Niger. Forced marriage is common in Niger. Niger has the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world; and also the highest total fertility rate. Girls who attempt to leave forced marriages are most often rejected by their families and are often forced to enter prostitution in order to survive.
Forced and early marriage are most common in impoverished states in Africa, South Asia as well as the former Soviet republics. However, there are still cases of forced and early marriage in more affluent North American and European countries. Forced marriage can be coupled with other forms of slavery.
In fact, approximately 90 percent of the marriages in India today are reported to be arranged marriages.
The tradition of arranged marriage is most commonly found in eastern-based cultures, including Indian, Japanese, and Chinese cultures. However, it was at one time equally popular in western culture.
Niger has the highest child marriage rate in the world among girls. According to the most recent data, in this West African country, more than three fourths of girls aged under 18 were married, with nearly 30 percent of them being younger than 15 years old.
Similarly, in Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Principe, children can marry at the age of 14 with their parents' consent but have to wait until they are 18 otherwise.
Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (age 12), was betrothed in a wedding contract at age 8-days-old, she was officially married at the age of twelve in 1476, to her cousin Louis, Duke of Orléans (aged 14).
The Maldives has the highest divorce rate in the world, at approximately 5.5 divorces per 1,000 people. This has been an issue for some time now, with more and more couples deciding to end their marriages instead of choosing to stay together.
Italy. Perhaps it's the irresistible romance of the place that means couples stay married for an average of 18 years - according to the Economist, this is longer than any other country evaluated.
Until the postwar period, most Japanese weddings were arranged through miai, formal meetings set up by a matchmaker. The practice continues today on a smaller scale, although the meetings are now typically arranged by specialist businesses.
Regular arranged Islamic marriages through negotiation are typically according to parental wishes, although sometimes the son will also suggest a woman of his choice.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) collects data on marital status in 34 developed countries. Of those, the biggest country of bachelors and bachelorettes is Denmark, where 24 percent of the population age 20 and older is single and living alone.
In contrast, the lowest marriage rates were around 3 marriages per 1 000 inhabitants, which were reported in Italy (3.1), Portugal and Slovenia (both 3.2), followed by France, Spain, Luxembourg (all 3.5).
Worldwide, more than 650 million women alive today were married as children. Every year, at least 12 million girls are married before they reach the age of 18. This is 28 girls every minute. One in every five girls is married, or in union, before reaching age 18.
Anyone can be a victim of forced marriage, regardless of their age, gender or sexual orientation. While men and boys can be victims of forced marriage, most reported victims are young women and girls.
Plan International estimates that 14 million girls under the age of 18 marry each year. While the majority of reported victims globally are young women and girls, men and boys can also be victims of forced marriage.
The crude divorce rate (divorces per 1,000 Australian residents) was 2.2 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2021, up from 1.9 in 2020. The total number of divorces granted in 2021 was 56,244, the highest number of divorces recorded since 1976.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2019, the median duration of an Australian marriage that ended in divorce was 12.2 years [5]. This figure has increased steadily since 1999 when the average marriage length was 11.3 years.
According to research by the Pew Research Center, Catholics had one of the lowest incidences of divorce, with 19 percent having been divorced out of 4,752 interviewed.
Vatican City is a Catholic-run city-state governed by the Pope. Deeply Catholic as it is, it does not allow citizens to divorce. Surprising very few people. The Vatican is the smallest country in the world, covering approximately 100 acres with a permanent population of 842 all-Catholic residents.
Slovenia. Slovenia is one of the easiest countries in the world to file for divorce, due to its employment of a no-fault system, allowing couples to file for divorce without citing a reason they would need to prove.
The Mughal king Shah Jahan , who built the Taj Mahal, married his own daughter Jahanara after Mumtaz's death because she looked like Mumtaz to Shah Jahan. Mumtaz died on 17 June 1631 while giving birth to Shah Jahan's 14th child.
Margaret Beaufort was born into English nobility in 1443 and was married to John de la Pole in 1450; both bride and groom were just seven. There are some that believe she might have been married off in 1444, when she was just one! However, it's more likely the wedding took place in 1450, and it was annulled in 1453.
The Oldest married couple ever was Karl Dolven (b. 31 August 1897, Norway) who wed Gudrun Haug (b. 14 October 1900, Norway) at Hole, Norway, on 4 June 1927. They remained married until Gudrun's death on 24 April 2004.