predicts that the divorce rate in China will continue to rise but will stabilize in the long term.
Director of Women of China Media Han Xiangjing said in May that we should stay positive about China's marriage and family status and that, "The growing divorce rate will not affect the mainstream of harmonious marriage and family in China."
Views
No Blame on Post-80s generation
Xu does not agree with the widely held view that impulse marriages among the post-80s generation constitute the culprit for the rising divorce rate. "Although many people marry and divorce on a whim, the majority give due consideration to these weighty matters," is Xu's opinion.
Simpler Procedure, Easier Divorce

China's divorce rate began to rise the same year the reversed State Council Regulations on Marriage Registration of October 1, 2003 came into effect. That year 1.331 million couples divorced, 1.54 thousand more than in 2002 –an increase from 0.3‰ to 2.1‰.
The regulation changed marriage registration management to marriage registration services, simplifying the marriage registration procedure and improving work efficiency. It at the same time ensured people's marriage rights.
Before 2003, people needed written documents from their units or resident committees to complete their divorce registration. This forced many couples to live in a loveless marriage simply to protect their privacy.
"The new regulation consequently resulted in a rise in divorce," Xu points out. It in effect enabled couples to divorce on the spot at Bureaus of Civil Affairs.
Backgrounds Can be Barriers
In Xu's opinion, the weakening of the family structure and of social cohesion is another main reason for the rise in the divorce rate.
People are now under heavier material and spiritual pressure due to stronger social mobility --including geographical and occupational mobility -- and harsher social competition. Work, frequent business trips and extra study leave too little time for them to spend with their families.
At the same time, expanded social interaction and entertainment venues create more opportunities to meet new people. Extramarital affairs often develop from work or social relationships.
Wider social circles enable people of diverse backgrounds to meet and marry. Different social customs and modes of family life, however, might eventually hamper lifelong happiness.
Among divorces in Shanghai, those among couples who are from different background account for 25% according to statistics. This is food for thought, bearing in mind that data does not include newly arrived Shanghai residents who have acquired local resident registration through unorthodox methods.