Muscat: Al Dhahirah governorate in Oman has registered the lowest number of divorces compared to the number of marriages in 2018, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information.
The NCSI calculates a ratio called the ‘marriage stability indicator’, which calculates how many divorces there are compared to marriages among Omanis. The lower this indicator is, the fewer divorces there are compared to marriages.
According to the NCSI, Al Dhahirah had the lowest percentage of divorces to marriages at 11.6 percent, meaning Al Dhahirah had the least divorces compared to marriages, followed by South Al Batinah at 12.4 per cent and Al Dhakhiliyah at 12.6 percent.
According to the same indicator, Al Wusta had the highest percentage of divorces compared to marriages at 35.3 percent, followed by Al Buraimi at 32.9 percent and Dhofar at 29.9 percent.
Muscat governorate had the 4th highest percentage of divorces to marriages in 2018, at 23.4 percent. In Muscat itself, Al Amerat had the highest percentage of divorces compared to marriages at 24 percent.
According to the annual report from the NCSI, there were 3,662 divorces in 2018, of which 823 took place in Muscat, followed by North Al Batinah at 669 divorces and Dhofar at 596 divorces. The lowest number of divorces in Oman was in Musandam at 30 divorces, followed by 53 divorces in Al Wusta and 143 divorces in Al Dhahirah.