How many of you have helped a friend through a painful divorce in recent years? The chances are that many of you have, but the broader picture for the state of marriage in the Republic of Ireland has proven to be surprisingly more positive.
According to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the Republic of Ireland actually has the lowest divorce rate and, subsequently, the longest marriages of any member state within the European Union.
The new research reveals that the country’s divorce rate stands at 0.6 per 1,000 population.
On the other end of the scale, we appear to be enjoying somewhat of a baby boom, with our birth rate unveiled as the second highest in the EU. Indeed, our birth rate stands at 1.96, only second to our neighbours in France.
While these are positive, if surprising results, there were some negatives to take from the latest CSO figures, too.
The Republic of Ireland is apparently the fourth most expensive state in the European Union, with the prices of goods and services here placed at just over 22% above the EU averages of 2014. We are overtaken only by Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
What do you think of these latest statistics? Are you surprised by them?
