The number of marriage contracts and divorce certificates in Egypt declined by 5.6 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively, from 2019 to 2020, Egypt’s statistical news agency CAPMAS said.

This comes despite a reported spike in divorce and domestic abuse cases filed in courts in 2020, which marks the first year of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions, the report, released earlier in September, stated.

Marriage contracts in urban areas in 2020 constituted 40.8 percent of the total signed nationwide. Rural areas' marriage contracts recorded 59.2 percent.

From 2019 to 2020, marriage contracts in urban and rural areas declined by seven percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.

Divorce in rural areas also overtook those in urban areas in 2020. In rural areas, divorce cases reported 54.6 percent of the total nationwide.

From 2019 to 2020, divorce in urban and rural areas declined by 3.9 percent and seven percent, respectively.

The age group between 30 and 35 recorded the highest divorce rates in 2020. Women above 65 years represented the age group with the least divorce rates.

According to CAPMAS, marriage and divorce rates in 2020 were the highest among secondary school graduates and the lowest, with 0.1 percent, among university graduates.