SPAIN:MONEY, OR the lack of it, is forcing a rising number of unhappy Spanish couples to stay together rather than divorce.
In the first quarter of 2008, the number of divorces in Spain fell by 20 per cent compared with the same period last year, from 37,497 to 29,704. The figures suggest a growing trend, with divorces in 2007 down to 130,897 from 140,000 the previous year.
Experts claim that as the country's economic problems worsen, more couples are finding the cost of divorce and separate households beyond their reach.
Gonzalo Pueyo, of the Spanish Association of Family Lawyers, said: "In eras of plenty, divorces are more frequent. But when times are tough, many couples decide to maintain stability and their standard of living rather than split the household and incur all those extra costs. They may live in the same house but not be a couple."
Ander Gurrutxaga, professor of sociology at the University of the Basque Country, conducted a study that found some middle-class couples who divorced saw their standard of living drop drastically. "Some are forced to live like students when they are no longer that age or want that life," he said.
After 15 years of expansion, powered by a building boom, Spain is in an economic crisis. Pedro Solbes, the finance minister, told the Spanish financial daily El Economistayesterday that Spain's economy would contract in the third and fourth quarters this year.
- (Guardian service)