An ultraconservative country Saudi Arabia is widely believed to enjoy the upside of a traditional community: close-knit families.
But, studies and stats draw quite a different image of the kingdom, where its social fabric is disintegrating at a frantic pace.
Right now, Riyadh is suffering from the double whammy of low marriage and high divorce rates, each of which with far-fetching consequences.
Once a rare phenomenon, celibacy has now become a disturbing trend in Saudi society. The most recent figures indicate that more than 5.26 million people in Saudi Arabia including three million men and 2.26 million women remain unmarried.
Meanwhile, the average age of unmarried men in the kingdom is 40 and of unmarried women 36.
In addition to a rather widespread lack of interest in marriage among the younger generation, Saudi society is being threatened with yet another plight: high rate of divorce.
Despite all the campaigns against divorce, more than 53,000 divorces take place in Saudi Arabia every year. That’s while the kingdom has a population of less than 35 million.
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