Marriage is so 2003, health ministry reports

As most everywhere, fewer in Thailand are saying “I do,” while more are saying “I quit.”

The divorce rate has risen 27 percent during the past nine years, according to health officials.

In 2012, 314,338 couples tied the knot while 11,377 severed it. A decade before, in 2003, 328,356 marriages were recorded and 80,846 divorces.

The change will likely either be blamed on erosion of social values or welcomed as proof of greater financial independence and economic opportunity.

The Ministry of Public Health, that august body of empirical learnedness, concluded the facts show the “fragile state of marriages in recent years,” according to NNT.

Instead of being too emotional or angry, Ministry spokeswoman Panpimol Wipulakorn urged couples to compromise, and be responsible, gentle and rational with one another.

Photo: Wee Lakeo